Navajo Nation Council Sets March 19 Special Session, $6M Emergency Aid on Agenda

The 25th Navajo Nation Council convened a special session Thursday at the Council Chambers in Window Rock with $6 million in emergency chapter assistance and amendments to the Navajo Nation's fiscal year 2026 budget among the measures before delegates.

Legislation 0029-26 listed a $6,000,000 allocation drawn from the Navajo Nation's Unreserved, Un... fund — the full fund designation was not available in materials posted ahead of the session — designated as chapter emergency assistance. The legislation was identified as a high-priority measure in the proposed agenda posted by the council ahead of the March 19 session.

Speaker Crystalyne Curley presided over the session and also served as the named sponsor of a second budget measure, Legislation 0219-25. That bill, the only item listed under new business in the published proposed agenda, sought to amend CS-44-25, the Navajo Nation Fiscal Year 2026 Comprehensive Budget, and involved the Budget and Finance Committee and the Naabik'íyáti' Committee.

The agenda posted ahead of the session carried a standard legal advisory noting that all items remain subject to change until formally adopted by majority vote of the council, as required under 2 N.N.C. §§ 163 and 183, Navajo Nation Council Rule of Order No. 7, and Standing Committee Rule of Order No. 8.

Residents and community members unable to attend in person could follow proceedings through the council's YouTube channel or by dialing into the Zoom call-in line at (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID 928 871 7160, Passcode 86515.

The session agenda posted ahead of the meeting referenced materials dated as far back as September 25, 2025, raising questions about which items from earlier proposed agendas carried forward to the March 19 docket. Full legislation texts for both 0029-26 and 0219-25, including the complete funding source language and any fiscal impact statements, had not been publicly released in the materials available before the session.