The Judge

I spent the 4th of July with one of the local judges, Victor Clyde, at his family's ranch up in the Chuska Mountains.  This was about at the 7500 foot level and much cooler than Chinle at 5500 feet.  There was a stream running through the property and lots of Ponderosa pine trees.  While there I learned that the judges here have to be well versed in criminal law, civil law, and tribal law.  Tribal law disputes mostly deal with grazing and property issues as although the land is held in common by the entire tribe, the right to use the land is passed down from one generation to the next.  Up until recently the land was passed down maternally which made the Navajo Nation one of the few with maternal rights of inheritance. Land use is now passed down from family member to family member regardless of sex.  However, because of large families there are often disagreements over who gets to use which house or graze a specific plot of land. If the family cannot work out some agreement they end up in tribal court where judges like Victor have to use the wisdom of Solomon to decide who gets what. Victor also acts as justice of the peace and in a community with few church weddings he is quite busy. He also has to be elected every four years which helps to make him responsive to the community needs.

Tsaile Creek in the Chuska Mountains

It rained the night of 4th of July. Although it put a damper on the celebration I still have all my fingers and eardrums from not being able to set off fireworks.  I guess there is always New Years Eve.