Crystalyne Curley is an American politician serving as the 11th speaker of the Navajo Nation Council since 2023. She is the first woman to hold the position. Curley was Miss Navajo from 2011 to 2012.
Crystalyne Curley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Curley in 2023 | |
| 11th Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council | |
| Assumed office January 23, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Otto Tso |
| Member of the 25th Navajo Nation Council | |
| Assumed office January 10, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Kee Allen Begay |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University University of New Mexico |
| Awards | Miss Navajo (2011) |
Life
editCurley is from Fish Point, Arizona.[1] She is Tsénjíkiní and born for Tó’aheedlíinii.[1] Her maternal grandfather is Kinyaa’áanii, and her paternal grandfather is Dził T’aadi Kinyaa’áanii.[1] Curley graduated with two bachelor's degrees from the Arizona State University.[1] She earned a master's in health administration from the University of New Mexico.[1]
Curley was Miss Navajo from 2011 to 2012.[2] She ran for the Navajo Nation Council Delegate position in 2022. Crystalyne Curley is currently working in the Navajo Nation Speaker's Office.[2] She later served as the senior public information officer for Navajo Nation President, Jonathan Nez.[2]
On November 8, 2022, Curley was elected delegate after defeating incumbent Kee Allen Begay.[2] She is the first woman to represent the Tselani/Cottonwood, Nazlini, Blue Gap/Tachee, Low Mountain, and Many Farms communities on the Navajo Nation Council.[2] In January 2023, the council elected Curley as its speaker, making her the first woman to hold the position and the first fluent Navajo speaker in the role since Johnny Naize's resignation in 2014.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Allen, Krista (2022-05-20). "Service is key: Former Miss Navajo Nation titleholders run for delegate seats". Navajo Times. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ a b c d e f Becenti, Arlyssa D. (January 23, 2023). "After women made historic gains, Navajo Nation Council elects first female speaker". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-01-24.