Navajo Nation

Former Navajo President Peterson Zah died Tuesday in Fort Defiance, Arizona, after a lengthy illness. He was 85. KUNM has more on his life and how he changed the lives of his Navajo people.

In the rush to build the nuclear arsenal that won the Cold War, safety was sacrificed for speed. Mining companies built dozens of mills and processing sites to refine uranium ore. But the government didn’t have a plan for the toxic byproducts, many of which are known to cause health problems. Reporters from the nonprofit ProPublica investigated the impact on water sources.

The White House and U.S. Treasury have announced yet another round of funding to expand internet access in New Mexico and Colorado’s tribal and rural communities.

Election season is in full swing and voters on the Navajo Nation will decide either to re-elect President Jonathon Nez to the seat, or make history by electing his challenger––Buu Nygren–– who could be the youngest ever to hold the position.

November 8th marks the date for the U.S. midterm elections, but it’s also when the Navajo Nation will pick its next president. New Mexico in Focus Correspondent Antonia Gonzales with our media partner New Mexico PBS sat down with current Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez to discuss his last four years in office, and ask why Navajo residents should put their trust in him to lead them out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Biden on Tuesday signed an extension to a law compensating those impacted by uranium extraction and nuclear weapons testing. Without the extension the program would have expired next month

Let’s Talk New Mexico 4/28 8am: On March 1,1973, UNM student and member of the Navajo Nation Larry Casuse kidnapped the Gallup Mayor Emmett Garcia and held him for several hours before the standoff ended in the death of the young activist. But what was the context for this tragic event? And how does the history of colonization and exploitation of Native Americans in the US factor into the conditions he was protesting against?

In a historic move, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission made the trek from Washington D.C. all the way to western New Mexico on April 22 to meet with Navajo tribal members and leaders who desperately want uranium contamination off their lands. KUNM talked with New Mexico In Depth’s Marjorie Childress to find out what the community was saying.

The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding nearly $9 million to tribal nations for renewable energy projects. In our region, some communities will see new solar panels or a microgrid to power homes.The funds are being split between 13 tribal nations, including the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in Idaho and the Navajo Nation in Arizona.

The idea for this free trip began out of the high cost of recreation in the canyon. Amber Benally with the Grand Canyon Trust said she thinks the expense excludes many Indigenous people from visiting.She said she wants young Natives to know they have a place in this sacred area and in conservation.