Our History
On August 23, 1984, the Navajo Nation Council authorized the establishment of the Navajo Nation Washington Office (NNWO). Our organic legislation is Title 2, section 1151 of the Navajo Nation Code. The last Chairman and first Navajo President, Peterson Zah, transformed the Council’s vision into a reality. President Zah hired Mr. Eric D. Eberhard, former Deputy Attorney General of the Navajo Nation and future Federal Indian Law scholar, to be our inaugural Executive Director. Since then, NNWO Executive Directors have ascended from local Navajo communities:
- Lashawna Tso
- Santee Lewis
- Jackson Brossy
- Clara Pratte
- Sharon Clahchischilliage
- Michelle Brown-Yazzie
- Estelle Bowman
- Faith Roessel
- Caleb Roanhorse
Throughout the years, our team has helped achieve legislative milestones, like the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, and prevent legislative mistakes, like authorization of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. We have also been instrumental in securing federal resources for such urgently needed community facilities as Fort Defiance Hospital. Most recently, NNWO helped secure over $700 million for the Navajo Nation to fight and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today our history of serving the Diné proudly continues.