Guided Forward

Last week our Keurig machine at home had stopped working and we had run out of coffee beans. It was a hard week for morning coffee. I had scraped up enough beans and grounds to get by. Shaunya was on work travel so I had only to fend for myself.

In Tempe this past weekend, I bought a bag of beans and this morning we had French press. The coffee tasted so good.

Today, we had a Title 2 Reform Subcommittee regular meeting. These meetings are chaired by Council Delegate George H. Tolth. During the 2026 Winter Council Session, the 25th Navajo Nation Council overrode Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren’s veto allowing virtual attendance of council delegates for standing committees, subcommittees, and the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee.

The point of all that is to emphasize that six delegates attended the Title 2 meeting virtually while Chair Tolth and Vice Chair Shawna Ann Claw attended in-person.

Before the subcommittee attended to old and new business, Chief Legislative Counsel Michelle Espino provided an update on the amendments made to Title 2 in CJA-07-26 and CJA-09-26 that President Nygren vetoed.

“Title 2 amendments that occurred from the floor, addressed the division director and attorney general appointment, placed limitations on individuals if they are not confirmed, and limitations on their ‘acting’ status,” Espino said. “Attorneys on behalf of President Nygren filed a motion to restrain the Council from enacting the amendments. After the amendments were voted on and resolution was certified, it went to OPVP. Before he signed it, they filed the motion. President vetoed the amendments and the judge then issued a restraining order.”

Espino added that there was an addition to the motion filed stating that the Council couldn’t overturn the veto, asking the judge to issue the TRO before council could override the veto.

“The judge and court didn’t give us the opportunity to respond,” she said.

The subcommittee accepted the update and moved forward on the agenda to address modifications to Standing Committee rules including the proposal of consent agendas, reading of legislation into record, presentation times, and tabling motions.

Today, the Resources and Development Committee held a public hearing on Title 26, the Navajo Nation Local Governance Act (LGA), to present proposed amendments to the code and listen to feedback from community members.

Navajo Nation Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General for the Chapter Unit Rodgerick Begay, a Chinle High School alumni, presented an overview on the LGA, impacts to the LGA since it’s been implemented, proposed amendments, and differences in the proposed models.

Chapter officials from across the agency attended to listen and engage in discussion.

Begay informed the attendees that his presentation was on proposed amendments to the LGA and not on Navajo Nation Government Reform which is another initiative that is organizing public hearings as well.

Much of Begay’s presentation concerned how the proposed amendments would impact chapter governments pertaining to the Five Management System, chapter supervision, contracting and procurement, and chapter government structure.

The public hearing is the third that the RDC has scheduled to bring the proposed amendments and discussion directly to the chapter level.

The Many Farms Chapter provided a lunch of vegetable mutton stew and frybread. The chapter house coffee was pretty decent but I had already had two pour-overs before getting to the meeting. Because I’m vegetarian, I didn’t have stew but the frybread was excellent as Central Agency’s bread is always on point.

Begay likened his responsibility in presenting to the chapter as if he was presenting to his mother. “I see my mom’s face in all the chapter officials and think, ‘How would I protect my mom and how would I advise her?’,” Begay said.

Hi guys! My name is Mihio Manus. I reside in St. Michaels, Arizona. I have a beautiful wife Shaunya Manus and three wonderful kids, Miyana, Jace, and Tia. They are in the picture above. I’m going to post writings about issues and ideas that cross my mind. This post was updated on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026.