URL: https://www.indianz.com/News/archives/002724.asp

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) refused to meet with Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. due to his outspoken criticism of the energy bill Domenici drafted, The Farmington Daily Times reports.

Four employees who were forced out of the Navajo Nation's Washington Office say relations between Domenici and the tribe were so bad that Domenici pawned Shirley off to lower level staff members. They say Sharon Clahchischilliage, the Republican director of the office, accused them of damaging her political future by opposing the bill.

Shirley eventually softened his opposition to the bill by praising provisions that he said would prevent uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. But a Navajo grassroots leader, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) say the bill doesn't do that. The bill, however, is dead for the year.

As for Clahchischilliage, she has denied the charges the former employees have laid against her. She said the employees weren't authorized to talk about the energy bill although Christopher J. Paisano, a six-year employee, testified on behalf of the tribe at a hearing on Indian energy earlier this year.

Get the Story:
Shirley�s Energy Bill kudos may be premature (The Farmington Daily Times 11/26)
Navajo Washington Office employees stand firm (The Farmington Daily Times 11/25)

Relevant Links:
Navajo Nation Washington Office - http://www.nnwo.org

Related Stories:
Letter: Navajo Nation Washington Office director (11/14)
Navajo Washington office denies charges (11/13)
Flap ensues over Navajo Nation Washington office (11/11)
Two resign at Navajo Nation's Washington DC office (10/31)

All stories in the Indianz.Com Archive are available for publishing under a Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)