Navajo Nation President Buu Nygran and Vice President Richelle Montoya in 2022 during their campaign to lead the Navajo Nation. Handout photo
After an eight-month investigation, sexual harassment claims that Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya made against Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren are “not warranted,” according to the preliminary investigation released Monday by the tribe’s attorney general.
“Vice President Montoya’s recounting of the August 17, 2023, incident does not constitute sexual harassment under policies applicable to either Navajo Nation elected officials or employees covered by the Navajo Nation [Personnel Policies Manual],” according to the investigation findings. “Further, the facts reported would not constitute a violation of any criminal law of the Navajo Nation.”
The Navajo Nation Attorney General’s Office launched an outside investigation into the allegations in April after Montoya voiced her claims of harassment and bullying.
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Montoya first shared that she had been dealing with issues within the Navajo Nation’s Office of the President and Vice President during her remarks as part of the Navajo Nation Council’s spring session on April 15.
During a Facebook Live on April 16, Montoya followed up on her remarks by sharing that she was sexually harassed and bullied in an incident that occurred in August of 2023, but she did not name the alleged perpetrator.
In May, Nygren confirmed in a press conference that he is the accused of Montoya’s incident, which took place in his office during a meeting on Aug. 17, 2023.
After calls from the Navajo Nation Council, Navajo Nation speaker, and the Navajo public, the investigation into the allegations was launched by Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch, who hired Tempe attorney Eric Dahlstrom from the Rothstein Donatelli law firm to look into the allegations.
Based on the preliminary findings, the investigation concluded that “further investigation into Vice President Montoya’s sexual harassment claim and the appointment of a Special Prosecutor are not warranted.”
Nygren said the Navajo people can now move forward since he has been cleared of any improper behavior.
“This false allegation against me as President of the Navajo Nation has divided and hurt the entire Navajo Nation,” Nygren said in a written statement. “We need to heal from this and focus on moving forward.”
Nygren said that he is happy his administration and the Navajo Nation can finally put the allegation behind them, but he believes that Montoya needs to be held accountable.
“Sadly, this has been nothing but a disgraceful power grab from the get-go by the Vice President and her supporters,” he said. “Her false accusations and blatant lies all along have been an attempt to remove me as President.”
In October, Nygren terminated Montoya’s authority over any projects and called for her resignation, but she has not responded to the call.
Branch said that she, like many other Navajo people, was frustrated with how long the investigation took, but it was “critical to ensure a full and complete analysis and recommendation by the independent third-party counsel.”
As part of the investigation, Branch said that multiple employees were interviewed, a phone and text tip line was set up to allow members of the public to express their concerns and a thorough review of public sources was conducted.
According to the Navajo Nation Office of the President, some individuals interviewed as part of the investigation included Montoya, Nygren and two of the president’s top aides, Chief of Staff Patrick Sandoval and Chief Legal Counsel Bidtah Becker.
“I am satisfied that no rock was left unturned in the search for evidence of any potential wrongdoing,” Branch said. Now that the preliminary investigation has concluded, she said she intends to follow the recommendations of the independent investigator.
“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the Nation to continue spending the Nation’s money on allegations that, even if taken as true, would not amount to any violation of Navajo law,” she said. Recommendations from the investigator were not shared in the press release.
“Although it is time to put this issue to rest and move forward as a Nation, I want to reiterate that the Navajo Nation takes any allegation of sexual harassment seriously,” Branch said. “The Department of Justice will do its part to ensure a full process to investigate and take appropriate actions in response to the findings of investigators.”
Branch said the full investigative report would be released publicly once Navajo Nation leadership had been briefed.
Shortly after releasing the preliminary investigation report, Branch announced the termination of the Navajo Nation’s attorney contracts with Rothstein Donatelli LLP, claiming that the law firm delayed the results of the investigation, which caused instability among the Navajo government.
“The Navajo Nation deserves legal counsel that is diligent and that does its work in a manner that is appropriate to the level of care and attention that is warranted,” Branch said. “The inordinate delay in receiving the results of the preliminary investigation into the Vice President’s allegations exacerbated the instability in Navajo government that the allegation introduced.”
“Accordingly the Nation will no longer work with Rothstein Donatelli,” she added.
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