Tuba City vendor dispute in limbo

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The dispute between local flea market food vendors and Tuba City Chapter officials is at a standstill.

"Nothing is happening right now," said Diichili Cooperative spokesman Dennis Bowen Jr. "It's kind of quieted down."

The Diichili Cooperative represents the vendors that routinely set up tables near the Westerners convenience store on Main Street.

Bowen was arrested Oct. 13 by Tuba City District police, just days before the annual Tó'Nanees'Dizí Fair. Although Lt. Clifton Smith said the arrest was for a theft unrelated to the vendor squabble, Bowen said the "theft" involved his removal of "no vending" signs posted by chapter officials.

Chapter officials wanted to bar vendors that had not paid a fee from selling their wares by the side of the road.

Bowen had been scheduled to appear in Tuba City District Court on Nov. 13 but due to a case backlog, no paperwork had been submitted regarding his case and no hearing was held.

The case sits in limbo now, where the charge has not been officially dismissed, but is also not apparently being pursued.

"It all still comes back down to sovereignty and freedom on our land," Bowen said.

Food vendors have a right to set up shop and sell to passersby, he insisted. Chapter officials are wrong to try to prevent people from making a living, he added.

Bowen is also critical of Navajo Nation Council delegates.

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"We have 88 delegates and not one of them has stood up for the people," Bowen said. "The Navajo Nation has a deficit, there are no jobs and no infrastructure. What would Chief Manuelito say to our leaders today?"

If Bowen sounds like a political candidate, it's because one day he may be one. Some day he will run for Navajo Nation president and try to restore the power to the people, he said.

Elected leaders get into office and then forget that they are supposed to work for the people, he said.

"My thought now is that all of us need to wake up, to take a step back and re-evaluate ourselves," Bowen said. "Right now the elephant and the donkey have become more important to us that our own clans."

Navajo people are in crisis and need leaders who will stand up and fight for them, he said.

"The dysfunction in our homes is coming into our offices," Bowen said. "Every day starts with hope, and then misery and despair sets in."

Tuba City Chapter Manager Priscilla Littlefoot could not be reached for comment.