Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. is holding public hearings as part of an initiative to reduce the size of the Navajo Nation Council.

Voters approved Shirley's proposal to reduce the number of council seats from 88 to 24. The hearings will help determine how the new council will represent the Navajo people.

"We are trying all we can to make the numbers equal in 24 areas," Shirley said at a hearing in Shiprock, New Mexico, The Farmington Daily Times reported.

Council members were opposed to the plan and tried to stop the election while they temporarily ousted Shirley from office.

Get the Story:
Navajo president moves forward with reapportionment plan (The Farmington Daily Times 1/12)

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