Mark Maryboy - November 2, 2004
by Erin McMahan

     Among the open red deserts and huge rock monuments of the four corners area lies the Navajo Nation. With a population of 200,000, it is a sovereign nation the size of West Virginia. On November 2, we got a chance to meet Mark Maryboy, a Navajo tribal member who's served as a county commissioner in the Bluff area for sixteen years. He was the first Native American to serve a political position in Utah, and has done a lot to represent the tribe. He has also served on the tribal government. Mark talked about the Navajo nation: the way the government works and some of the issues it's facing. He also shared the story of his life.

     Unlike many of our speakers who sit in one of the chairs in our chair circle, Mark, a tall man, stood in the very center to address us. "Always introduce yourself by who you are-not your name, but your lineage," Mark began. He went on to introduce himself in the Navajo tradition, naming his mother's tribe, then his father's tribe. Normally, he told us, he would continue by naming his grandparent's tribes and so forth.

     Mark started by describing his life. Born on the reservation, his parents sent him to a BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) school which he ran away from twice, until his parents finally let him attend public school closer to home. After high school, he recalled his father telling him to go out and experience the world away from the reservation for a while. Mark did just that, going to college on a rodeo scholarship and eventually gaining a national position with K-mart. By then, he decided that he could return to the reservation, and in 1985 ran for and won the seat of county commissioner.

     Mark went on to talk about the Navajo nation. The nation has a very similar setup to the US government with three branches and a bill of rights. It's a very new nation, with its government founded in 1989. Mark has many goals for the nation and hopes that it can become a state so the tribe can have a voice in the US Congress. He described the potential state as having a similar standing to Puerto Rico.

     Mark continued by talking about some of the problems that the Navajo nation faces, such as the lack of nearby services like schools and hospitals. Although the BIA is supposed to be providing services to the nation, the support isn't nearly what is should be. Mark also addressed the oil and gas mining on the land, which has led to an uprising in the community.

     I really enjoyed listening to Mark. He answered questions in a very calm, unrushed way, with a subtle sense of humor. He left us with a lot of information and his hopes for the future of the Navajo nation.