Navajo Nation president rejects council claim of defunding missing persons services

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has responded to a press release from the 25th Navajo Nation Council that accuses his administration of defunding missing persons services to pay for travel and operations. Nygren called the statement “misinformation” in a post on the Office of the President Vice President website, saying his administration allocated $4.7 million for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives programs for fiscal year 2026 — the largest amount in Navajo Nation history.

The release states the Four Corners K-9 Search and Rescue program will receive $20,000 of a planned $250,000 initial funding. Nygren said some funds were redirected to maintain executive branch operations and that travel spending supports community visits, food distribution and emergency response efforts. “Numbers don’t lie, and neither do the results,” Nygren said.