> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.lookoutnews.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # “What’s the Point?” Inside a Navajo Nation Election Marked by Distrust - URL: https://www.lookoutnews.org/navajo-nation-same-sex-marriage-ban-doesnt-bring-voters/ - Published: 2026-09-23T17:42:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-23T21:38:02.000Z - Description: Young Diné voters are preparing to cast their first ballots as the Nation weighs marriage equality, economic opportunity, basic services and whether their government can deliver. - Author: Lorenzo Gomez (he/him) - Tags: ELECTIONS, POLITICS, Altavoz, #donate_box_1 PARTNERSHIP **This story is part of a series examining the effects of the Navajo Nation’s same-sex marriage ban produced in partnership with* [**Altavoz Lab*](https://altavozlab.com/news/?ref=lookoutnews.org)**, an organization dedicated to uplifting the work of community journalists.* Ciera Tsosie is preparing to vote for the first time in the Navajo Nation presidential election. At 18 years old, she’s studying physiology and biochemistry at the University of Arizona, and has known for years that what she wants to do with her life is become a doctor and return permanently to the Navajo Nation. But ask her what might bring young Diné people to the polls this November, and she doesn’t start with something that could essentially change the lives (and politics) of the Navajo Nation: marriage equality. Instead, she started with poverty, health care, and economic opportunity. She also mentioned how people who leave the Nation for school and work and never come back, or the people who stayed because they had few other options. That might seem surprising in an election that could bring a significant change for LGBTQ+ Diné people. The Navajo Nation’s 2005 ban on same-sex marriage remains on the books, and Justin Jones and Crystalyne Curley, the two candidates advancing to the Nov. 3 presidential election, [said in a forum dedicated to LGBTQ+ Diné](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYrY0%5FDq1Y&ref=lookoutnews.org) that they would sign legislation repealing it. For a generation that came of age as LGBTQ+ rights became a defining issue in American elections, marriage equality might seem like the kind of issue that would send young voters to the polls. But across conversations with eligible voters, voters talked about whether the Navajo Nation — which spans nearly 27,000 miles across Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico — and its government can deliver housing, infrastructure, health care and economic opportunity. More specifically, they discuss whether they have trust in elected leaders to do what they promise. For some, that distrust has become so deep that they are considering not voting at all. Annie Begay, a Diné elder, has never missed an election on the Navajo Nation. This year might be the first time she stays home. At Silver Coin Laundry and Car Wash in Chinle, Arizona, she spoke quietly about the election as she folded her freshly washed clothes, and placed them neatly next to her collection of stuffed animals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4c/0d/4c0d7266-d8e0-4201-8dfb-f7b14779cdc4/content/images/2026/09/090326_GOMEZ_PREZELECTN_03-1.jpg) Annie Begay, an elder who lives in Chinle on Navajo Nation, said this was the first year she may not likely vote at all. (Photo by Lorenzo Gomez/LOOKOUT After decades of casting ballots, she said she has grown frustrated with a government she no longer feels can deliver for its people: “It may be the first year ever that I don’t vote,” she said. “What’s the point?” In November, thousands of voters spread across three states will be asked to elect a new president. It’s an election that most Americans will never see on their ballot. Members of the Navajo Nation will choose a successor to Buu Nygren, the current president of the largest tribal land base in the country. ### **Marriage laws could change. But so can everything else.** The November election could bring a significant change for LGBTQ+ Diné people: [The Diné Marriage Act of 2005](https://courts.navajo-nsn.gov/Resolutions/29-05%20Marriage%20Act.pdf?ref=lookoutnews.org) still prohibits same-sex marriage on the Navajo Nation, and [at a presidential candidate forum earlier this year](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYrY0%5FDq1Y&ref=lookoutnews.org), Jones and Curley said they would sign legislation repealing the ban. The[ two advanced from a 16-candidate primary to the Nov. 3 general election](https://navajoelections.navajo-nsn.gov/Portals/0/Announcements/2026/Unofficial2026NNPrimaryElectionResults.pdf?ref=lookoutnews.org), while Nygren’s bid for a second term ended with a third-place finish. But unlike the 2008 general election, when LGBTQ+ rights and same-sex marriage felt viscerally on the ballot in [places such as California with Proposition 8 and Proposition 102 in Arizona](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/11/13/states-with-voter-approved-constitutional-bans-on-same-sex-marriage-1998-2008/?ref=lookoutnews.org), marriage equality rarely emerged in conversations with eligible voters across the Navajo Nation as an issue they thought much about, despite being a prominent talking point. Most voters welcomed ending the ban. But none of them described marriage equality as the issue that would determine whether people showed up in November. For Tsosie, younger voters may feel compelled to vote, but she was skeptical that one issue alone would bring them to the polls. Many young Diné people, she said, have moved away from the Navajo Nation for school and work and are more engaged with American politics. She said those who remain at home face different obstacles. “The ones that stay within the Navajo Nation are often those that are battling with poverty and a bunch of other issues,” she said. “They don't have time to think about politics. They're too busy surviving.” # Want to Share Insider Information? ## Help keep power accountable. LOOKOUT relies on tips from readers to get our news out. Click on the button below to submit a secure email to our team. Any information you send will be kept confidential in accordance with our ethics guidelines. [Email a Tip ](mailto:editor@lookoutnews.org) ### **Distrust in leaders** Voters pointed to alleged corruption, unfulfilled promises, shortages of housing and basic infrastructure, limited economic opportunities and years of disappointment with elected leadership as reasons they’ve lost faith in electing new leadership. Most recently, [a special prosecutor accused Nygren](https://navajotimes.com/reznews/special-prosecutor-files-new-ethics-complaint-against-nygren/?ref=lookoutnews.org) of six ethics violations tied to the 2025 budget process and personnel decisions, including allegations that he pressured the Nation’s controller to authorize restricted fund transfers and later removed him after he refused. The Navajo Nation Department of Justice also said in February that roughly $24 million had been paid to Indigenous Design Studio + Architecture and ZenniHome for housing projects, with [no completed homes delivered at that point](https://navajotimes.com/reznews/hxaaji-beesocouncil-nygren-clash-over-24-million-tied-to-zennihome-housing-contracts/?ref=lookoutnews.org). The controversy led Navajo Nation Council leaders to [introduce legislation](https://www.navajonationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/NNC%5Fpresses%5Ffor%5Fanswers%5Frelated%5Fto%5Fmissing%5F24M.pdf?ref=lookoutnews.org) seeking Nygren’s removal. ([Nygren has disputed suggestions](https://opvp.navajo-nsn.gov/260429-do-not-fall-for-misleading-statements-regarding-zennihome/?ref=lookoutnews.org) that $24 million went missing, saying the controversy involves two separate transactions and that the housing contract went through the Nation’s required review process.) Victor Yellowhair, another resident of Chinle who was at the laundromat with Begay, said the discussion about trust was less about any single election and more about what he described as a cycle he has watched for most of his life. He also pointed to longtime political figures and people connected to previous administrations returning to positions of influence. But what concerned him most, though, was what that cycle meant for younger Diné people. His own daughter left the Navajo Nation, he said, frustrated in part by what he described as a lack of opportunities for younger generations and older leaders' unwillingness to make room for them. “There’s nothing she would come back for,” Yellowhair said, mentioning crumbling infrastructure and lack of reliable resources. It didn’t take much exploring to confirm. Cracked pavement and old buildings, some without any running water and electricity, were a dime a dozen. To get to Chinle, one must drive past Dilkon, where a new medical facility went a whole year [without running water in 2022](https://www.propublica.org/article/how-arizona-stands-between-tribes-and-their-water?ref=lookoutnews.org). ### **What a new administration could change** On a sunny September afternoon in Tonalea, Arizona, Navajo Nation Council candidate Christopher Curley spoke about many of the same problems Yellowhair, Begay and Tsosie had identified — and what he believes a new administration could do about them. Christopher is running to represent District 01, which includes Coppermine, Kaibeto, LeChee and Tonalea chapters. He is also the uncle of presidential candidate Crystalyne Curley. Christopher was the top pick in his district during this year’s primaries. A Marine Corps veteran, he said his commitment to the community goes beyond tribal politics. He has held several community roles, serving more than a decade on the board of the [Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation board](https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-curley-58123471/?ref=lookoutnews.org), working as a domestic violence advocate as well as a school bus driver. Christopher said his platform centers on rebuilding trust and unity in the Navajo government, improving communication between the Council and executive branch, and creating clearer lines of responsibility among the Nation’s three branches. He also emphasized tribal control of health care and economic development built around housing, infrastructure and training more Diné workers in trades so jobs and investment can remain on the Navajo Nation. On marriage equality, Curley was similarly straightforward: “Yeah, I'd absolutely support it if it helps our people to live comfortably on the land.” That sentiment, in different forms, is shared among other voters interviewed: Yellowhair did not care who someone married; Crystalline also said she would support it; Tsosie believed younger Diné people would generally lean toward acceptance. But none of the people interviewed described marriage equality as the issue that would determine whether people showed up in November, and emphasized voting as a bare minimum. “Voting is important, yes,” Tsosie said. “But I also believe that our responsibility to our community extends beyond the ballot box.” Where older voters described years of disappointment, Tsosie saw that frustration somewhat differently: “I wouldn't say we're necessarily discouraged. We just know what is right and what we think we need for our communities,” she said. “And I think that shows more participation than discouragement because we're encouraged in ourselves to say, ‘Hey, this isn't right.’” #### Correction An earlier version of this story misspelled Ciera Tsosie's name. We regret the error. ## Before you go... At **LOOKOUT**, we believe in the power of community-supported journalism. You're at the heart of that community, and your support helps us deliver the news and information the LGBTQ+ community needs to thrive. ### Two ways to support LOOKOUT: [Become a Member Get exclusive benefits. ](https://www.lookoutnews.org/?form=donate) [Make a Donation Make an immediate impact. ](https://www.lookoutnews.org/?form=one-time)