The record, read closely · what the candidates said

What the candidates said — healthcare

≈ 8 min read · or listen, or skim the bold lines

D · Draft — not verified   Every quote below is the candidate’s own, from their interview on Politics on the Navajo Nation. Quotes are grouped by the approach each candidate took, not ranked. The site takes no position on who is right. How we verify →

Healthcare was the single most-discussed subject in the interviews: 29 of the 42 candidates who sat down raised it. That alone tells you something — it is what people feel, and what the people running feel they must answer for.

We can lay their answers side by side for one reason: Cal Nez asked each of them, on the record, in his Politics on the Navajo Nation interviews. More about that work →

But “healthcare” is not one conversation. Listen closely and the candidates split into distinct camps. Below are their own words, sorted by the angle they took — so you can see the range, and decide for yourself which reading you find most convincing. This is not everyone who spoke, and it is not everything they said; it is a representative cut from the record.

The recurring question: 638 — run it ourselves, or not?

The phrase that comes up more than any other is “638” — shorthand for the federal law that lets the Nation take over and run its own health programs instead of the Indian Health Service doing it. It is, in miniature, the sovereignty question: how much should the Nation run itself? Candidates landed in different places.

Some see 638 as the path to a Navajo-run health system — self-determination made real:

“That’s the dream ultimately — when I think about us having our own healthcare system, having self-determination and utilizing 638, that’s what we need to do to get there.”

— Greg Bigman, Council Delegate

“I believe that we do have the people educated in our Navajo tribe to move and carry on 638. And I have faith in our people that we can do it.”

— Jerilynn Yazzie, Council Delegate

“The idea behind a 638, I think, is good. It gives the opportunity to build a company, to build a business, and apply for grants, compete for grants.”

— Emily Ellison, President

Others support 638 but stress it must be community-driven and well-run — a tool, not a guarantee:

“A community has decided that they want a 638 facility and they’ve done it through chapter resolutions and they’ve advocated for that… they feel like they could run their health care facility and they have the business acumen to do it.”

— Germaine Simonson, Council Delegate

“I support 638 and they’re able to… extend their programs or their services to our people based upon data, factual evidence… that help guide and steer the goals and objectives of our health care system.”

— Joan Gray, Council Delegate

And some urge caution — that not every facility should convert, and the current system may be safer for now:

“I would recommend that they still continue with their services as is, without going to 638.”

— Larry Noble, President

A shared worry: who is overseeing the money and the care?

Across camps, a striking number of candidates raised oversight — the sense that the health facilities need qualified people and real accountability, not just funding. This is the “referee” problem showing up in healthcare.

“Maybe we need a professional medical doctor, or someone that would oversee these 638 clinics or hospitals. Otherwise… they have no medical knowledge.”

— Eula Yazzie, Council Delegate

“Especially in healthcare, there probably needs to be a compliance department created for them.”

— Laurelle Sheppard, Council Delegate

“The Department of Health has attempted to hire a clinical director… we have folks who are within the health [system], but not necessarily as surgeons or as medical doctors.”

— Andy Nez, Council Delegate

The funding question: whose responsibility is it?

Several candidates framed healthcare as a matter of treaty rights and federal obligation — that good healthcare was promised, and the Nation should hold the federal government to it while pursuing more resources.

“The federal government made us that promise… to give us good health care. As of now, health care on our reservation is very important, and I would do anything to support it — mental health has really gone up on our reservation.”

— Zachariah George, Council Delegate

“They’re Navajos — why aren’t they entitled to the free health care? They should be. And if there’s a reason why they don’t have that entitlement, then we need to go after that.”

— Eugene Badonie, Council Delegate

“We need to really focus on health care. Pursuing those federal resources are critical.”

— Debbie Nez-Manuel, President

Beyond the clinic: insurance, prevention, and mental health

A few candidates widened the lens — to insurance access, prevention, and the basic needs that determine health long before anyone reaches a hospital.

“Health insurance is super important, but also just promoting a healthy lifestyle — and to do that, you’ve got to help them achieve their basic needs like a home and a job.”

— Emily Ellison, President

“When I went out to advocate for funding for IHS, I also included advocating for urban health — because we have a lot of our children [off-reservation].”

— Richelle Montoya, President

“We should open up the market for other health care entities to come onto the nation that could eventually be trainers to run these facilities… the gap in long-term care services.”

— Marsha Greyeyes, Council Delegate

What to make of it

Read together, a few things stand out — and they are for you to weigh, not us.

Nearly everyone agrees healthcare matters and that 638 self-governance is the central lever. Where they differ is on readiness: some believe the Nation can and should run its own system now; others want oversight, compliance, and qualified people in place first; a few would not rush. Almost no one disputes the goal — the disagreement is about pace and safeguards.

Notice too what is thinner in the record: concrete plans for how to fund a Navajo-run system, and detail on mental and long-term care, which were raised but rarely developed. What a candidate says at length, and what they pass over quickly, are both part of the answer.

A representative selection from the record, grouped to show the range of views — not a ranking and not the complete transcript. Quotes are lightly trimmed for readability, with omissions marked; the full answers live on each candidate’s page. If we have mis-grouped or mis-cut anyone, that is a defect to fix — tell us.