Civic Academy · Reference

Acronyms & Key Terms

D · Draft — not verified   Not line-checked against the Navajo Nation Code. How we verify →

🔊 Listen to this page ■ Stop Read by your own device — private, nothing sent anywhere.

Navajo Nation politics runs on a lot of shorthand — codes, committees, laws, and agencies. This page defines the acronyms and key terms used across the candidate profiles, interview Q&As, and Civic Academy lessons, so you can read any of them without already knowing the vocabulary. Definitions are general and for civic-education purposes.

Diné Bizaad terms used on this site

Plain-language glosses for readers who don’t speak Navajo. These are everyday public meanings, not cultural teachings — for deeper meaning, ask a Diné speaker.

Agencies, offices & acronyms A–Z

Every acronym used on this site, with the official website where one exists.

AFOG — Alternative Form of Government — the Local Governance Act option letting a certified chapter adopt its own government structure.

AHCCCS — Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System — Arizona’s Medicaid agency; central to the sober-living-home fraud cases affecting Diné relatives.

APS — Arizona Public Service — Arizona’s largest electric utility; appears in candidate work histories.

ARPA — American Rescue Plan Act — the 2021 federal law that sent pandemic-recovery funds to the Nation; much of the audit discussion concerns how ARPA money was tracked.

ASC — Administrative Service Center — DCD’s regional centers that provide administrative support to chapters (and step in when a chapter’s operations are taken over).

BAM — Budget and Accounting Manual — the policy book chapters follow for handling money.

BFC — Budget and Finance Committee — the Navajo Nation Council committee overseeing the Nation’s finances, with hearing and subpoena authority.

BIA — Bureau of Indian Affairs — the federal trust-responsibility agency for roads, land, and many services. Official site →

BIE — Bureau of Indian Education — the federal agency operating and funding BIE schools. Official site →

BIM — Budget Instruction Manual — the Nation’s annual instructions for how divisions build their budget requests.

BSL — Business Site Lease — the lease authority that lets a business operate on trust land; certified chapters can administer their own.

CDC — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the federal public-health agency.

CHEA — Council for Higher Education Accreditation — recognizes college accreditors.

CHID — Community Housing & Infrastructure Department — the Nation’s housing-and-infrastructure department, distinct from NHA.

CMS — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — the federal agency running Medicare and Medicaid.

CRS — Combined Reporting System — New Mexico’s business tax registration and tracking number, mentioned alongside IRS numbers in interviews.

DCD — Division of Community Development — the Nation’s division overseeing chapters, including certification and the five-management system.

DNA-People’s Legal Services — the independent nonprofit legal-aid organization serving the Navajo Nation and nearby communities (from Diné be’iiná Náhiilna be Agha’diit’ahii).

DNR — (Navajo Nation) Division of Natural Resources — oversees land, minerals, water, fish & wildlife, and related departments.

DODE — Department of Diné Education — the Nation’s education department.

DOI — U.S. Department of the Interior — the federal department that houses the BIA and BIE.

DOJ — Department of Justice (Navajo Nation) — the Nation’s own legal department, advising the government and its employees.

DOT — Department of Transportation — Navajo DOT maintains Nation routes; each state’s DOT maintains state highways.

DPM — Department of Personnel Management — the Nation’s HR department; runs the government job portal.

EEOC — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — the federal workplace-discrimination agency.

FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation.

FCC — Federal Communications Commission — regulates broadband and broadcasting; publishes the national broadband map.

FOIA — Freedom of Information Act — the federal public-records law (the Nation has its own records rules).

FTCA — Federal Tort Claims Act — provides liability coverage that 638 health organizations rely on.

GIMC — Gallup Indian Medical Center — the IHS hospital in Gallup; a long-discussed replacement facility comes up in interviews.

GVO — Ganado Veterans Organization — the local veterans organization referenced in the Ganado-area interviews.

HHS — U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — the federal health department; parent of IHS, CMS, and CDC.

HLC — Higher Learning Commission — the accreditor for many colleges in this region, including Diné College.

HRSA — Health Resources and Services Administration — the federal agency whose grants fund much rural and tribal health care.

HUD — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — the federal housing department; funds tribal housing through NAHASDA.

HVAC — heating, ventilation, and air conditioning — shorthand for a building’s climate systems in chapter-project lists.

ICT — ICT News (formerly Indian Country Today) — a national Indigenous news outlet.

IDSA — Indigenous Design Studio + Architecture — a Navajo woman-owned firm contracted in the Nation’s housing initiative.

IHS — Indian Health Service — the federal agency responsible for healthcare under the trust responsibility. Official site →

RRR, CHSN, CSN, FYEP, PEP, LTA — program, fund, and organization names cited by individual candidates in their interviews that this site has not yet independently verified. Their meaning is the candidate’s to define — a fair question to send through Ask this candidate a question.

IRA — Indian Reorganization Act (1934) — the federal law offering tribes model constitutions; the Navajo people rejected an IRA constitution in 1934.

ISP — internet service provider.

KPMG — one of the “Big Four” global accounting firms (the letters are its founders’ initials); serves as the Navajo Nation’s external auditor in the ZenniHome timeline.

KTNN — the Nation-owned AM 660 radio station, “the Voice of the Navajo Nation” (the letters are its broadcast call sign).

LGBTQIA+ — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other identities.

LWV — League of Women Voters — the century-old nonpartisan civic-education organization whose candidate-evaluation methods inform this site’s tools. Official site →

MMDR — Missing and Murdered Diné Relatives — the Nation’s effort addressing missing and murdered relatives, parallel to the broader MMIW/MMIP movement.

NABI — shorthand for the Naabik’íyáti’ Committee — the Council’s committee of the whole, where all 24 delegates sit.

NACE — Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise — the Nation’s enterprise for authentic Diné arts, crafts, and jewelry.

NAHASDA — Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act — the federal law that funds tribal housing programs (delivered on the Nation through the NHA).

NAPI — Navajo Agricultural Products Industry — the Nation’s farming enterprise.

NBOA — Navajo Business Opportunity Act — the law giving priority in Nation contracting to Navajo-owned businesses (Priority 1 = 100% Navajo-owned; Priority 2 = majority).

NDCFS — Navajo Division for Children & Family Services — the Nation’s child-and-family welfare division.

NHA — Navajo Housing Authority — the tribally designated housing entity that receives NAHASDA funds and builds and manages housing; distinct from CHID.

NEA — Navajo Election Administration — the official authority on voter registration, ballots, polling places, and results. Official site →

N.N.C. — Navajo Nation Code — the citation form for the Nation’s laws (e.g., 2 N.N.C. § 102 means Title 2, Section 102).

NNDCD — Navajo Nation Division of Community Development — same as DCD; oversees the chapters.

NNEPA — Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency — the Nation’s own EPA.

NNOLS — Navajo Nation Office of Legislative Services — the legislative-branch office that publishes the official Navajo Nation Code.

NPDB — National Practitioner Data Bank — the federal database of provider malpractice and disciplinary history checked during credentialing.

NPEA — Navajo Preference in Employment Act — the law setting employment rights and Navajo hiring preference.

NTUA — Navajo Tribal Utility Authority — the Nation’s utility enterprise for electricity, water, wastewater, natural gas, and broadband. Official site →

OHA — Office of Hearings and Appeals — the executive-branch body that hears cases, including ethics cases filed by the Ethics & Rules Office.

OMB — Office of Management and Budget — the Nation’s budget office; chapters and divisions work through it in the budget process.

ONGD — Office of Navajo Government Development — the office charged with government-reform work, including past constitution attempts.

ONLR — Office of Navajo Labor Relations — enforces the NPEA and handles labor matters.

ONSFA — Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance — the Nation’s financial-aid office for students; candidates propose updating it, including service-commitment ideas for graduates.

OPVP — Office of the President and Vice President — the Nation’s executive office. Official site →

PRC — Purchased/Referred Care — the IHS program that pays for care referred outside IHS facilities.

ROI — return on investment — what a dollar spent earns back; candidates use it when demanding accounting for economic-development spending.

TIGER — Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery — a former federal DOT grant program used for highway projects.

USMC — United States Marine Corps.

UUFB — Undesignated, Unreserved Fund Balance — the Nation’s uncommitted reserves, a recurring funding stream in budget debates.

VAWA — Violence Against Women Act — the federal law funding victim services and restoring tribal criminal jurisdiction over certain offenders.

Navajo Nation law & government

Business, economy & contracting

Health

Education

Veterans

Federal & land

← Back to the Civic Academy

Mark complete

Civic Academy · My Civic Journey

From the Diné Civic Center archive · Help improve this page

More terms from the record

AZCIR — Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting — the nonprofit newsroom whose reporting is cited in the sober-living case study.

CARES — Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — the 2020 federal pandemic-relief law.

CIP — Capital Improvement Projects — budgeted construction and infrastructure projects.

CTE — Career and Technical Education — trades-focused education programs.

EPA — Environmental Protection Agency — the U.S. environmental regulator; the Nation also has its own NNEPA.

HEHSC — Health, Education and Human Services Committee — standing committee of the Navajo Nation Council.

ICIP — Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan — the ranked project list chapters and the Nation submit for funding.

IMCE — Indian Managed Care Entity — a tribal-led Medicaid managed-care framework.

IRS — Internal Revenue Service — the U.S. federal tax agency.

LGA — Local Governance Act (Title 26) — the law giving chapters local authority.

LOC — Law and Order Committee — standing committee of the Council — justice, public safety, law enforcement.

MMIP — Missing and Murdered Indigenous People — the broader term for the same crisis; see MMDR Task Force.

MMIW — Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women — the movement and crisis; see also MMIP and the MMDR Task Force.

NECA — Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority — the Nation’s construction enterprise.

NNVA — Navajo Nation Veterans Administration — the Nation’s department serving Navajo veterans.

NTEC — Navajo Transitional Energy Company — the Nation’s energy enterprise.

NTU — Navajo Technical University — tribal university in Crownpoint.

ONNSFA — Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance — where students apply for Nation scholarship funding.

PTSD — Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder — a mental-health condition raised repeatedly in the veterans discussions.

RBDO — Regional Business Development Office — the Nation office for regional business support.

RDC — Resources and Development Committee — standing committee of the Council — natural resources, energy, infrastructure.

VA — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — the federal veterans benefits and health system.

Terms added July 2026

Offices and committees: Who does what →