Business site leases approved for Taadidiin Tour and Arrowhead Campground near Shonto

Nez meets with local leaders to discuss priorities for LeChee and Shonto

SHONTO, Ariz. — On July 16, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Navajo tour business owners gathered at the LeChee chapter house to celebrate the finalization of two business site leases for Taadidiin Tours, LLC and Arrowhead Campground, LLC.

Both are Navajo-owned businesses that offer guided tours, camp grounds, lodging, and other amenities to th Navajo Nation.

“We are honored to gather with Rita Tsinigine with Taadidiin Tours and Lester and Roseann Littleman with Arrowhead Campground to sign the business leases that will allow these Navajo businesses to operate, grow, and create more jobs and revenue. I commend them for their persistence and practicing the teaching of our elders, T’áá Hwó Ají Téego, or self-reliance and self-determination. Our administration is proud of you and we support you,” said Nez during the signing ceremony that included remarks from the business owners and their families.

Priorities for LeChee and Shonto

In addition to the celebration, Nez also met with local leaders and officials for LeChee and Shonto, to hear the needs and priorities of their communities regarding the COVID-19 recovery efforts under the American Rescue Plan Act.

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LeChee and Shonto discuss priorities and needs with Navajo President Jonathan Nez

Division directors for the LeChee chapter said their priorities included modular bathroom units for local residents, development of a cemetery, and improvements and replacements of existing water and sewer lines in the community.

Shonto officials said their priorities included a powerline extension project that would provide electricity to 42 homes, bathroom additions for local residents, a new storage warehouse, and a public services complex.

The Nez-Lizer Administration has met with officials from nearly 30 chapters in Utah, New Mexico and Arizona to receive local priorities.

According to the Office of the President and Vice President, the majority of the overall priorities include bathroom additions, water and power line projects, rural addressing, public safety needs, waste management, storage warehouses, road improvements and drought mitigation.

A total of 558 projects have been submitted to the Division of Community Development.

Under the leadership of Office of the President and Vice President Chief of Staff Paulson Chaco, the Nez-Lizer Administration’s infrastructure team is vetting projects to develop a comprehensive listing that currently includes over 9,000 projects at a cost of over $20 billion.

“The Navajo Nation has received $1.8 billion through the American Rescue Plan Act up to this point and we have to do our best to leverage the funds to implement changes and improvements,” Nez said. “The Navajo Nation has never received this amount of funding from the federal level at one time – this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our Nation to create changes and benefits for future generations. We need water development. The drought that we are in now shows us how important water is to sustain us into the future. Our people are right – water is life, and water is going to be like gold in the future.”

Information provided by the Office of the President and Vice President