![]() ![]() You control the resources and can dole them out. Russell Begaye, a newly elected delegate from the Shiprock area, told me that what mattered was "family and clan connections and serving the people." A successful delegate needs to know how to work the system. There were only a few hundred jobs in basic industries like manufacturing and agriculture.ĭelegates don't campaign for office as Republicans or Democrats. The government employed 8,214 people, or 26.6 percent. According to the DED's 2009-'10 status report, the service sector, which includes schools, hospitals and motels, was the largest employer, with 15,215 jobs, about 49 percent of the Navajo labor force. A person must be actively looking for a job to be included in the labor force if you're not looking - as is the case with many on the reservation, since there are no jobs - you're not considered unemployed. The actual unemployment rate, as the tribal Division of Economic Development (DED) has acknowledged, is much higher: over 70 percent. Reservation unemployment stands, officially, at just over 50 percent, according to the Navajo Nation. More than 40 percent live below the poverty line, and over 18,000 households lack basic infrastructure such as electricity. Most of the 300,000 Navajos live on the reservation, and delegates' constituents are mostly poor: Whereas delegates' annual salaries are a modest $25,000, plus per diem perks for travel to Window Rock and various committee meetings, the average per capita income for Navajos is abysmally low (about $7,000). Economics drive both the alleged corruption and the push for reform. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |