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Navajo President, Vice President and Council to be Sworn in Tuesday

Navajo Times/Donovan Quintero

The Navajo Nation holds its inauguration ceremony tomorrow morning for its incoming president, council and several other tribal offices. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports. 

President-Elect Jonathan Nez and Vice President-Elect Myron Lizer will take their oaths of office in Ft. Defiance, Ariz. Nez has served as Navajo vice president since 2015 and was also a tribal delegate and county supervisor. Lizer, an eastern Arizona businessman, has never before held public office.

Fifteen out of 24 seats on the Navajo Council will be filled with new members. The tribe’s boards of Election Supervisors and Education along with other local officials will also be sworn in.

The Nez administration and 24th Council will decide several key economic and jobs-related issues. One of the most consequential will be whether the tribe will purchase the Navajo Generating Station, which is set to close in December. It provides up to 30 percent of the Navajo Nation’s revenue.

Ryan Heinsius joined KNAU's newsroom as an executive producer in 2013 and became news director and managing editor in 2024. As a reporter, he has covered a broad range of stories from local, state and tribal politics to education, economy, energy and public lands issues, and frequently interviews internationally known and regional musicians. Ryan is an Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Public Media Journalists Association Award winner, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and national newscast.
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