About
Why we started the Diné Civic Center
About the site: About · Our story · The bigger idea · How this site was made
The why, in one sitting — watch it, don’t take our word
Before this site existed, Cal Nez sat down with a former director of the Nation’s Office of Ethics & Rules — and on the record, she explained how oversight actually works, and where it stalls. That interview is the clearest single answer to “why does this place exist?”: because how the system works shouldn’t be rare knowledge. ▶ Watch the Ethics & Rules interview — the full story, both accounts, sources linked.
The Diné Civic Center grew from a simple realization: finding clear, reliable information about government shouldn’t be as difficult as it often is.
Like many people, we found ourselves navigating complex public systems — searching for laws, policies, and trustworthy information that was often scattered, hard to understand, or hard to verify. This project grew out of firsthand experience of how difficult that can be. Rather than keeping those lessons to ourselves, we chose to build something that could help others.
Along the way, we met others facing many of the same challenges. Again and again, we heard similar questions: Where do I find what the Council actually voted on? What does my Chapter have authority to decide? How does a bill become Navajo Nation law? Where can I read the Code for myself? Those conversations made us realize the problem was much bigger than our own experiences. We know we are not alone.
The Diné Civic Center is our contribution to bridging that gap. Our mission is to make publicly available information easier to find, understand, and verify — because civic education should be accessible to everyone, not just people with specialized knowledge or the time to search through hundreds of pages of government documents.
Today the project brings together plain-language lessons on how the Nation works, candidate interviews summarized topic by topic, government explanations, and links to official documents and original sources — in one place. Our goal is not to tell people what to think, but to help them find the information they need to think for themselves.
Throughout, we have relied on publicly available interviews, official government publications, laws, and other primary sources wherever possible. This site was built with AI assistance and reviewed by volunteers. No educational resource is ever perfect — government changes, laws evolve — so we link to original sources and welcome corrections.
We believe an informed public strengthens communities. When citizens understand how government works, where to find reliable information, and how to participate in civic life, everyone benefits.
Whether you’re preparing to vote, researching a public issue, or simply trying to understand how public institutions work — we hope this project makes that journey a little easier. Thank you for being part of it.
About the project → · How this site was made →
And because fairness cuts both ways: this site documents what is broken, but the Nation’s record of building what nobody would build for it deserves its own page — Bragging Rights.