Navajo Nation President Nez Explains How Tribal Enrollment Boosted Numbers, Increased Funding
Published: Thursday, May 20, 2021 - 12:03pm
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Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
Jonathan Nez
The Navajo Nation just became the biggest Native American tribe in the country, surpassing the Cherokee Nation with the enrollment of nearly 400,000 citizens.
The status comes after a big effort by the tribe to enroll and fix their records as they attempted to give out federal COVID-19 relief money last year. In the course of that work, they added nearly 100,000 citizens to their rolls.
And it’s not for nothing.
Not only did the money go to help a population that was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, it matters because tribes are often allocated funding based on enrollment.
The Show spoke with Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who said the federal aid money went a long way.
