Civic Academy
Constitution 101
≈ 6 min read · or listen, or skim the bold lines
A · Primary source A volunteer has read the underlying statute, resolution, or court document. Citations are quoted from it. How we verify →
Why the proposed constitution matters and what citizens should understand before voting.
Why this matters
A president or delegate serves a term.
A constitution can shape government for decades.
What the proposed constitution would change
The proposal is a working draft developed by the Office of Navajo Government Development (ONGD) — titled Diyin Nohookáá Diné’é Bi Beehaz’áanii Bitsí Siléí — and ONGD calls it the first such document ever drafted by Diné themselves. Drafts evolve: the document has gone through revisions after the public hearings (candidates who attended say so on the record), so always check the current official draft on ONGD’s site against any summary — including this one, which describes the mid-2025 working draft. A copy of the August 7, 2025 draft working document (PDF, 48 pages) is hosted here for the record. It is not law — it is an idea put forward for the people to consider. Here is the heart of it, in plain terms. (It is a proposal with supporters and critics. We explain it; we do not take a side. You decide.)
What this draft does not say
Under review — verify against the current official draft
In the 48-page draft reviewed for this lesson, the word “procurement” does not appear. The draft contains no competitive-bidding requirement and no cap on contract change orders. Those safeguards currently exist in Title 2 of the Navajo Nation Code (2 N.N.C. §§ 223–225), which the proposal would supersede. Whether adopting the constitution would preserve or remove them is a legal question we are not qualified to answer, and we do not assert one.
We also note a difference in the qualification standards: a candidate for President “must not have violated” the Ethics in Government Law, while a candidate for Justice “must not have been convicted of violating” it. Who determines that a violation occurred, absent a conviction, is not stated.
Version caution: the draft reviewed here is 48 pages. We re-checked these points against the August 7, 2025 draft working document (also 48 pages; hosted here): the word “procurement” still does not appear, and the two qualification standards read the same. Other sources describe a longer document going before voters. Always check the current official draft on ONGD’s site. Corrections welcome — tell us.
The people are named as the sovereign
The draft begins by declaring that the Navajo people — the Diyin Nohookáá Diné’é — are the ones who govern. Power that is not handed to the government stays with the people. It builds in direct tools for the people to use: initiative (the people propose a law), referendum (the people vote on a law), and recall (the people remove an official).
Four houses, not three — a built-in check on the money
Today’s government has three branches: the Council (legislative), the President (executive), and the courts (judicial). The proposed constitution keeps those three and adds a fourth house called Beehaz’áanii Baa Áhoyą́ą́ńjii Báhogan — Government Stability. In the draft we reviewed, that house is described as responsible for protecting the rights of the Navajo people — primarily the right to vote, and the keeping of vital statistics, insurance matters and records.
An Office of the Inspector General would be housed inside that branch. Its stated purpose is to ensure each house of government abides by the constitution, and to ensure that Local Governance Entities — the chapters — follow the Local Governance Act. That is a real oversight function, placed in a branch separate from the ones it watches.
Designed in the Diné way
The whole government in the draft is called the Diné Hózhóójí Bah Nahat’á — governance carried out in the way of hózhó (balance and harmony). Each branch is named in Diné and rooted in the Fundamental Law (Diné Bi Beehaz’áanii Bitsí Siléí). This is the cultural return many candidates point to — a government built on Diné law and values, not a structure borrowed from outside. (These are sacred Diné concepts; their meaning belongs to Diné speakers and teachers. We hold them with respect and welcome correction.)
Want the official reform work? See the Office of Navajo Government Development, which is carrying the reform project and gathering the people’s input. The proposal has been open for public review.
Specific provisions in the working draft — sourced
From the draft’s own text (2025 working draft)
Learning — verify against the official document · August 7, 2025 draft hosted here (PDF)
Three ways to make law. Laws would be enacted through three distinct procedures: the legislative process, referendum (the people vote on a law), and initiative (the people propose one).
Initiative threshold. A Nation-wide initiative reaches the ballot with signatures from 7% of the voters who cast ballots in the most recent presidential election — a concrete, countable bar.
Fiscal discipline written into the structure. Available funds and anticipated revenues must exceed each year’s budget appropriations; long-term debt could not fund government operating expenses; and spending the principal of the trust funds would require a vote of the Navajo people themselves.
Office-holding. All naat’áanii — executive and judicial, Nation and local — would swear to support the constitution and the Treaty of 1868; and no religious, residency, or language test could ever be required for office.
What sits above the process. Navajo Nation laws would be subordinate to the constitution — and Diné Bi Beehaz’áaniijí, the Fundamental Law, is exempted from the referendum/initiative process entirely.
Topics citizens need explained
What changes.
What does not change.
Citizen initiative.
Referendum.
Recall.
Transparency.
Chapter authority.
Separation of powers.
Questions for the ONGD and the candidates
What problem is the proposed constitution trying to solve? What powers do citizens gain? What concerns do critics raise? Which parts do you support and which concern you?Goes with: A Short History of Navajo Government · Sovereignty 101
Quick check
Check your understanding — private, no grades
A president serves a term. A constitution can shape government for…
Right — that's why the referendum deserves more homework than any single race.
Who drafted the proposed constitution?
Yes — ONGD calls it the first such document drafted by Diné themselves.
Continue
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The version question is unresolved: What we don’t know →