Ex-Navajo Nation president dies of Coronavirus complications
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Albert Hale, a former Navajo Nation president and Arizona lawmaker who was known for his commanding presence, sense of humor and advocacy for local government, has died.
Hale tested positive for the Coronavirus in early January and was admitted to the hospital where he died Tuesday, said his daughter, April Hale. He was 70.
“We’re thankful to the staff and care team at Arizona General Hospital for allowing us to say our goodbyes and to tell our father that we loved him, to tell him that we’re proud of all his accomplishments, and we will carry on and honor his legacy,” she told The Associated Press.
Hale served as the second president of the Navajo Nation after the tribe restructured its government under three branches to prevent power from being concentrated under a chairman. As a lawyer, he was key to that effort and championed giving Navajo communities or chapters autonomy from the central tribal government and taxing authority.
He helped secure rights for the Navajo Nation from the San Juan River basin in New Mexico. Hale urged all sides to sit down and negotiate, rather than the tribe asserting it owns everything in the river and others contending that Navajos waived the water rights, said former Navajo Attorney General Louis Denetsosie.
“Eventually, it evolved into the first big Navajo water rights settlement,” said Denetsosie, who ran a law firm with Hale for a few years.
Hale also was steadfast in promoting tribal sovereignty. He once suggested closing the borders of the vast reservation that stretches into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah in response to what he saw as unjust actions by the state of Arizona.
Many knew him by his nickname, Ahbihay, a mispronunciation of his name by a Navajo grandmother that’s also a pronoun in the Navajo language. It stuck on the Navajo Nation, among elected officials and within his own family.