Sunnie Clahchischiligi
By Sunnie Clahchischiligi
On May 14 I put on my most professional looking outfit, grabbed my notebooks, handful of pens and recorder then headed out to cover my first school board meeting on the Navajo reservation.
Being a sports writer most of my career it’s never really been my area to attend a board meeting or really any meeting for that matter, but there was something different about this one.
In April, I read about a meeting the board had. It was tense, over the top and very interesting, which surprised me.
The governing board of the Shiprock Associated Schools Inc. – located in the northern region of the Navajo Nation – voted to place the school district’s executive director and human resources coordinator on administrative leave during its May 14 meeting.
The move came months after the board voted to drastically restructure the school district by replacing the entire staff. Since then, staff have made numerous complaints about both Executive Director Leo Johnson and Human Resources Coordinator Endora Sisco, board members said.
By Sunnie Clahchischiligi
Every other day or so I’ll make a 20-plus minute drive to Farmington, N.M. the closest border town to the Navajo reservation in my neck of the woods.
The approximate 15-mile stretch has rolling hills with small businesses along side the road and just as you make the final stretch into the edge of the city there it is. On the right hand side, alone, big, beautifully lit at night, though surrounded by dirt and plenty of mobile homes.
It’s the Navajo Nation’s third and newest casino, Northern Edge Navajo Casino.
By Sunnie Clahchischiligi
In the middle of a small movie theater with about 15 people present for the weekend premiere of the Native American film “More Than Frybread,” I suddenly found myself getting tired of the buttery taste of popcorn and developed a craving for a soft, fluffy frybread.
I don’t have frybread very often but boy did this film make me want to grab a bag of Blue Bird flour and head home.
