Buu Nygren sworn in as Navajo Nation president

FORT DEFIANCE, Ariz. —  Buu Nygren was sworn in this week as president of the vast Navajo Nation, a job that will test his ability to make good on promises to deliver water, electricity and broadband internet to tens of thousands of residents who don’t have it.

Nygren beat out incumbent President Jonathan Nez in the tribe’s general election by about 3,500 votes. Nygren, who was joined by his wife, daughter and grandmother as he took the oath of office, is the youngest person to hold the tribal presidency.

Nygren stood amid hand-woven Navajo rugs and blankets as he addressed the crowd in a mix of Navajo and English on Tuesday, saying his administration’s mission is simple: to bring basic services to Navajo people so they can do more than survive.

“I will not hesitate. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that our people have a chance, our people have an opportunity to make something of themselves,” he said. “That’s all they want.”

Nygren, 36, had never held political office before now, though he was a vice presidential candidate in 2018.

Vice President Richelle Montoya, who was also sworn in, is the first woman to hold the position. Montoya, who had been the elected leader of a small Navajo community, took a moment to pay tribute to women on the Navajo Nation Council, holding her hand to her heart. She encouraged tribal members to speak the Navajo language and always think seven generations ahead.

“For the next four years, I will give you my very best,” she told the crowd.

The inauguration drew thousands to an indoor arena in Fort Defiance, just north of the tribal capital of Window Rock, and featured an all-woman color guard.

The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. at 27,000 square miles. It stretches into parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Its population of around 400,000 is second only to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

Nygren brought an energy to the presidential race that resonated with voters, campaigning with his wife, former Arizona state Rep. Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren.

Nygren, who is half Vietnamese, said he never knew his father. He was raised on the Utah portion of the reservation in a home without electricity or running water, he said. He has a background in construction management and has said he expects tribal citizens to hold him accountable as president — a point he emphasized in his speech Tuesday.

He pledged to work closely with the 24 members of the Navajo Nation Council who also were sworn in Tuesday. About one-third of the council will be women — a record number. The council often is seen as more powerful than the presidency and is the path through which big agenda items have to move.

Nez and the previous council laid the groundwork for infrastructure projects using money the tribe received in federal coronavirus relief aid. In one of his last actions, Nez vetoed legislation Monday to expand oil and gas exploration and development, including for helium, on the reservation. He said the affected communities hadn’t reached consensus, and concerns over profit-sharing and health went unresolved.