WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren submitted his written quarterly State of the Nation Nation report to the Navajo Nation Council today while he attends a White House meeting regarding the appointment of a commission for the Office of Navajo Hopi Indian Relocation.
Attending the meeting with President Nygren is Navajo Hopi Land Commission Chairman Otto Tso and Vice Chairman Casey Allen Johnson.
The President began his report with a remembrance of Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel, Sr., 107, who died peacefully at home Saturday morning.
“We remember Mr. Kinsel as one of the first 29 Navajo Code Talkers,” the President reported. “In his honor and memory, I have ordered flags across the Navajo Nation to be lowered to half-staff for one week, from sunrise yesterday morning until sunset Oct. 27. Like our other Code Talkers, he will not be forgotten. We shall forever be in his debt for his bravery and protection of the United States and the Navajo Nation he loved.”
The President’s told Council today is the first meeting the Navajo Nation has been invited to regarding the selection of a new commissioner for ONHIR. He reported the position has been vacant since 1994.
“ONHIR Executive Director Christopher Bavasi has led ONHIR as director since 1985 when a three-member commission existed,” he reported. “The time has come, and is long past, for a commissioner to be appointed. Today’s meeting is pivotal in our history. It is the first time in more than two decades that the White House and ONHIR have granted us a seat at the table to discuss the future of a controversial program that has impacted the lives of countless Navajo families.”
He reported that on Dec. 22, 2024, the 1974 Navajo and Hopi Indian Land Settlement Act, known as the Relocation Act, will turn 50 years old.
He asked the Council to draft legislation to provide $50 million in acknowledgment of the 50 years of suffering relocatees have endured. The funding would provide services they were legally unable to receive.
“I support a request of $50 million to assist them,” the President told Council.. “Through meaningful consultation, I know we can find a way to structure $50 million over a period of time to assist the relocatees.”
