MacDonald Is Focus of Bribery Inquiry, Recall Drive : Navajo Leader Steps Down Amid Probe

Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald stepped down late Thursday amid a corruption probe that has pitched the nation’s largest Indian tribe into perhaps its most serious crisis in modern history.

The 88-member Tribal Council was left in disarray after three stormy days of debate and delaying tactics by MacDonald supporters.

MacDonald is the focus of both federal and tribal investigations, and he is the target of a recall campaign within the 200,000-member tribe. Their reservation covers much of northeastern Arizona and extends into part of New Mexico and Utah.

Admitting that grass-roots opposition could bring the Navajo capital “to a standstill,” MacDonald placed himself on paid administrative leave, relinquishing the power of the office he has held for 14 of the last 18 years.

He left the council chambers to applause and a standing ovation after a calm but emotional speech focusing on the need for tribal unity.

“In the end, we come back to the same circle that we are Navajos and we love each other,” he said.

MacDonald will keep his $55,000 salary but he failed in his bid to name his own successor.

However, the council rejected appeals by the 60-year-old chairman to pay his legal expenses and furnish him with an office and staff while he fights allegations that he accepted kickbacks from contractors in exchange for doing business with the reservation.

“We face a difficult fight on many fronts,” said MacDonald, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, MacDonald emerged as a key target of Senate hearings into alleged fraud and mismanagement in Indian programs and on reservations.

Two contractors told a Senate subcommittee that MacDonald received at least $125,000 in kickbacks since 1986.

MacDonald has acknowledged receiving gifts from contractors, describing them as tokens of appreciation for his leadership with no strings attached.

The Navajo leader complained that the Senate hearings were racist and a threat to tribal sovereignty.

“Sovereignty is not the issue and the Navajo tribe is not the issue. The issue is wrongdoing by one person, by one individual--the chairman,” said Jimmy Bitsuie, vice president of the Native Rights Assn., which advocates a tribal constitution rather than the existing code.

MacDonald also apparently is under investigation by a federal grand jury in Phoenix.

Tazbah McCullah, tribal press secretary, confirmed Thursday that tribal documents had been subpoenaed.

“They want documents, contracts, bids and proposals,” she said.

The council still must decide on an interim chairman and faces considerable confusion over the interpretation of tribal codes in doing so.

Also unclear is when and under what circumstances MacDonald might be allowed to return. Various resolutions up for debate suggest that he step down for a year or until his name is cleared, whichever comes first--but the tribe is only 11 months away from new elections, anyway.

Tribal police guarded council chambers during the open session, which was packed with spectators and the media.

As the debate over MacDonald’s fate dragged on for a third day, a small crowd of Navajos waiting outside could be heard shouting “Vote!” to the council.

The proceedings, conducted in both Navajo and English, were broadcast live on tribal radio.

Videotapes of damaging testimony against MacDonald by his son and contractors before the Senate subcommittee have been shown during town hall meetings across the vast reservation.

“This is the most crucial issue to face the Navajo nation in its long, proud history,” said Larry Anderson, a councilman among the MacDonald opposition.

Anderson told reporters MacDonald should resign “in an effort to restore integrity and credibility to our government.”