Council opens Summer Session with water, funding and oversight on agenda
DÁ’DEESTŁ’IN HÓTSAA
The Navajo Nation Council opened its 2026 Summer Session Monday with quarterly reports from government leaders and a long list of legislation involving funding, wages, veterans programs and public safety.
The session opened at 10 a.m. in the Council Chamber and is scheduled to continue daily through Friday. The Council website continued to list the agenda as proposed Monday morning.
Speaker Crystalyne Curley said opening day would largely be devoted to quarterly reports from President Buu Nygren, the chief justice, the speaker and federal agencies working with the Navajo Nation.
The reports will provide updates on government projects and work completed during the previous three months, Curley said.
Curley tied the week’s events to the Navajo Nation’s water priorities before Congress. The annual Council trail ride carried the theme “Water is Life.”
“So our whole Summer Session will be in connection with water,” Curley said in an interview.
Curley described the legislative agenda as lengthy, with several funding measures requiring support from two-thirds of the Council. She said delegates could consider funding for the Office of the President and Vice President, minimum wage legislation and a measure involving authority over energy development rights-of-way.
Another bill would change the Navajo Nation Veterans Trust Fund and establish veterans housing as a trust fund investment to generate additional money, Curley said. Council also is expected to consider the confirmation of the Division of Public Safety executive director.
Controller Sean McCabe is scheduled to present a financial report during the opening-day proceedings. Summer Session materials also list reports from the Judicial Branch, Department of Justice, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service.
McCabe said he plans to update delegates on Navajo Nation finances and the government’s enterprise resource planning system, which has faced delays.
He also expects questions about President Buu Nygren’s funding of radio advertisements and food purchases. McCabe said he has obtained information about the spending and would answer delegates’ questions.
“I really believe in transparency and people need to know what happened,” McCabe said in an interview. “I’m more than willing to tell the story. Even if it’s my fault, you’ll hear me say, ‘Hey, that’s my fault.’”
The legislative portion of the session is expected to continue after the opening-day reports. Curley said Council has about three pages of legislation to consider before the session ends Friday.
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