| The Seal of the Navajo Nation Judicial Branch |
| Canyon De Chelly |
The experience at Navajo Nation has been truly life changing. Though the first few days were quite challenging with the long hours of driving, the experiences gained from Navajo Nation are truly priceless. Yesterday some of us hiked along Monument Valley, which was a bit challenging, but had some amazing views. Climbing up the sand hill was very strenuous, but when I finished the hike I felt truly accomplished. After the hike, we all went to this restaurant where we had some amazing food!! Native American food consists of fried bread for their taco shells and it is delicious!!! The fried bread is very similar to Indian fried bread (Bhature) that we have in India, so it was not very far from home for me. After the dinner, we all headed to our main hotel.
Today was my first day at my internship at the Chief Prosecutor's Office. I did not really know what to expect when I first arrived as I have never interacted with Native Americans. But I have heard so much about them in history books since coming to the United States that I have always wondered how their lives had become. I wondered how they had retained their cultural practices while still staying in the United States. When I first met my boss/supervisor I was a bit taken back by her outspoken nature. She has been the Chief Prosecutor for five years now and because of her forthcoming nature, I instantly took a liking to her. She opened a window for me to the lives of Native Americans. She explained me to the difference between the Fundamental Law and Common Law, the frustrations she has experienced, and guided me through general legal jargon and procedures. On Tuesday, we were fortunate enough to go to the Crownpoint Court and observe the different court proceedings. It was such an eye opening experience where were able to observe the differences between fundamental law and common law (taught to us at WCL) in practice.
| Crownoint Judicial Court |
One of the biggest frustrations she faced in her job was with the FBI. For some major crimes such as Sexual Assault, Murder and others the United States has concurrent jurisdiction and FBI steps in to investigate those crimes. Since Navajo Nation is severely underfunded, they do not have enough jails to hold the prison population. Even when they do build jails, they do not have money to fund the jail staff. So whenever it's possible, they prefer the United States to prosecute the criminals. However, the FBI refuses to prosecute at last 52% of these crimes, and 40% of these crimes occurred in Navajo Nation. Additionally, the FBI until recently did not notify the prosecuting attorneys in Navajo Nation about their decision to forego prosecution. Even when they do notify the attorneys, it is often too late for the attorneys to do anything as the Statute of Limitations has passed by then. This allows serious criminals to go scot free and authorizing them to hurt other people in the Reservation. This is just one example of the struggles attorneys daily face in Navajo Nation.
After conversing with other interns who work at the Supreme Court, I found out that many students actually end up writing the opinions for the Supreme Court without much review. Because most judges are lay judges, and there is no requirement for judges to have law degrees the attorneys and judges really face an uphill battle in Navajo Nations. In many ways, though Native Americans have survived and have sovereignty, they are still face severe discrimination and oppression inhibiting the growth of Navajo Nation's judicial system to serve as an effective judicial system.
Pious Ahuja
| Each Hiker on the Monument Valley trail is supposed to put a rock as a symbol of their contribution. |
| Thank you Navajo Nation for opening your arms to us! |
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