This May, the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) Equity Fellows had the opportunity to travel to the Southwest as part of our annual policy field experience trip. As people deeply committed to eliminating societal barriers through the pursuit of equity and social justice, we voted to travel primarily to New Mexico. Our goal was to learn more about policy issues impacting the Navajo Nation and how we might support them through our own work and efforts.
We were grateful to be welcomed to the Navajo Nation reservation in Window Rock, Arizona to learn more from Navajo leaders on various topics including budget, governance, and environmental justice. We heard from the Budget and Finance Committee, for example, about barriers to the Nation’s financial prosperity. One such barrier is the double and triple taxation that companies might face if they choose to develop there on account of having to pay tribal taxes in addition to existing state and federal taxation requirements. A related barrier concerns the lack of employment opportunities for those Navajo members who wish to reside within the reservation.
While there, we had the opportunity to learn from Ethel Branch, a fellow alum of both HKS and CPL, who is serving as the current Attorney General of the Navajo Nation. Her perspective on the various issues facing the Nation, particularly the lack of access to water which impacts 40% of the population, was insightful yet incredibly frustrating. Learning more about her own involvement in litigation and her passion for fighting for justice against inequitable systems was not only an inspiration but also a call to action. For example, though the 2023 Supreme Court decision in Arizona, et al. v Navajo Nation did not oblige the U.S. government to remain accountable to help meet the tribe's water needs, AG Branch and the Nation continue to advocate for themselves, addressing issues from access to water to fundamental recognition of their humanity.
We were able to further experience that resilience and drive for action when granted access to visit the site of the 1979 Church Rock uranium spill, the largest radioactive spill in U.S. history. Despite its scale, thousands of tons of toxic waste remain in the area to this day, endangering the community and disproportionately hurting the Navajo Nation. Indeed, the EPA acknowledges that "a legacy of uranium contamination remains, including over 500 abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) as well as homes and water sources with elevated levels of radiation." We learned from local activists about the history of spill, the lack of accountability and response from both public and private actors that continues today, and the ongoing advocacy efforts from the Navajo community in the fight for environmental justice and basic human rights.
by Emily Gonçalves, Master in Public Policy Candidate 2025 and Equity Fellow
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