WINDOW ROCK

For those wanting to attend the 23rd Navajo Nation Council Winter Session, don’t go to the council chamber because renovations to the building won’t be complete until sometime around April.

The winter session will take place at the Department of Diné Education auditorium in Window Rock, according to a press release from the Navajo Nation Office of the Speaker. The statement further reads:

“Chinle High School ROTC will start the session with a posting of colors. After that, Miss Western Navajo Jackie Jackson will sing the national anthem, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance recited by students from the Fort Defiance Head Start program.”

Based on Title II of the Navajo Nation Code, the council is required to elect a Speaker at each winter council session that occurs on any odd numbered year — like 2017.

“The Council’s first order of business will be the selection and confirmation of a delegate to serve a two-year term as the Speaker of the 23rd Navajo Nation Council,” the press release stated.

Oral reports from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Services, Office of the Controller, Office of the Attorney General, Acting Chief Justice Allen Sloan, Diné College, and Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care are expected to start the first day of the winter session.

On the second day of the session, 17 pieces of legislation listed on the proposed agenda will begin the day. For a more in-depth viewing of the agenda, go to http://www.navajonationcouncil.org/MeetingSchedules/2017/JAN/23-27JAN2017_NNC_Winter_Session_Agenda_PROPOSED.pdf.

Anyone interested in viewing the winter session can go to ustream.tv and type “Navajo Nation Council” into the search box.