Civic Academy
The Enterprises 101
The businesses the Nation owns — what they are, and how the people can tell if they’re working.
What an enterprise is
An enterprise is a business the Navajo Nation owns. The Nation created them to provide services and generate revenue under Navajo control — among them the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) for power, water, and connectivity; the Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority (NECA); Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI), the Nation’s farm; the gaming enterprise; and others in energy, retail, and media. They are supposed to be run like businesses — with boards, management, and financial statements — on behalf of the people as the owner.
How oversight is supposed to work
Each enterprise answers to a board, and the boards answer to the Nation. The Council and its committees confirm board members and receive reports; the Auditor General can audit. That chain only works if each link does its job — which is why board qualifications and training come up so often in the interviews. (Our Boards & Governance lesson explains what a board is actually for.)
The owner’s questions
If the people are the owner, then the people are entitled to an owner’s answers: What did each enterprise earn, and what did it contribute to the Nation? What are its plans and risks? Who is on its board and why? Candidates differ on how much should be published and how boards should be chosen — that difference is worth listening for.
Goes with: Economic Development 101 · NAPI 101
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Quick check
Check your understanding — private, no grades
A Navajo Nation enterprise is…
Right. Enterprises are the Nation’s own businesses. Who oversees them, and how, is the recurring question.
Under 2 N.N.C. § 223(E), a Navajo Nation contract may be awarded…
Yes — and the exceptions are narrow: small purchases, emergencies, and sole-source purchases under the Procurement Act. A · read in the Code
Under § 223(F), a contract change order may not exceed…
Twenty percent. If it is exceeded, the change must go back through advertisement and bidding.
Several candidates said the biggest obstacle to Navajo business is…
Yes — that came up unprompted, again and again, in the interviews.
One candidate’s renovation business is 100% Navajo-owned and registered as priority one. How many chapters had ever invited her to bid?
One. Preference exists on paper. Somebody still has to make the call.