Lawmakers, board press for action as Navajo Code Talker museum stalls amid fiscal and site disputes

A joint hearing of the Indian Affairs and Military & Veterans Affairs committee heard pleas from the Navajo Code Talker Museum board on stalled plans, disputed stewardship and what presenters described as complex funding rules that have prevented construction.

"So 54 years later, we still do not have a plan, a design, or a museum," said Vern Lee, a board member, summarizing the group's long effort to build a museum honoring Navajo code talkers. He and other presenters reviewed a decades‑long history of land transfers and legislative awards intended for the project.

Board members said the project has received prior state awards and legislative allocations referenced in the hearing as "Senate Bill 280" and "House Bill 505," and that the aggregated funding the board described totaled several million dollars in varying statements during the presentation. The board said some funds have been spent on planning (they cited about $300,000) and the remaining capital outlay remains uncommitted for construction.

Presenters described several practical obstacles at the preferred Se Bonito (Sabanito) site near Highway 264: the parcel is fee simple private land, it lies in a flood plain, it currently lacks sewer service and has soil percolation problems that complicate septic systems, and subsurface (soil) investigations have not been completed. A 2008 University of Arizona concept study recommended a mesa‑top location for the flagship museum, but presenters said no final architectural plans or subsurface engineering have been done.

Board members also described repeated attempts to work with the Navajo Nation as fiscal agent and said the Nation has asserted control of the project, at times disrupting arrangements with McKinley County that had been proposed to serve as fiscal agent. "We met with them… they promised us, yeah, we'll do the ground study… and it was never done," Vern Lee said. Presenters additionally described a meeting during which they were told the Nation preferred to site a museum in Shiprock; the board objected to using their funds for that purpose.

Lawmakers pressed for alternatives and accountability. Former state Representative Anthony Allison, who has long supported the project and contributed capital outlay funds, warned that he had seen other publicly funded projects fall into disuse and urged placing the museum under state cultural stewardship. "I do not want that with the Navajo Code Talker Museum," Allison said, describing facilities that were built then boarded up after payment disputes.

Senator Ramos asked why the Navajo Nation would not allow McKinley County to act as fiscal agent; presenters said the county would front funds but the Nation intervened during prior negotiations. Committee members suggested other stewardship options including the state's Department of Cultural Affairs or a council of governments (COG). Several members flagged the administrative percentages quoted by presenters (the Nation's figure cited in the hearing was 17 percent) and recommended reducing overhead so more funds go to construction.

The committee repeatedly framed the project as urgent because of the dwindling number of surviving original code talkers. Presenters and lawmakers said two of the original code talkers remain alive (presenters referenced ages including one 97 and another who recently turned 100), underscoring an urgency to reach a construction decision while veterans can see it realized.

Committee members advanced procedural next steps without taking a formal vote: they agreed to place the topic on the next agenda, ask Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) and the Department of Cultural Affairs for options on reauthorization or transfer of funds, and consider drafting new legislation if necessary. The chair scheduled follow‑up discussion for the committee's next meeting and invited the board to stay involved in developing solutions.

The hearing closed with lawmakers urging continued collaboration among the board, the Navajo Nation, McKinley County and state agencies to identify a fiscal and operational structure that will complete the museum project.