An open letter to Navajo Nation President Nez
On January 8 at the Ft. Defiance Agency meeting, President Nez stated that there were not enough Navajo-owned businesses qualified to be awarded projects associated with ARPA funds. This is unfortunate because a strong Diné economy must be developed on a foundation of companies owned and operated by Diné people. The economy that we find ourselves in today is tragic. We are battling a deadly virus while a large number of our people live in conditions that fail to provide proper sanitation, electricity, and nutritious food. This failed economy is the legacy of the extraction of our natural resources and the exploitation of our people's labor. I say a “failed economy” because not only did it harm our land and water, it left us woefully unprepared to deal with a worldwide pandemic.
We as Diné people are skilled in the construction industry, we are skilled as mechanics, we have engineering graduates at the doctoral level and of course, we are extremely creative in the arts. In this economic environment we live in, there are large systemic challenges for Native entrepreneurs including limited access to capital. However, the most challenging systemic barrier is that you make statements about the lack of capacity of Diné entrepreneurs and yet I can only assume that you truly believe that you can do nothing about it. This is not a problem for the entrepreneur to solve. There is generic support for "business" and "economic development" that is perpetuated by Diné politicians every election but a severe disconnection in understanding the core problems that exist that prevent our most talented from successfully providing products and services to their own people.
Some of the most common issues Diné businesses face that are your responsibility are: Business owners must wait for weeks to get common business regulatory tasks done. Business owners wait for years to be considered for a contract from the Navajo Nation government. When they finally get awarded they have to wait months for a signed contract from your desk. Then business owners wait for months and months to be paid for the work that they do. Diné businesses have been suddenly faced with new procedures with little or no notification and then held responsible for the lack of compliance. When businesses are faced with an unprecedented situation where the regulatory process is unclear, there is no grievance process they can employ to resolve the situation causing instability.
All of these issues cost Diné business owners time and money, not to mention the emotional toll of having everything they work for be at risk due to Navajo Nation regulatory processes. These are real issues that can break a new company. It is no secret that most of us are not independently wealthy people, we don't have the resources for these kinds of unnecessary obstacles.
The responsibility to positively impact the environment for which these businesses operate lies with your office and with your leadership, Mr. President. You can make changes that would deliver strong Diné owned businesses that can provide quality products and services to the people of the Navajo Nation while providing jobs, training, generational wealth, and economic opportunities that could circulate in our communities. I challenge you to take responsibility to ensure that the Navajo people benefit economically from the ARPA funds and other funding designed to address the state of our communities. We cannot ensure our future without the inclusion of our entrepreneurs.
To ignore the Diné business community is subjecting our people to further dependence on racist border towns, colonial federal policies, climate related devastation, and industries that are designed to extract economic resources from our people while destroying our land and water. The solutions that Navajo communities desire to address our most pressing problems are held by Navajo entrepreneurs. For example, access to nutritional food is held by farmers and livestock producers who need an adequate industrial infrastructure to operate. With an abundant source of construction and industrial laborers and skilled workers, there should be absolutely no reason why companies from outside of our communities are hired for construction contracts. These obstacles are a matter of policy and directing financial resources to the right places.
The power to change all of this lies with your leadership. You are leading our nation at an extraordinary time, I challenge you to take extraordinary steps.
Jessica Stago
Change Labs Co-founder
