Navajo tribe had nothing to do with Jack Abramoff

By Pamela G. Dempsey
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — While some tribes may soon be regretting decisions to hire lobbyists, the Navajo Nation won't be one of them.

Thanks to its tedious and lengthy checks and balances process which often provokes groans and sighs from its employees the tribe protected itself through law from situations like the recent lobbyist scandal with Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff, in a plea agreement, admitted to plans to defraud four tribes and taking a reported $80 million in fees.

Lobbyists represent their clients' position to congressmen on a state and federal level.

Although the Navajo Nation does, on occasion, employ the services of a lobbyist, it goes through a slow process before doing so.

"When money is spent by the Navajo Nation, (there's a process)," said Darren Pete, a legislative associate with the Navajo Nation Washington Office. "Navajo writes the contract (not the lobbyists)."

The NNWO, while operating similar to lobbyist firms, is not considered one.

"We're neither a private firm nor a lobbyists' firm," Pete said. "We serve all branches of the Navajo Nation government."

In fact, the office is a division under the tribe's Executive Branch and funded with Navajo Nation general funds.

Though other entities, such as the Office of the Speaker, are not precluded from seeking a lobbyists, the NNWO is considered an advocacy group for the tribe.

"We work for a government," said Sharon Clahchischilliage, executive director of the office. "We represent all Navajo Nation interests as approved by Navajo Nation code."

Three other tribes have such offices in Washington D.C., though not as large.

The NNWO employees nine people all of whom keep a close eye on federal policies and budget.

When the tribe does employ lobbyists, the relationship has been successful; though the NNWO has not used one in three years. The tribe regularly used lobbyists until the office's creation in 1984.

"We're had a good track record," Pete said.

The fallout with Ambramoff's scandal is the misnomer that lumped all tribes together, Pete said.

"When people ask (how it affected us), I tell them (it didn't), he said. "We've had good lobbyists that abide by Navajo Nation law."

That law keeps the NNWO office in line as well.

Navajo Nation law forbids any political contributions as a tribe, though individuals may give on their own, Clahchischilliage said.

"Navajo tries to be (neutral)," she said. "In the Navajo world, contributions are to an individual. But in the outside world, it's seen as contributing to a party."

The NNWO's latest efforts have included preparing division directors and council delegates to prepare for the 2009 federal budget.

Clahchischilliage explained that the tribe's habit of asking for federal money "on the floor" is equivalent to tribal divisions asking for additional money while legislation is up for vote in the Navajo Nation Council.

What she and her staff are attempting to do is gather information from tribal programs ahead of time so the Navajo Nation can be a key part of the federal budget process from the beginning rather than at the end.

The Navajo Nation Council will soon begin discussions on developing its own federal budget process policy to uniform its efforts.

"We're a small group," Clahchischilliage said, "but we represent a huge constituency."