Betty Reid

The Republic | azcentral.com

Deschene%2C a popular candidate among Navajo youth%2C is scheduled to appear before the tribe%27s high court on Sept. 26

While on the campaign trail%2C Deschene has mistakenly told Navajo audiences that he would spy for them

Candidates for president must speak Navajo fluently%2C but Deschene admits Navajo does not roll off his tongue easily

In the Navajo language, one twist of the tongue can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

Ná há bá násh nish do ("I will work on the issue on your behalf") easily becomes ná há bà násh ná' do ("I will crawl or I will spy for you") with a slight change of inflection.

Christopher "Chris" Deschene, who wants to become the next Navajo Nation president, has learned the difficulties of the language the hard — and very public — way.

While on the campaign trail, Deschene has mistakenly told Navajo audiences that he would spy for them, misidentified himself as a religious Navajo hero when speaking about his history in the Marines and accidentally used the word "pee" — líízh — instead of "soil" — léézh — when speaking about natural-resource issues.

And although the audiences have laughed politely — or sometimes uproariously — at the gaffes, it's a very serious issue for some. So serious that tribal members have taken it to the Navajo Supreme Court.

Candidates for president must speak Navajo fluently, and Deschene is just a beginner.

He has vowed to learn the language and hopes to speak it fluently by the end of his first term, if elected.

But his opponents say he shouldn't even make it to the ballot. Dale Tsosie filed a complaint to boot Deschene off the ballot, however, a tribal hearing officer said the complaint came in too late.

On Friday, the Supreme Court in Tuba City will determine whether the grievance can move forward. The complaint accuses Deschene of lying to the tribal election office about his qualifications.

If the court dismisses the complaint, Navajo voters will decide on Nov. 4 if Deschene or former Navajo leader Joe Shirley Jr. will take the helm of the country's largest-member tribe, in northeastern Arizona.

Struggling to learn Navajo

Deschene, 43, was born in Los Angeles, where the federal government relocated his parents for school in the 1960s.

The family moved back to his mother's Navajo community of Dennehotso in Arizona. They then moved to LeChee, a Navajo border community near Page, where Deschene attended school.

Deschene said his mother had decided her children would learn English only. His mother's decision stemmed from her time at the California boarding school, which punished and shamed her when she spoke Navajo, he said.

She also believe her children would have more success in life if they spoke English fluently, he said.

Deschene's interest in American Indian history piqued after he joined the Marines. While in Australia, he studied the indigenous people there as well as his own Navajo history.

When he was elected to the state Legislature in 2008, he didn't need to speak Navajo, even though he represented the tribe.

It wasn't until April when filed his paperwork to become a candidate for Navajo president that he vowed to learn to speak the language.

"There was some hesitation regarding the language from potential supporters and voters," Deschene said. "That's when I knew people would question me and test me."

He said he's not only learning Navajo to fulfill the office's qualifications, he also wants to protect the language.

But it hasn't been easy.

He has immersed himself in the Navajo language. He surrounds himself with fluent Navajo speakers and listens to them chatter about issues that matter to them: taxation, jobs, education, protection of sacred sites, ethics and natural resources.

His Navajo-speaking staff members and relatives help him pronounce political words. He is young and a good listener and picks up expressions quickly, they said.

And when he makes a gaffe on the campaign trail, the Navajo people are quick to forgive, Deschene said.

"They know I try. Many admire my efforts to learn Navajo," he said. "I plead with the people to help me. They tell me ... 'Keep working hard.' Just the gymnastics of the tongue, in trying to say a certain word, has been difficult."

Navajo language

The Navajo Reservation stretches across 27,425 square miles, mostly in Arizona, with portions of the land in southeastern Utah and northwestern New Mexico. Navajo Nation membership is about 300,000, and many live and work off the reservation.

No one disputes that the language is dwindling.

More than 169,000 people spoke Navajo in 2010, down from 178,014 in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Navajo is an oral Athabaskan language, passed down through generations. The language is nuanced, and a slight inflection on a word can give it a whole new meaning.

For example, neeznáá means the number 10, while neezná means "they died."

Non-Navajos such as missionaries and linguists developed the written language. The latter developed a Navajo alphabet designed for reading, writing and typing, according to Evangeline Parsons Yazzie, who co-wrote "Diné Bizaad Binahoo'aah: Rediscovering the Navajo Language."

Community reaction

Jolyana Begay, the Phoenix Indian Center's program manager who teaches the language, said it's difficult to define fluency.

"I feel there are words I struggle with because I have those old Navajo words I look up," Begay said. "In thinking about all that, as a teacher, my question is, what is fluency to Chris Deschene? ... Is it holding a conversation with an elder? Or being able to express himself without any trouble?"

She said the issue is controversial because many tribal members expect their leader to speak both Navajo and English well. And on the campaign trail, different audiences may have a preference.

"There is a lot of Navajo children who don't speak Navajo," she said. "When you don't speak English well, you are looked down upon here in Phoenix. When you don't speak Navajo on the rez, the traditional people asked you, 'How come you don't speak the language? What's wrong with you?' It's a no-win situation."

She listened to Deschene speak Navajo on YouTube videos.

She compared it with how her inexperienced Navajo students speak the language.

Former Navajo President Peterson Zah, who is fluent, empathizes with Deschene. After all, when he became a candidate for Navajo leader the first time in the early 1980s, he learned the art of using the language in his campaign.

He said it's important to "live the culture" and show you understand their experiences.

Navajo politicians tell stories in the oral language that mesmerize their audience or make their points using parts of the Navajo creation stories or the earth-based religion.

The late Navajo leader Raymond Nakai, for example, drew from the earth-based Navajo faith. The radio broadcaster turned politician developed a Navajo word for sovereignty in 1960 when there was not one, Zah remembered.

On the radio, Nakai would use the phrase naa tsilid ni hi nazti— or the rainbow that circles us — repeatedly.

"He would say, 'We can't allow the hand of the state to reach into that circle,' " Zah said. "That's Navajo campaigning at the (advanced) political stage using the tribal religious meaning."

In all other ways, Deschene's campaign staff said he qualifies to be a Navajo leader.

He is a former Arizona lawmaker. He is an attorney. He led numerous missions as a U.S. Marine during the Persian Gulf War in the 1990s.

He attended the U.S. Naval Academy.

And many voters don't seem to mind that he doesn't speak Navajo fluently: He had the second-highest number of votes — against 16 competitors — during the primary election in August.

His opponent, Shirley, 66, speaks Navajo fluently, but he has not publicly addressed the issue.

However, after Deschene advanced, a group of Navajo citizens and Tsosie, a former candidate for Navajo president, filed separate complaints.

The citizens said they wanted Deschene to follow Navajo laws.

Tsosie called Deschene a liar because the candidate signed an oath with the tribe's election administration confirming he met all the office's qualifications, and part of those qualifications include speaking Navajo fluently.

The issue the Navajo Supreme Court will decide on Friday has more to do with timing, however. A court official said both parties should have filed their complaints within 10 days after Deschene signed the oath in April.

The complaints sparked debate about the language. Many Navajos posted their opinions on social media.

Some questioned the value of the language in modern times, especially younger voters who have made him a favorite. Many criticized the requirement because much of the day-to-day business on the reservation is conducted and written in English.

However, opponents, led by many Navajo elders who don't speak English, questioned how they would carry on a Navajo conversation with Deschene if voters elected him. Would he bring a translator? How could they ensure he's genuine?

Dine Bizaad bil naan cl'aáh— or he struggles with the Navajo language — the elders said.

Deschene's oath:

ON THE BEAT

Betty Reid covers Phoenix and Native-American issues.

How to reach her: betty.reid@arizonarepublic.com.

Twitter: @reidbe