NAVAJO PRESIDENT WORKS JOBS PLAN

posted by Michael Chihak

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly has a clear and concise understanding of the economic development and workforce issues facing his administration and his people.

In office just seven months, Shelly is rolling out an economic development plan pegged to the Navajos' vast energy resources, including alternative energies such as solar and wind, to the introduction of high technology on the sprawling rural reservation and on trade within and outside the United States.

Shelly detailed the issues and the opportunities for Arizona Week in an interview recently just outside the Navajo Nation's administrative offices in Window Rock.

As he spoke, a Navajo couple stood nearby making and selling native jewelry. The man said he and his wife were pressed into jewelry making because they can't find work on the reservation. He said he is trained as a heavy-equipment operator, his wife as a dialysis technician.

The interview with Shelly and analysis of the economic plight of the Navajos and other Native Americans will be the focus of Friday's Arizona Week.