The Navajo Nation's primary election is three months away, but the contest for president is already hotter than an August afternoon on the red rock of Monument Valley.
Incumbent Peterson Zah has been accused of everything from revoking the office privileges of his vice president to setting federal prosecutors on the trail of some of the 17 people who have taken out nomination papers.At least two of the leading contenders face criminal charges of various kinds.
And hanging over the race is image of Zah's predecessor, Peter MacDonald, who remains the political idol for many while serving a corruption sentence in a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania.
"It's kind of crazy out there," says Ted Silversmith, a Navajo from Gallup, N.M., where a recent flea market was swarming with supporters seeking signatures on their candidates' nominating petitions.
"They were really hustling - giving out free candy, kissing the babies and hugging the women," Silversmith said. "And you know, Navajo men don't like that: them hugging the women," Silversmith said.
The race has even brought a touch of the big city to a reservation where many remote homes don't have telephones: Tribal chairman and presidential aspirant Nelson Gorman is advertising a toll-free number for supporters, 1-800-GORMAN1.
The long list of hopefuls who have taken out nominating petitions in the non-partisan race includes some perennial candidates. But it also includes some of the biggest names in politics on the nation's most populous Indian reservation.
Zah has national recognition as a Native American leader. He's been courted politically by President Clinton and makes occasional trips to Washington, D.C., lobbying for funding for reservation development and the Indian Health Service.
When his vice president, Marshall Plummer, entered the race, there were reports Zah took away his official credit cards, security guard and tribal vehicle and asked Plummer to move out of his office.
Plummer won't discuss the reports, saying he doesn't want to fan the flames of controversy.
"The Navajo people told me they are tired of all the fighting," says Plummer, a calf roper and a former county commissioner in McKinley County, N.M.
Also in the running is Leonard Haskie, who was interim chairman after MacDonald was ousted in 1989. Haskie finished second to Zah in the 1990 election for the newly created post of president.
But Haskie, an engineer from Sanostee, N.M., has been charged by federal prosecutors with bribery and other crimes for allegedly taking kickbacks from companies that got tribal contracts during his term in office.
That will figure in considerations when the Navajo Election Board certifies candidates for the Aug. 9 primary. Nominating petitions must be filed by May 11 and the general election for the reservation's 107,000 registered voters coincides with federal and state election day, Nov. 8.
Tribal election law was amended in 1990 - when MacDonald was trying to make a comeback - to disqualify candidates who are charged with federal crimes. Previously, candidates were disqualified only if they had been convicted, said Richie Nez, executive director of the Navajo Election Administration.
MacDonald is far from out of the picture, though he's serving a total of 14 years on federal and tribal convictions.
Zah, a longtime rival, set tongues wagging when he paid an unannounced visit on MacDonald in prison last month and promised to support a parole bid.
Some called the visit an attempt to curry favor with MacDonald's many followers. Zah rejected the charge, saying he was concerned about MacDonald's health.
MacDonald's supporters have yet to decide who they will back in the election, said Vern Lee of Farmington, N.M., a spokesman for many who support the charismatic former chairman.
Others who have taken out nominating papers include Arizona state Sen. James Henderson, a Democrat who's also running for re-election to the Phoenix statehouse, and George P. Lee, who placed third in the 1990 race as a write-in candidate but who now is facing child molestation charges in Utah.
At least one would-be candidate has accused Zah of abusing his power by getting the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona to investigate accusations against challengers.
Frank Talker, a tribal consultant, was charged in the Haskie case at a time he said he was considering a run for president. He said he has since decided against running, but still maintains Zah orchestrated the charges.
That accusation is rejected by Zah and by Janet Napolitano, U.S. attorney for Arizona.
Talker, unconvinced, has this advice for potential candidates: "Just don't let anyone know you might be running for president."
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A look at the leading candidates
Some leading candidates among the 17 who have taken out nominating papers for Navajo Nation president:
- Peterson Zah, who was president from 1983 through 1986 and elected again in 1990, is promising education reform and more college scholarships for Navajo youths.
- Marshall Plummer, currently vice president, a calf roper and former McKinley County, N.M., commissioner. Zah reportedly has revoked many of the privileges of this office since Plummer announced his intention to run.
- Leonard Haskie, interim chairman who ran second to Zah in the 1990 election. He faces federal charges of bribery and other crimes. He is accused of taking kickbacks from a company that got tribal business. Haskie is an engineer from Sanostee, N.M.
- George P. Lee, who placed third in the 1990 race as a write-in candidate. Lee, the first Indian named to the high post of general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, faces trial in Utah on charges he molested a 12-year-old girl in 1989. He maintains his innocence. Lee was excommunicated from the church for apostasy and conduct unbecoming a church member before the accusations became publicly known. He was fired as principal of Tuba City High School after being charged.
- Arizona state Sen. James Henderson, a Democrat who's running simultaneously for re-election to the Phoenix statehouse office he's held since 1985. There's nothing in state law to prevent him from holding both jobs, but it's believed he would resign the Senate post in favor of the full-time president's job if he won both elections.
- Nelson Gorman, speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, has a toll-free number for supporters.
- Donald Dodge, grandson of the Navajo Tribal Council's first chairman, Chee Dodge. He owns a Goodyear Tire Center in Tse Bonito, N.M., and is a former Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent.
- Kayenta School Superintendent Joe Martin, who has a national reputation among Indian educators.
- Rosalyn Curtis, an administrative services officer with the Indian Health Service in Tuba City. She is the only woman to take out papers, challenging the traditional attitude that women shouldn't seek high office.