- Navajo Times
-
Navajo Times 
Type weekly newspaper Owner Navajo Times Publishing Co., Inc. Editor-in-chief Duane Beyal Founded 1959 Language English
rarely NavajoHeadquarters Highway 264 & Route 12
PO Box 310
Window Rock, Arizona
Navajo NationISSN 0470-5106 OCLC number 16464595 Official website navajotimes.com The Navajo Times – known during the early 1980s as Navajo Times Today – is a newspaper created by the Navajo Tribal Council in 1959, which later became the first daily newspaper published by a Native American Indian Nation. It is published in English; its headquarters is located in Window Rock, Arizona.
Over the past half century, its editorial staff has continually faced challenges from political leaders and opponents, and the publication was at one point shut down with its entire staff fired.
Contents
History
The first issue was published on August 4, 1960 and sold for 10 cents a piece, its slogan being "Voice of Scenic Navajoland."[1] Unlike its predecessor Ádahooníłígíí of the 1940s,[2] the Times is published in English, with only rarely and infrequently printing an insert or extra in Navajo.
Originally created as a monthly newsletter and mouthpiece of the Tribal Council, the paper had become a weekly publication by the early 1960s. Unlike other newspapers under the control of Native American governments, its editorial staff grew increasingly vocal in asserting its right to freedom of the press, guaranteed in the Navajo Nation's 4th Amendment to the Bill of Rights.[3]
In the late 1970s, the paper had its first confrontations with then–Tribal Chairman Raymond Nakai who had its general manager fired and re-hired several times due to the publication's critical editorials.[4]
In 1982, with its format now being that of a daily newspaper and its circulation increasing from 4,000 to 8,000, the name was changed to Navajo Times Today under then-editor Mark Trahant.[3] It thereby became the first daily newspaper published by a Native American Nation in the United States.[4][5] During the 1980s, its editorial staff enjoyed a period of journalistic freedom with its reporters being free to take a critical stance towards the government.[4]
Shutdown
After the 1987 election, the paper – still being funded by the Navajo Nation's government – was shut down by president Peter MacDonald; in its editorial, it had endorsed MacDonald's opponent, Peterson Zah, during the campaign and continued to take a critical stance in its editorials. The entire staff was subsequently laid off. MacDonald claimed that the shutdown was due to the paper's losing money and being financially unstable.[3]
When publication resumed four months later, the Navajo Times returned as a weekly.[3]
References
- ^ Arviso, Tom Jr. Pages of the Times reflect future impacts. Navajo Times. navajtimes.com. Accessed 2011-01-13.
- ^ Adahooniłigii (Library of Congress record) Accessed 2011-01-13.
- ^ a b c d Wilkins, David E. The Navajo Political Experience. Diné College Press. Tsaile/Tséhílį́, AZ: 1999. p 173f.
- ^ a b c Iverson, Peter & Monty Roessel. Diné: a history of the Navajos. University of New Mexico Press. Albuquerque: 2002. p288f.
- ^ Staff. "Navajo Times suspends publication for 2 weeks", Mohave Daily Miner, April 26, 1984. Accessed January 13, 2011.
External links
Navajo NationPolitics and institutions
Council (Council Chamber) · Supreme Court · Chapter houses · PoliceCulture and education
People · Language · Music · Weaving · Navajo-Churro sheep · Navajo Preparatory School · Diné College · Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park · Miss NavajoMedia
Ádahooníłígíí · Navajo Times · KTNN RadioHistory
The Emergence · Dinétah · Navajo pueblitos (1600s–1700s) · Navajo Wars (1800s) · Long Walk of the Navajo (1864) · Navajo Scouts (1873–1895) · Livestock Reduction (1930s) · Code talkers (1940s)
List of CommunitiesCategories:- Newspapers published in Arizona
- Navajo mass media
- Weekly newspapers published in the United States
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