Navajo Nation President Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegations • Source New Mexico

On Tuesday, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren spoke for the first time about sexual harassment allegations made by his vice president and made public last month. He denied any wrongdoing and said the accusations were false.

Vice President Richelle Montoya said in April that she was harassed and bullied last August, but did not name the alleged perpetrator. Nygren confirmed during a press conference that he was the accused. Montoya said the incident happened during a meeting in Nygren's office last August.

Following the incident, Montoya wrote a statement detailing what happened. She later spoke about the incident in a Facebook live video in April.

“I felt like I had no power to leave the room.

I was made to feel like what I was trying to accomplish meant nothing that I was less than what I was,” she said.

She said in her statement that Nygren refused to let her leave the office and that she asked four times.

Montoya had recently separated from her husband, Olsen Chee, and she said Nygren told her to let him know if she became serious with anyone else in the future. He then hugged her before she left.

Nygren admits to giving him a hug but in the Navajo spirit of K'é, meaning compassion and kindness.

“We always hugged and addressed each other in the spirit of K’é as Nali (grandmother),” he said. “She is my Nali by clan, she never suggested to me that this gesture was in any way unwelcome or offensive to her.”

He said the incident had been taken out of context.

“I am deeply offended to have been shamelessly slandered about this meeting. This has led to unnecessary confusion,” he said.

He said that during that meeting, he offered her a moment of support over her recent divorce announcement.

“I assured the vice president that I would be equally transparent with her about any challenges in my own life. I believe the president and vice president should support each other, and I wanted to extend that support,” he said.

Montoya said in her Facebook Live that when a staff member asked her what she wanted by filing this claim, she responded…

“I never wanted to be alone with this person. And that I don't want him to talk to me or apologize or try to explain it to me or anything.

Montoya said it's difficult to make that claim, but she said it's important.

“To show my daughters, to show my granddaughters that yes, bad things happen,” she said. “But you have to tell someone, you have to try to find solutions.”

Ethel Branch, Attorney General of the Navajo Nation, is currently investigating the allegations to determine whether there were any violations of the law.

KUNM reached out to Montoya, but she had no comment.

Despite Nygren's denial of the allegations, he said he is committed to strengthening protections for Navajo employees. It said it was implementing a workplace safety policy. He also wants the Navajo Nation Council to strengthen laws defining unacceptable behavior and also give employees a year to file grievances.

Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.