The Navajo Nation Political Experience

Tribal nations, like the Navajo nation, have proven to be remarkably adept at retaining and exercising ever-increasing amounts of self-determination even when faced with powerful external constraints and limited resources. Now in this fifth edition of The Navajo Nation Political Experience, the current Diné political developments of the last decade are analyzed thoroughly and accessibly against a historical backdrop. The Diné people and their leaders have recently experienced a host of events that dramatically affected the shape of the nation. David Wilkins and new co-authors Wendy Greyeyes, Lloyd Lee, and Tiffany Lee provide the only comprehensive analysis of Diné governance structures, leaders, and political participation.

David E. Wilkins is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in leadership studies at University of Richmond. A citizen of the Lumbee Nation of North Carolina, Wilkins earned his PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His academic work concentrates on Native politics and governance, with particular attention to the transformations that Indigenous governments have both coercively and voluntarily engaged in from pre-colonial times to the present. Wilkins in the author or editor of numerous books, including mostly recently Documents of Native American Political Development: 1933 to Present; Red Prophet: The Punishing Intellectualism of Vine Deloria, Jr.; American Indian Politics and the American Political System, fourth edition; Dismembered: Native Disenrollment and the Battle for Human Rights; The Navajo Political Experience, fourth edition; and Hollow Justice: A History of Indigenous Claims in the United States.

PART I: Foundations of Diné Government and Relations with the United States Chapter 1: Dine National Government: An Historical Overview Chapter 2: A Nation Within a Nation Chapter 3: Federal Indian Policy: An Historical Overview PART II: Institutions of Diné Government Chapter 4: The Framework of Navajo Government Today Chapter 5: The Navajo Nation Legislature (The Council) Chapter 6: The Navajo Nation Executive (The President and Vice-President) Chapter 7: The Navajo Nation Judiciary (The Courts) Chapter 8: Local Governing Jurisdictions PART III: Political Dynamics of Diné Government Chapter 9: Interest Groups and Diné Politics: From Without and Within Chapter 10: The Navajo Nation and the Media Chapter 11: Diné Voting, Elections, and Campaign Finances Chapter 12: Diné Political Economy APPENDICES