The Navajo Nation Political Experience

David E. Wilkins

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Tribal nations, like the Navajo nation, have proven to be remarkably adept at retaining and exercising ever-increasing amounts of self-determination even when faced with powerful external constraints and limited resources. Now in this fifth edition of The Navajo Nation Political Experience, the current Diné political developments of the last decade are analyzed thoroughly and accessibly against a historical backdrop. The Diné people and their leaders have recently experienced a host of events that dramatically affected the shape of the nation. David Wilkins and new co-authors Wendy Greyeyes, Lloyd Lee, and Tiffany Lee provide the only comprehensive analysis of Diné governance structures, leaders, and political participation.

Book Details

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publish Date: Feb 19th, 2026
Pages: 440
Language: English
Edition: undefined - 0005
Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 1.11in - 1.00lb
EAN: 9781538191361
Categories: • American Government - General• Indigenous - Governance & Sovereignty• Native American

About the Author

Wilkins, David E.: - David E. Wilkins is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in leadership studies at University of Richmond. A citizen of the Lumbee Nation of North Carolina, Wilkins earned his PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His academic work concentrates on Native politics and governance, with particular attention to the transformations that Indigenous governments have both coercively and voluntarily engaged in from pre-colonial times to the present. Wilkins in the author or editor of numerous books, including mostly recently Documents of Native American Political Development: 1933 to Present; Red Prophet: The Punishing Intellectualism of Vine Deloria, Jr.; American Indian Politics and the American Political System, fourth edition; Dismembered: Native Disenrollment and the Battle for Human Rights; The Navajo Political Experience, fourth edition; and Hollow Justice: A History of Indigenous Claims in the United States.

Greyeyes, Wendy: - Wendy Greyeyes (Diné) is assistant professor of Native American studies at The University of New Mexico. She earned her PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago and her research focuses on political sociology, organizational analysis, Indigenous education, tribal sovereignty, and Native Nation building. Before entering academia, she was a tribal liaison for the Arizona Teacher Excellence Program and Homeland Security, a grassroots manager for the Indian Self Reliance Initiative in Arizona, a statistician for the Department of Diné Education, and a program analyst/chief implementation officer for the Bureau of Indian Education. She formerly served as the co-chair for the National Indian Education Association's Advocacy Committee and a former faculty for the Institute for American Indian Education. She currently serves as the Navajo representative member for the New Mexico Indian Education Advisory Council (IEAC), president for the Diné Studies Conference, Inc., a member of the American Indian Studies Association (AISA), faculty advisor for the UNM Native American Alumni Chapter, and faculty advisor for Kiva Club. She is the author of A History of Navajo Education: Disentangling Our Sovereign Body.

Lee, Lloyd L.: - Lloyd L. Lee (Diné) is professor and faculty graduate director in the department of Native American studies at The University of New Mexico, where he is also director of the Center for Regional Studies and editor of the journal, Wicazo Sa Review. He earned his PhD in American Studies from The University of New Mexico and his research focuses on Native American identity, masculinities, leadership, and Native Nation building. He is the author of Diné Identity in a 21st Century World and Diné Masculinities: Conceptualizations and Reflections; co-author of Native Americans and the University of New Mexico; and edited Navajo Sovereignty: Understandings and Visions of the Diné People and Diné Perspectives: Reclaiming and Revitalizing Navajo Thought. He currently sits on the Council for the American Indian Studies Association (AISA). Lee earned the Presidential Teaching Fellow Award 2017-2019 at the University of New Mexico.

Lee, Tiffany S.: - Tiffany S. Lee (Diné/Lakota) is professor and chair of the Native American studies department at The University of New Mexico. She earned her PhD in sociology of education from Stanford University and researches Native youth perspectives with regard to language reclamation and identity, as well as socio-culturally centered educational approaches. She has published numerous articles and book chapters in scholarly publications, as well as community-based research and government reports. She is the former President of the Navajo Studies Conference, Inc. and a former high school social studies and language arts teacher at schools on the Navajo Nation and at Santa Fe Indian School. She is also a member of the New Mexico Indian Education Advisory Council for the New Mexico Office of Indian Education.

Praise for this book

"Wilkins's The Navajo Political Experience is a comprehensive treatment of the contemporary Navajo Nation's governing structure and politics. The author overviews the historical and pre-colonial foundations of the Navajo people, the impact of colonization and the history of federal Indian policy to provide context to and historical understanding of the evolution of the Navajo nation's tribal sovereignty and internal self-governance. Part I situates the Navajo political experience within the broader story of the U.S. legal framework, while keeping the emphasis on this "nation within a nation." In Part II, the author turns to the governing structure of the Navajo nation with a review of its institutions and local governance before turning, in Part III to its internal political dynamics. The book is a dedicated treatise on the Navajo government and political experience that treats the nation on its own terms while still situating it within the broader story of U.S.-tribal relations. Throughout, the author emphasizes contemporary issues of governance and self-determination that is often missing in discussions of the First Nations. It is a must read for scholars interested in tribal sovereignty." --Lisa Parshall, Daemen College

""This textbook is the most in-depth and comprehensive look at a single Native nation that is unlike existing material in the field." --Thaddieus Conner, New Mexico State University

""This book is a great fit if you want to offer your students an example of how tribal governments work but don't feel you can teach it on your own, or want to have readings to accompany it. And there'll be no "stump the chump" moments in class or other types of Q&A that throw you off balance: if a student has a highly specific question that's relevant to their particular area of interest, you have a reference guide."" --Laura E. Evans, University of Washington