Full Profile · From the Interview Record
Donovan Begay
≈ 7 min read · or listen, or skim the bold lines
B · From the record Summaries are drawn from Cal Nez’s interview. Quotations are not published until checked against the recording. How we verify →
Candidate Snapshot
Background & Why They’re Running
Begay said his first step would be to sit down with the Council to find out which projects are close to done and which matter most to communities, and move them forward without holding up what people need. He named cleaning up tourism and the fairgrounds, helping elders and veterans, expanding college scholarships, and giving urban Navajos resources and information on housing, food programs, rent, childcare, and car or gas help. He also listed water, roads, uranium hauling, gangs, feral dogs and horses, and the needs of ranchers and farmers. He said he questioned a figure other candidates have cited about available funds, noting he had not seen what it was designated for.
Where Donovan Begay Stands
Each topic below is drawn from the interview — the question Cal asked, and a short summary of the answer, generated by AI from the interview recording.
Veterans
Cal asked: What is the problem for Navajo veterans, and what would you do about it?
Begay said that as a veteran and single parent of four he reached out to Navajo Nation veteran programs and found they had little to offer and few answers, which he experienced as a gap between honoring veterans and actually serving them. He said he later found resources off the reservation in Los Angeles, including the United American Indian Involvement Center. His proposed solution centers on getting veterans much more information about what they are eligible for — for example that the GI Bill can help with home buying, and the disability percentage program — and on the president using the greater access the office has to push that information out through veteran liaisons and commanders rather than letting it sit unused.
Health Care
Cal asked: Isn’t health care a crucial component too?
Begay agreed health care is critical and argued that medical staff can become complacent — seeing so many cases that they overlook signs that a patient, including veterans carrying internal trauma, is in trouble. He said the answer is to engage the medical field publicly and encourage earlier help for both veterans and the wider community before problems grow, and he tied this to rising medical costs. (His connection dropped during this answer.)
The Navajo Nation Ranches
Cal asked: Why does the Navajo Nation own ranches, and how would you make them accessible?
Begay recalled that a buffalo ranch in the Durango area was bought under President Russell Begaye and described ranch purchases as potential investments for the Nation that should benefit the people. On access, he proposed creating a list of the ranches and what each offers, and opening them for educational use — for example as a learning resource for college students or a zoo-style visit for children — with proper staffing for safety. He said purchases should be made only with clear reasons that help the people.
Tribal Enterprises & Data Centers
Cal asked: Can you name three Navajo Nation enterprises, and why were they established?
Begay named the casinos and NAPI, and offered the BHP coal mine as a third — which Cal corrected, noting BHP is its own company and the Nation’s coal entity is Navajo Transitional Energy. Begay said he did not have the financial numbers for the casinos or NAPI but believed NAPI benefits people through low-cost produce, and recalled the coal mine’s origins in the McDonald era and gaming’s approval as a way to create funds and jobs. He repeatedly noted he would need to see the books before judging whether each is helping.
Schools, Scholarships & Higher Education
Cal asked: What about the one-way flow of scholarship money to universities off the Nation — should it stay to grow our two colleges?
Begay framed scholarships as preparing young people for the wider world rather than as a tool to make them return. He argued parents want their children to compete and succeed anywhere, praised Navajo students’ creativity and intellect, and shared his own story of being denied a scholarship repeatedly until he went to President Marshall Plummer’s office and was connected to the education director, who got it approved. Citing students sleeping in cars and money he sees as wasted elsewhere, he pledged to fund a scholarship for every college student he can.
Executive Branch, Title 2 & Government Reform
Cal asked: Why run for a presidency that appears to have little power in the three-branch government?
Begay traced the limits to the 1989 reforms and Title 2, which created checks and balances on the executive and ended the old chairman role. He said he would govern with “the mentality of a chairman” — treating delegates as the eyes and ears of their communities, working with the Council rather than in opposition, avoiding shutdowns or held-up funds, and meeting in the middle — while still owning the final decisions. He said he could be a particular benefit to the Shiprock area and use that to help other communities.
Economic Development
Cal asked: In your own words, what is economic development — and how would you apply it?
Begay defined economic development as “the creation of a entity that will benefit the people of your community.” He said the Nation lacks jobs and a real jobs plan, criticized the modular-home effort as overpriced, and argued Navajos could build their own homes — recalling a 1960s “10-day” chapter workforce that built a house in days. His signature idea is an annual October stimulus for artists: advancing part of a grant (he gave roughly $600 of $1,000 up front) to buy materials before the busy November–December selling season, then reconciling receipts to release the rest and qualify for the next year. He tied this to cleaning up the fairgrounds and tourism and to the idea that AI cannot replace Navajo craftsmanship.
Accountability & the Law
Cal asked: Why do you claim the veteran identity when others running also served?
Begay said he claims being a veteran respectfully, as a way of honoring his grandfathers and uncles whose pictures he grew up seeing, and out of compassion for veterans’ struggles. He said he could not speak to another candidate’s intentions, only his own.
Closing
In his closing, Begay said our ancestors and relatives who have passed are watching, and that a leader must do what they say — “in the end, that's all you're worth is your words.” He named priorities he wants to push: an event center, a Red Rock-style park, and a McGee Park-style fairgrounds for Shiprock and other communities; cleaning up and paving the fairgrounds with accessible facilities and a food court; investing in artists; funding scholarships; continuing elder and veteran programs; tackling housing by building homes locally; and preparing young people for the wider world while welcoming home those who choose to return.
In Their Own Words
Verbatim from the interview (auto-transcribed; lightly trimmed for length):
“Well, the platform that I'm running on is basically to work with the council.”
“We do have the uranium issues on them running uranium through our reservation, and there's a high risk of accidents happening.”
Topics in the Interview
- Platform & Why He’s Running
- Veterans
- Health Care
- The Navajo Nation Ranches
- Tribal Enterprises & Data Centers
- Schools, Scholarships & Higher Education
- Executive Branch, Title 2 & Government Reform
- Economic Development
- Accountability & the Law
- Closing