"Ruling against Navajo candidate in language case" by Felicia Fonseca | Associated Press October 10, 2014
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — A candidate for president on the nation’s largest Indian reservation could be removed from the ballot just weeks before the election for refusing to show whether he is fluent in Navajo as required by tribal law.
In a hearing that underlined the importance of the language to the Navajo Nation, an administrative court officer said he had no choice but to rule against Chris Deschene.
‘‘I have been pushed into a corner,’’ said Richie Nez, of the tribe’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, after Deschene repeatedly declined to answer questions in Navajo.
Deschene vowed to appeal Nez’s decision, meaning it is unclear whether he will appear on the ballot. He must file his appeal within 10 days to the tribe’s Supreme Court, which probably will consider the case on an expedited basis.
No decision will be made on whether Deschene’s name will be on the ballot on Election Day until after the appeal period.
Deschene said that he is proficient in speaking Navajo, and that he has proved it on the campaign trail. He said he should not be subjected to a standard of fluency in a courtroom when that standard is not well defined.
‘‘I respectfully decline to put myself in front of the whole world to answer a test that has not been vetted, has not been approved,’’ Deschene said in court.
The case stems from grievances filed by two of Deschene’s primary election opponents, who cited a Navajo law that requires anyone seeking the tribe’s top elected office to be fluent in Navajo. It is the first time a candidate has been challenged under the law.
Dale Tsosie and Hank Whitethorne allege Deschene lied when he attested to speaking the language fluently when he applied to be a candidate.
Attorneys for the two accused Deschene of dodging the issue. Deschene declined to take a fluency test designed by personnel from the tribe’s education department and did not answer questions in Navajo in a videotaped deposition earlier this week.
‘‘It’s a fair question,’’ said David Jordan, Tsosie’s attorney. ‘‘He’s a presidential candidate. We’re not asking him the Pythagorean theorem in Navajo. We’re asking how a resolution becomes law.’’
The Navajo Supreme Court last month sent the case back to Nez after ruling the Navajo language is sacred and cannot be disregarded as a qualification for the presidency.
According to the US Census Bureau, more people speak Navajo than any other single American Indian language. Of the tribe’s more than 300,000 members, about 169,000 speak Navajo.
Deschene said he believes the issue is broader than fluency. He said the Supreme Court also must consider the people who voted for him in the primary, a traditional law that says Navajos have the right to choose their leaders, and whether the grievances were timely filed.
The high court determined the grievances were filed within a deadline and ordered Nez to consider them on the merits.
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Also see: Navajo Nation Gets Paid
