Nez leads amid global pandemic
Jonathan Nez is president of the Navajo Nation, which covers the largest land area of any indigenous people in the United States, spanning more than 27,000 miles in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Nez took the office in January 2019 and is the Nation’s youngest president at age 45. A year later, the Nation became one of the United States’ early hotspots for COVID-19. The Nation has reported more than 9,100 cases and more than 460 deaths.
As part of USA TODAY’s Leaders of Change project, Nez answered these questions about the pandemic’s impact on the roughly 300,000 members of the Nation. Some answers may have been edited for length or clarity:
How have you been able to manage through the outbreak?
The Navajo people have done an outstanding job in keeping the numbers down. The Navajo Nation was hit hard in late April and into May. We implemented some of the most stringent public health orders in the U.S.
Early on, we mandated masks to be worn in public, implemented a daily curfew and weekend lockdowns which are still in effect. This was not a special formula. We simply listened to health care experts and relied on the data.
We incorporated the CDC guidelines for the pandemic into our public health orders. The Navajo Nation facilitated and led a unified command group where all our partners met to better communicate and coordinate. We used multiple media platforms including PSAs on television to encourage everyone, not just our Navajo citizens, but those living in other states around us to wear masks.
Using the national media, we let the world know that if an indigenous nation like the Navajo Nation can bring the numbers down by following the health professionals’ recommendations then others around us can do the same.
What issues and projects are most important right now?
We are in the process of expending the $714 million allocated in CARES ACT funds for the Navajo Nation. We had to take the federal government to court to get our share, which led to a long delay in receiving the funds.
We now have to use the funds by Dec. 30 of this year. We are working with our Nation’s lawmakers to develop expenditure plans that prioritize water, electricity, broadband and first responders. Of course, getting direct relief to our citizens is paramount. We do want to boost our standard of life by completing infrastructure projects that have long-term benefits.
How can longstanding challenges like health, water be addressed?
We have always promoted health and wellness when I was the vice president and now as president. We encourage our people to eat right and live an active lifestyle. We have the 11th Annual Running for a Stronger Navajo Nation coming up, which will be held virtually this year due to the pandemic.
We are also stepping up our campaign to promote healthy eating to strengthen our immune systems by eating the produce from our local farms. Farming and cultivating healthy foods are becoming more common among our people because we challenged them to grow their own produce. Our public health orders also encourage physical activity during lockdowns.
Non-Navajo U.S. citizens have asked how they can help the Navajo Nation. In response, we ask them to call their representatives and senators and demand there be a better relationship with tribes throughout the country. We have stood strong, not only for the Navajo Nation, but for all tribes throughout the country.
Congress is now starting to look at the tribes and the Navajo Nation in a different perspective. They are in the process of streamlining policies and regulations so infrastructure projects can be completed quickly. We don’t want any more broken promises or broken treaty promises.
We want the federal government to fulfill the commitment of our forefathers and to support the First Nations people of this land. We also said we would use the CARES Act funds to build water lines to help the 30-40% of the Navajo people who don’t have running water in their homes. We also need to expand the electrification of homes so our citizens don’t have to go to the store or hospitals to get their food or medicines. They will have a refrigerator.
Home construction is also a priority. We will soon have a housing manufacturing facility that will produce homes for our people. Currently, multiple generations live under one roof, which creates more risks for families when it comes to the spread of COVID-19. We also need the (Indian Health Services) to be fully funded to provide better healthcare for all of Indian Country.
How can someone interested in helping get involved?
The Navajo Nation has a donation section and the Health Command Operations Center, where people have volunteered and/or donated.
Volunteers help our workers get a break and relief from the long hours of work. Friends of the Navajo Nation have also assisted us with donations of PPEs, gloves, food, supplies. Our office visited all 110 communities/chapters on the Navajo Nation during the pandemic. We are now in the process of doing a food and supplies distribution in the Phoenix area to give back.
Helping one another has been a key factor throughout this pandemic on the Navajo Nation. Half our people live outside of the Navajo Nation and many of them donated to their citizens.
Who or what inspires you in your role as leader of the Nation?
My grandparents, parents, wife, children, my community and my faith have always inspired me. Many of the thoughts and ideas that guide me have been handed down by people around me, including my elders. It has shaped me into the person I am today.
To have someone come up to me and say, “President, you inspired me to be more physically active,” is heartwarming. I say back to the people that they inspire me to fight hard for our people and all five-fingered beings, which means all of humanity. Individuals can do awesome work when we are encouraged by others. I have gone through some tough times in my life, but I have had support through those tough times.
Fighting for people of color has always had an impression on me. We are all resilient. Navajo people have persevered through so many adversities throughout our history, and that motivates me to be a part of making positive changes.
Looking ahead, what do you hope to see in a year? Five years?
I see the Navajo Nation taking major strides to return to true self-sufficiency. With 27,000 square-miles of land, I see the Nation growing enough food to feed all of our people and then being able to bless others. Today, organic foods are desired. The Navajo Nation has the capacity to be a major producer of indigenous fruits and vegetables.
I envision our economy to become self-sustaining, where the dollar gets circulated many times over within our homelands. Today, much of the dollars leave the Navajo Nation to border towns. There are so many opportunities for change and improvements for our Navajo people and we can accomplish so much more when we honor and practice the teachings of our elders.
T’áá hwó’ ajít’éego, self-reliance or self-determination, is a very important teaching that serves to tell our people that we have the power within us to do anything and overcome anything. True sovereignty is the ability to take care of our own people and then being able to help others.