Tribal Leaders Won’t Need to Know Navajo

The Navajo Nation voted Tuesday to loosen requirements for its top leaders, eliminating a need for fluency in the tribal language and other provisions through a referendum. Last year, a tribal presidential candidate was disqualified for refusing to submit to a test of his language skills. “It tells me that a majority of the Navajo people would like to see youth back at the leadership table,” said the lawmaker who sponsored the legislation. “It shows the Navajo democracy at work.”