Curtis Yanito is a two-term incumbent from the Utah-area chapters (Aneth, Teec Nos Pos, Red Mesa, Mexican Water, and others). Audio was rough in places, but his interview with Cal Nez covered his nursing-home legislation, the Utah-area 638, his view of 638 oversight, economic development and the Navajo Business Opportunity Act, the Zinni Homes contract, and government reform. Below are the main topics from the interview — the key question Cal asked on each, short summaries of Yanito's answers in our own words, and follow-ups a voter might still want answered.
Watch or read the full interview, and see the scorecard, on Curtis Yanito’s profile. This page is a nonpartisan summary; the Diné Civic Center does not endorse any candidate.
Yanito described a continuous effort centered on water (Colorado River / lower-basin rights), agriculture, and carrying chapter resolutions forward. On attendance, he said he calls in when he can't appear and files his reports by email.
Yanito is pushing to convert the Chinle nursing home (a nonprofit registered with the Nation) into a 638 entity, arguing the Nation should be a supplemental funder but has neglected it; he tied it to caring for elders and veterans who never accrued work benefits.
Yanito supports 638 but stressed it only works with strong, business-minded operations and people who understand the contracts, grants, and statutes. He praised the Utah-area Navajo health system as higher-functioning and said newer 638s (he named Fort Defiance and St. Michaels) will get there.
Yanito put the responsibility on board members following their policies and procedures and on fact-finding, while acknowledging people often won't speak up for fear of losing their jobs. On a Navajo oversight entity or “surgeon general” over IHS and the 638s, he was open to it but flagged the shortage of Navajo doctors and professionals.
Yanito agreed the NBOA and the Division of Economic Development aren't working, and said certified chapters are being stripped of resources. He argued schools should teach young people to develop their own family land and grazing permits, that the government itself shouldn't own businesses, and that the capital gap pushes the Nation to partner with outside corporations for expertise.
Yanito said yes — three quotes and a background check would have caught it — and called it favoritism, with the contract running through ISDA and now in bankruptcy and under investigation. On reform, he said the Office of Government Development has spent roughly $90 million over the years going nowhere, that government reform has failed three times and is on a fourth attempt, and that appropriations need stipulations attached.
Topics a voter in this district might still want to hear about:
Not a judgment of this candidate — just what a specific, substantive answer includes, so you can weigh any candidate’s response: