Navajo President Buu Nygren sees vision of thriving marketplace take shape at new Shiprock“Yideeską́ądi Nitsáhákees” Flea Market
SHIPROCK, N.M. – Under the canopies of the cottonwood trees that grow along the banks of the San Juan River, Navajo vendors like bakers, jewelers, silversmiths and many small businesses now have a place to sell their products.
All because Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and local community leaders, including Council delegates Amber Crotty and Eugenia Charles-Newton, cut the ribbon on the 38-acre “Yideeską́ądi Nitsáhákees” Flea Market – “Think for the Future.”
Located just below the iconic, iron San Juan River Bridge off U.S Highway 64, built in 1908, the project began with $500,000 from Crotty and the Navajo Nation Council. To date, $419,000 has been expended for the project, with plans in place for its continued growth. This flea market is part of a larger plan that will include an RV park, campgrounds, a community garden, river-walk trail, and other creative ideas from the community.
Shiprock Chapter President Nevina Kinlacheeny and Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development Director Tony Skrelunas were also present for the ribbon cutting.
AG Solutions, LLC, a 100% Navajo-owned business, quickly cleared the site. Its fast turnaround allows for many Navajo entrepreneurs to test-run the market during the 111th annual Northern Navajo Fair.
“Right now, there will be four or five rows for vendors with parking,” said Zack Hunt, program manager for AG Solutions. “I always ride by here and I see those vendors on the side of the road. I always feel bad for them and now they’ll be able to have a space designated for them.”
Hunt is Navajo and from Waterflow, N.M. He remembers a former trading post being in operation near the bridge but that has been out of business for years. The project is a big deal, Hunt said, because it is in a much safer location from traffic that runs parallel to the old flea market.
When Bobby Martin, project manager for Navajo Tourism, took the position in tourism 10 months ago, he was notified that the department had purchased land in the current area for tourism. What better way to use the area than to return it to what it was before, an RV/Camping area? Martin said.
“We just want the community involved in this area and give them something they can enjoy,” he said. “Our main goal is to bring tourists in and we have a lot who pass through here but aren’t stopping here. The more we can get to stay here, the more money we can get back to the Navajo Nation.”
Martin said that the development will capture tourists and attract locals to showcase their small businesses. Currently, vendors operate along U.S. Highway 64 where there is no designated parking and potential hazards that raise safety concerns daily.
Lucinda Frank, a Diné lessor who granted the temporary lease for the new flea market, said finding a sustainable location for vendors is critical to regional economic growth and safety in her community.
Once she presented her idea to President Nygren, the process accelerated.
Frank, who is Tódích’ii’nii and born for Táchii’nii, has been part of the flea market community for over 10 years. After her father, Tommy Begay, passed away, she took on the responsibility of securing a safe and sustainable home for a flea market.
“All these vendors, some of them, this is their livelihood, this is all they live on,” said Frank. “I felt bad for them. They don’t like to sit by the road. They don’t want to be somewhere where they can be pushed out. They want to be somewhere permanent.”
Shiprock is the largest community on the Navajo Nation. Even so, Shiprock Chapter President Nevina Kinlacheeny said it’s hard for her community to grow economically.
“A lot of our people don’t have jobs, so they need to make money to pay their gas, food, their bills,” she said. “A lot of them are vendors, and if you drive this road any day, boom, they’re right there.”
As a local leader, Kinlacheeny wants Navajo Nation Council delegates to collaborate with President Nygren and executive directors on projects like the flea market to benefit the community.
President Nygren has made supporting Navajo small businesses a priority as the path to develop vibrant local economies. Transitioning from traditional practices to a modern world, Navajos are achieving this by bringing their art, food, cultural and natural resources to the world.
“A Navajo economy is built and shaped by us, and it serves our community,” he said. “A key aspect of this economy is our ability to adapt. Navajos have transitioned from traditional practices to a modern world through art, food, cultural and natural resources.”
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