Navajo Nation’s high court orders Deschene off ballot

A candidate for president of the Navajo Nation lost another round in a language fluency dispute Wednesday, all but ending his bid for office.

The Navajo Nation Supreme Court upheld a ruling from a lower court that said Chris Deschene was not qualified to seek the tribe’s top elected post after he declined to demonstrate whether he is fluent in Navajo.

Tribal law that requires presidential candidates to be fluent in the language, a defining part of the tribe’s culture.

The high court did not rule on the merits of the case. Instead, the justices dismissed it over lack of jurisdiction because Deschene did not include a copy of his disqualification order with his notice of appeal.

They ruled out any possibility to have the appeal reconsidered.

“Any litigant who is serious about his case will ensure that all of the court’s jurisdictional requirements are satisfied,” the justices wrote.

Deschene’s attorney and campaign representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Supreme Court said election officials must move up the third-place finisher from the primary election. It’s unclear whether Navajos will choose a new tribal president on Nov. 4.

Deschene came in second to Joe Shirley Jr. in the August primary, but his campaign was overshadowed by questions regarding his fluency in the Navajo language. Challenges brought him by two opponents in the primary, Hank Whitethorne and Dale Tsosie, also sparked a conversation about the importance of Navajo across the reservation.

Deschene has said he’s proficient in the language. But he refused to take a fluency test developed by the personnel in the tribe’s education department. He also declined to answer questions in a deposition or as a witness in the case against him.

Deschene said it was not right that he be singled out and tested on his language ability.

Richie Nez of the tribe’s Office of Hearings and Appeals said he had no choice but to disqualify Deschene after he failed to prove he could speak fluent Navajo.

The Supreme Court remanded the case to Nez after ruling that the tribe’s language is too important to disregard as a qualification for the presidency. The language is the foundation of the culture and traditions, said to have been handed down by the Holy People.

Nez earlier dismissed the challenges as untimely.

Deschene and Begaye respond

Chris Deschene sent KOB a statement Wednesday afternoon after the Supreme Court’s decision. Here it is, in full:

“I respect the Supreme Court, but given the recent legal proceedings, I question whether it was fair and impartial. I want to be Navajo Nation president. I am qualified to be Navajo Nation president. And I remain on the ballot as a presidential candidate. The Navajo Nation must continue to vote. 

The Board of Election Supervisors continues to protect the Navajo fundamental law allowing our people to choose their own leaders, and I am grateful. They have continued to do the right thing. They have not conceded to this flawed, biased legal process. And neither will I. The council is considering legislative remedy this week and we are hopeful this will happen. 

It is ironic and concerning that the Supreme Court has attempted to conclude this process on a procedural technicality, despite overlooking numerous procedural errors and substantive deficiencies of my opponents’ claims from the very beginning.

We are not surprised by today’s ruling, and this is NOT over. This sends a chilling message to many of our young voters that they’re not Navajo enough to lead. That is absolutely unacceptable. 

I’m committed to solving the real problems facing our Nation.” – Chris Deschene

Russell Begaye also issued a statement Wednesday after the Supreme Court’s decision.

“I am issuing a statement after receiving numerous inquiries regarding today’s decision by the Navajo Nation Supreme Court. I had accepted my third place finish during this election, continued to proceed with my duties as a Council Delegate and looked forward to other ways I would be able to assist my people after my term ended. However, after the order of dismissal by the Court today, that has changed.

Today, the Supreme Court dismissed Chris Deschene’s appeal and upheld the Office of Hearing and Appeal’s (“OHA”) Final Order that Deschene is disqualified. The Supreme Court found OHA’s Final Order issued on October 9, 2014 to be “final and enforceable”. Pursuant to Title 11 of the Navajo Nation Code, the candidate with the third highest number of votes shall immediately be placed on the ballot. This matter is now in the hands of the Navajo Election Board of Supervisors to act upon the final order of the Supreme Court.

It has become evident this situation no matter which side you are supporting has created much confusion amongst our people and government. Foremost, it has placed our own Navajo laws into question. The Navajo Nation is a sovereign nation. We have the inherent authority to make our own laws and be governed by them. It is time for our leaders to uphold sovereignty by following, respecting, and complying with the laws that have been created by our Navajo Nation government and make us sovereign. It is time for us to do what is right and not politically correct. If a change to our law or government is needed, then the change should be the lawful way, the respectful way, the sovereign way. It is time for us to move forward.” –Russell Begaye

Where do things go from here?

La’Vone Henry, with the Navajo Nation Chief Legislative Council, said there is a previous Supreme Court Case that discusses retroactive action that can be taken in upcoming elections, but ‘upcoming election’ is open to interpretation. 

The Navajo Council will meet Thursday after recessing Tuesday to discuss removing the language requirement for president, which would be a retroactive move.

It’s unclear if the Supreme Court would apply such a move to the upcoming election or delay the decision to only apply to the next election.

The Board of Elections will discuss Wednesday’s ruling Thursday as well. They could defy the Supreme Court’s decision, but that would be followed by more litigation. Deschene said he is planning to appeal to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider.

Editor’s note: Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.