Since 1923 when the first western Navajo government was formed by the Department of the Interior, the Navajo Nation has never elected a woman as council chair or President. In 2010, Lynda Lovejoy received the most votes of all the candidates in the primary and was favoured to win the general election but lost to Ben Shelly, vice-president of the Navajo Nation at the time. Several voters interviewed by the Navajo Times cited tradition as their main reason for not voting for Lovejoy. The voters believed that versions and interpretations of a Navajo creation story that tells about the separation of men and women that led to disharmony means women should not be leaders because it will lead to disharmony, instability and confusion. This paper suggests that colonialism and its impact on the story's interpretation and on contemporary Navajo beliefs erroneously imply women should not be leaders in the Navajo Nation.
AllenP. G. (1986). The sacred hoop: Recovering the feminine in American Indian traditions.Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
2.
BaheE. (2010, October). Navajo deities warns Navajo election [Press release]. A Navajo Voice. Window Rock, Arizona.
3.
BonvillainN. (1989). Gender relations in native North America.American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 13(2), 1–28.
4.
ChatoG., & ConteC. (1998). The legal rights of American Indian women. In CarrilloJ. (Ed.), Readings in American Indian law: Recalling the rhythm of survival.Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
5.
CurleyA. (2010). The origin of legibility: State-resistance and state-formation among the Navajo people between 1868 and 1937. In LeeL. (Ed.), Diné perspectives: Navajo thought in an era of colonialism.Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.
6.
DenetdaleJ. (2006). Chairmen, presidents, and princesses: The Navajo nation, gender, and the politics of tradition.Wicazo Sa Review, 21(1), 20–21.
7.
DonovanB. (2010, 4 November). Lovejoy landslide fails to appear.Navajo Times, p. A-2.
8.
FishlerS. (1953). In the beginning: A Navaho creation myth.University of Utah Anthropological Paper, 13.
9.
GunnJ. M. (1917). Schat-chen: History, traditions, and narratives of the Queres Indians of Laguna and Acoma.Albuquerque, NM: Albright & Anderson.
10.
HaileF. B. (1932). Where people moved opposite each other. Told by Curley of Chinlee: Recorded and translated by Haile. On file UA, BU, MNA, WU.
11.
HaileF. B. (1981). Women versus men: A conflict of Navajo emergence—The Curly tó Aheedlíinii version.Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
12.
HalpernK. S. (1997). Washington Matthews’ Folklore Studies. In HalpernK. S., & McGreevyS. B. (Eds.), Washington Matthews: Studies of Navajo culture, 1880-1894.Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
13.
HarrisonE. S. (1973). Women in Navajo myth: A study in the symbolism of matriliny (Doctoral dissertation). University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA.
14.
KlahH. (1960). Navajo creation myth told by Hasteen Klah and rewritten in shorter form by Mary C. Wheelwright.Santa Fe, NM: Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art.
15.
KluckhohnC., & LeightonD. (1962). The Navaho.Garden City, NY: Natural History Library.
16.
LevyJ. E. (1998). In the beginning: The Navajo genesis.Berkeley, CA: University California Press.
17.
LinkM. S. (1956). The pollen path: A collection of Navajo myths retold by Margaret Schevill Link. With a psychological commentary by Joseph L. Henderson.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
18.
MannB. A. (2006). Where are your women?: Missing in action. In ArrowsFour (Don Trent Jacobs) (Ed.), Unlearning the language of conquest: Scholars expose anti-Indianism in America.Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
19.
MatthewsW. (1883). A part of the Navajo's mythology.The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal (1880-1914), 5(3), 210.
20.
MatthewsW. (1897). Navaho legends.Reprint, Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press (2002).
21.
McClintockA. (2002). ‘No longer in a future heaven’: Gender, race, and nationalism. In McClintockA., MuftiA., & ShohatE. (Eds.), Dangerous liaisons: Gender, nation, and postcolonial perspectives.Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
22.
O'BryanA. (1956). The Diné: Origin myths of the Navaho Indians.Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O.
23.
PavlikS. (1997). Navajo Christianity: Historical origins and modern trends.Wicazo Sa Review, 12(2), 43–58.
24.
SmithA. (2005). Native American feminism, sovereignty, and social change.Feminist Studies, 31(1), 116–132.
25.
SmithN. L. (2010, 4 November). Few undecided in western agency.Navajo Times, p. A-9.
26.
StewartI. (1980). A voice in her tribe: A Navajo woman's own story.Socorro, NM: Ballena Press.
27.
YazzieE. (Ed.). (1971). Navajo history volume I.Chinle, AZ: Rough Rock Press.
28.
YurthC. (2010, 4 November). Central voters go with native son.Navajo Times, p. A-2.
29.
ZahE. (2010a, 2 September). Lovejoy candidacy prompts review of role of Diné women.Navajo Times, p. A-7.
30.
ZahE. (2010b, 4 November). Tradition edges out change in northern agency.Navajo Times, p. A-9.
31.
ZolbrodP. (1984). Diné Bahane: The Navajo creation story.Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
