Community Briefing - ONGD Proposed Constitution
1. Assessments of ONGD’s Proposal
1. Assessments of ONGD’s Proposal This page contains, for the purposes of public information and jurisdictional research mapping, assessments and mark-ups on the ONGD proposal for a new Constitution/Supreme Law of the Navajo Nation. Also included are ONGD’s official draft that was uploaded on March
2. Relevant Laws, Policies and Regulations
CNGD/ONGD Plan of Operations Introduction – Shirley v Morgan 1. In re Two Initiative Petitions 2. Shirley v. Morgan I 3. Shirley v. Morgan II LGA 26 N.N.C. §1(E) Navajo Nation Election Board CNGD/ONGD Plan of Operations The Government Development Project is mandated inter alia
3. Chapter and Agency Council Resolutions
The resolutions below represent the official public objections of Navajo Nation Chapters and Agency Councils submitted to us for upload during or close to the first extended public comment period ending March 31, 2026 (the input period has since been extended to May 29, 2026).
4. Call to Chapters
This call to chapters by retired Chief Justice Herb Yazzie, former Navajo Nation Council Delegate Daniel Tso, traditional counselor Ray Deal, and Standing Rock Chapter and Eastern Agency Council President Johnny Johnson was originally distributed to chapters on Feb 5, 2026. Authored by retired judiciary
The Office of Navajo Government Development (ONGD) intends to place a 113-page proposed constitution on the November 3, 2026, ballot as a single referendum question. Purporting to be written “by the collective will,” the document would bypass all legislative controls. As of May 13, 2026, the Diné People still do not know much about this massive document.
For the text of ONGD’s proposed “constitution,” go to ONGD’s website.
If enacted, this “Supreme Law” will not be able to be revised or amended for 20 years, and will replace:
- Title 1 (Diné Fundamental Law and the Navajo Nation Bill of Rights),
- Title 2 (The 1989 Amendments),
- Title 26 (Local Governance Act),
- substantially change Navajo Nation elections law;
- strike down all non-conforming Navajo laws through an Office of Government Review (with no need for further legislative process)
The public input period set by ONGD has been repeatedly extended. On May 6, ONGD again reset the deadline to May 29, 2026.
This page serves as a public repository for the proposed ONGD Constitution. It includes the official draft, our organizational analysis (markups), and resolutions filed by Chapter governments. Our markups compare the proposed constitutional text against the existing Navajo Nation Code and Diné Fundamental Law. We believe that informed consent requires access to all perspectives. We archive these documents to ensure they are visible to the public, and we provide our critiques to highlight where this proposal deviates from the foundational values of the Diné people. It is intended to assist community members in understanding the proposed ballot measure and does not constitute legal advice.
