Interview Q&A

Marsha Greyeyes — Round 2 Interview

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Watch the Round 2 interview

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Round 2 — the follow-up interview (July 12, 2026)

Round 2 — What she has learned since announcing

Cal asked: What have you learned since you announced your candidacy?

Greyeyes said the biggest thing she did not expect was the number of people she would meet and the lives she would hear about — families navigating bureaucratic processes that, in her view, have lost their human element. She gave an example of a grieving family seeking social-services assistance for a loved one who had lived within a chapter’s boundaries but was registered to vote elsewhere, and being told, in effect, that the chapter could not vouch that the person existed. Her conclusion: people are placed in these positions precisely so decisions are not made like a robot, “yes and no, black and white.” She argued for bringing “color” — love, charity, empathy — back into how the government treats people, and tied it to K’é (kinship), which she described as an intricate system her ancestors designed not only for genetic preservation but to resolve conflicts and differences [names and places corrected from the auto-transcript].

Round 2 — What sets her apart

Cal asked: With about a week left, what sets you apart as a candidate from your region?

Greyeyes said she would not lean on gender — though she noted she is the only woman running in the Naa’tsis’áán [NAS] region — and agreed with Cal that the choice should rest on character. On the record she said that, of the three candidates from Shonto running in the region, she is the only one who has produced numerous chapter resolutions and letters, has helped draft legislation for the central government over the past two years, and has worked on documents with the Black Mesa Review Board. She described a wide network, including relationships with other Indigenous nations (Potawatomi, Oneida, Omaha, and Oklahoma tribes), and said she draws on their ideas. She listed her education — a bachelor’s in healthcare administration, a background in political science, an MBA, a master’s of accountancy in progress — and said she is studying for the LSAT. She added that she is willing to admit what she does not know and to bring in people who know more [names and places corrected from the auto-transcript].

Round 2 — Climate, water, and resources

Cal asked: How would you apply your climate and water ideas to the chapters you are running for?

Greyeyes said one of her first goals in council would be legislation to establish a Navajo Nation Climate Action Commission, noting the Nation lacks its own climate vulnerability assessments, greenhouse-gas inventory, and a drought and water-resiliency plan, and that its posture is “always reactive.” She pointed to brownfield redevelopment of abandoned structures (a BIA day school, a condemned store still used as a post office, the Black Mesa store) and argued the Navajo Nation Department of Economic Development should find dollars — including brownfield funds — to redevelop them. On water, she said some communities, including Oljato and Halchita, have no viable source of potable water and depend on others, with NTUA hauling water daily; she said Shonto sits on a large aquifer that neighboring states would like access to, and that if the Nation does not act, states may gain first rights. Her proposed steps included more potable-water wells and local water commissions/microgrids. She also argued that statistics showing Navajos use less power and water than average U.S. residents can be used against the Nation’s water and resource rights [names and places corrected from the auto-transcript].

Round 2 — Veterans

Cal asked: Choosing veterans as a focus topic — how should the Nation serve them, and whose responsibility is it?

Greyeyes said veterans on the Nation are underserved. She stated that veteran organizations across the 110 chapters receive an allocation she put at about $5,000 a year, restricted to prizes and food, and that — on her account — only one veteran a year is served with housing across those chapters, which she called “a slap in the face.” She argued veterans should be treated as knowledge-holders and protectors, illustrating with a story of a veteran relative who used military training to manage contamination risk when giving her a ride during an early COVID case. She said the Nation fails to address veterans’ trauma, mental-health, housing, and transportation needs, and called for giving veterans access to dollars, business support, education, and behavioral-health services. Asked whose responsibility it is, she said both the United States and the Navajo Nation, framing the Nation as “a nation within a nation” whose members serve and bring back skills [names and places corrected from the auto-transcript; the dollar figure and housing figure are the candidate’s own statements and are not independently verified].

Round 2 — On the chapters and certification

In the course of the interview, Greyeyes noted for context that Shonto was among the first certified chapters (she dated it to about 1999, nearing a 27th anniversary) and that Tsah Bii Kin [Tsah Bii Kin] is currently the most recently LGA-certified chapter, while Naa’tsis’áán and Oljato are not LGA-certified — drawing the distinction between a chapter that exists and one that is certified under the Local Governance Act. She currently serves as President of Shonto Community Governance [names and places corrected from the auto-transcript].