My Navajo People,
On Monday, my office received Resolution No. CJA-07-26, titled “Amending Title 2 of the Navajo Nation Code to Amend the Powers and Duties of the Office of the President and Vice President.”
Upon initial review, it appears that this legislation, if allowed to go into effect, would concentrate unprecedented power in the Legislative Branch and upend the separation of powers established by the Title II Amendments.
My team and I are currently reviewing this resolution, and determining what response from my office is appropriate.
In the meantime, I want to remind my Navajo People of how important the Title II Amendments are. Title II establishes the current three-branch government we operate under today and was meant to ensure checks and balances between our branches, and to ensure that one branch didn’t have more power than another. Our past leaders wanted to ensure that any major change to our tribal government was approved by the Navajo people, not by the Navajo Nation Council.
The Navajo people are the only ones who can amend Title II.
Under the Title II Amendments, which was adopted in 1989, our government functions according to principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. The Navajo Nation Supreme Court has ruled again and again that Title II cannot be amended by Council.
I call upon Speaker and Council to withdraw or repeal this legislation immediately, and to respect the Navajo Nation Supreme Court and the separation of powers of our government. Let’s focus on the needs of the Navajo people.
