WINDOW ROCK Ariz. — Lynda Lovejoy walks past throngs of parade-goers in her traditional, crushed velvet dress and moccassins, her campaign button on the sleeve. Speaking through a microphone, she says she’ll bring fresh perspective to the Navajo government if elected president.
Her supporters shout, “You go girl!”
Others at the parade in Window Rock clearly don’t want to see her at the helm of the country’s largest American Indian reservation. “I hope you lose,” one man shouts, then covers his mouth and ducks into the crowd. Another woman declares support for Lovejoy’s opponent: “We want Ben Shelly. Women belong in the kitchen.”
No woman has served as Navajo president, although the matriarchal society has strong reverence for women as caretakers and heirs to everything from home site leases to sheep. When introducing themselves, Navajos start with their mother’s clan name.
With Lovejoy garnering twice as many votes as any of the 10 men and a second woman in a recent primary, the Navajo Nation appears closer than ever to electing a woman as its leader. But that doesn’t mean Lovejoy’s candidacy is widely accepted as she and Shelly approach the Nov. 2 election.
The New Mexico state senator has been called an outsider who lacks experience in tribal government. More to the point, she’s been told she’ll ruin a tradition in which all previous top leaders have been men and that her presidency could portend an ominous future for the tribe. Some have even attributed damaging weather events to her quest for the leadership.
Still others have hope she’ll bring attention to social justice issues and increase job opportunities for younger people on the reservation. Some ask why not a woman considering the tribe’s struggles with men as leaders.
