Gervana Begay is a lifelong Shiprock farmer and Office of the President and Vice President staffer, running for the Shiprock Navajo Nation Council seat. Her interview with Cal Nez focused on farming, her independence from the executive branch, and government accountability. Below are the main topics from the interview — the key question Cal asked on each, short summaries of Begay'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 Gervana Begay’s profile. This page is a nonpartisan summary; the Diné Civic Center does not endorse any candidate.
A lifelong Shiprock farmer and mother of three whose father served three terms as a Shiprock delegate, Begay currently works in the Office of the President and Vice President; she says running was her own long-held ambition, not an “implant” of the administration.
Begay's top focus is farmers — she lives among the Shiprock-area farming communities along the San Juan River, from Upper Fruitland to Aneth, and has spent two years on a project around how farmers use their crops and irrigation.
Pressed on whether she could be an independent check while working for the president, Begay says voters can trust her — the laws, the Navajo Nation Code, and the checks and balances are in place, and her judgment would depend on the specific budget and legislation, which she'd read in full.
Begay frames the gridlock as a failure of teamwork — 24 delegates and the executive must work together, with the council allocating funds and division directors requesting them, so constant communication is the fix; she leans on her own ethic of working relationships.
From her OPVP work, Begay details how capital-outlay and ARPA money sits unspent because chapters aren't “shovel-ready” — design, land withdrawal, and infrastructure each take months, so funds lapse at their termination dates — and she identifies minimal staffing as the root cause.
With a grand-uncle still missing in action from the Korean War, Begay speaks personally about valuing veterans and honoring their service.
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: