Letters in Economic Research Updates
Current Efforts of Navajo Nation to Return its Governance to Traditional Values in Broader Context and Implications in Completing the Circle: Indian Efforts to Return Tribal Gov-ernance to Participatory Values and their Implications as of March 21, 2026
Abstract
Stephen M. Sachs
Western reductionist thinking, while very powerful and accomplishing a great many important achievements, generally has failed to appreciate the value of the Indigenous view that everything is interconnected, while each being and place is unique. Thus, the U.S. Government’s attempts to create or restore democratic governments abroad and in making trans- cultural transfers have often produced poor results in large part for failing to sufficiently take account of local values and conditions. That includes that when the U.S. government and others honestly tried to improve tribal economies, their actions usually produced less than optimal results. The same was the case of the U.S. government’s imposition of culturally inappropriate forms of tribal government, which generally has caused quite serious problems. Similarly western consultants often falsely assume that what works well in one place will work well in another.
By comparison, American Indian Nations, struggling to overcome the problems of the U.S. government’s imposition of culturally inappropriate forms of tribal government have achieved some instructive successes in returning governance to traditional inclusive participatory values, while providing useful lessons in some incomplete or aborted cases. This paper focuses on the efforts of the Southern Ute Tribe, The Comanche Nation and the Navajo Nation. This has involved applying traditional values through appropriately adapting contemporary means along with traditional ways for current circumstances with an eye for future development. The Southern Utes have been quite successful over time in providing numerous ways for everyone involved in a decision to participate in its’s making, ending community division over the imposed governmental system. The Comanches overcame deadlock and tribal infighting by adapting a contemporary consensus planning process successfully to provide member input into tribal council and local community decision making, but failed to fully institutionalize it. Navajo Nation has developed a number of interesting proposals for central government improvement leading up to a current effort at constitutional revision, while launching a not yet fully realized decentralization of functions to it’s 110 chapters.