Honoring Diné Matri-ICONS

Although Women’s History Month is over, as an Indigenous women-led organization, The Chapter House would like to honor five incredible Diné women/femmes who are pillars of their communities!

Please remember although the 31 days in March are officially set aside to celebrate women, we can and should honor and celebrate them 24/7/365!

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Vice President

Richelle Montoya|Diné

Vice President Richelle Montoya is the first Diné woman to be elected to the office and the 11th Vice President of the Navajo Nation. A former chapter president, Vice President Montoya supports local governance by advocating for more responsive Navajo Nation Executive Branch programs and community leadership. Montoya also strongly advocates for individuals to learn the Navajo language.

Montoya is from Torreon, Sandoval County, New Mexico and is Hashtł'ishnii (Mud clan) and born for Ta'neeszahnii (Tangle clan). Her maternal grandfather is Kinłichii'nii (Red House clan), and her paternal grandfather is Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water clan).

Montoya’s college education include San Juan College, Navajo Community College (Now Diné College), Central New Mexico Community College, and the University of New Mexico. She served as the president of the Torreon/Star Lake Chapter and is a member of the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Inc. board.

For updates and to learn more about Vice President Montoya & President Buu Nygren, please visit https://opvp.navajo-nsn.gov/

Heather Tanana | Diné

Heather Tanana, JD, MPH is an Assistant Professor (Research) & Wallace Stegner Center Fellow at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at The University of Utah. Heather is experienced in state, federal, and tribal courts and clerked at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. She also founded the Indian Law Section of the Utah State Bar Association. In recognition of her work related to Tribal communities, the environment, and public health, Heather has received recognition and awards from the Natural Resources & Environmental Law Section of the Utah State bar, the Utah Minority Bar Association, and the Environment, Energy, and Resources Section of the American Bar Association. 

Heather is also Associate Faculty at the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, where she works with the Center’s Training team on developing and teaching Institute courses and collaborates on health policy related work. Heather’s research interests include exploring the overlay between environmental and health policy, promoting better practices in Indian child welfare, and criminal justice in Indian Country. 

She sits on the boards of the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake and Western Resource Advocates. She also volunteers her time on other working groups to promote diversity in the legal field, including the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law - Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Association of American Law Schools - Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples, and ABA Native American Resources Committee.

Dr. Crystal

Tulley-Cordova |Diné

Dr. Crystal Tulley-Cordova, PhD, MWR is a Principal Hydrologist in the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources - Water Management Branch. She received a doctoral degree in Geology and an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Sustainability from the University of Utah. She has received a Master of Water Resources in Hydroscience and a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of New Mexico. She has worked collaboratively with Navajo Nation partners on water-related research since 2013. Her research interests include learning more about the Navajo Nation water budget, namely the interactions of precipitation, surface, and ground waters, and the nexus with Navajo communities.

Her past research consisted of three projects conducted in collaboration with the Navajo Nation Water Management Branch, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, and Navajo Environmental Protection Agency; they are entitled (1) Navajo Nation, USA, Precipitation Variability from 2002 to 2015, (2) Stable isotopes in precipitation and associated waters: Recording the North American monsoon in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and (3) Groundwater sustainability and susceptibility to modern contamination in Fort Defiance, AZ. 

Crystal has a passion for working with tribal communities. She realizes the importance to help tribal nations dependent on water resources understand the effects of hydroclimatic changes on their tribal homelands. Crystal hopes the knowledge and experiences she gained over the years will help her assist Navajo communities to use their current knowledge about water to build sustainable water projects, seek funding for water-related research, and protect and manage water resources across the Navajo Nation.

Dr. Karletta Chief | Diné

Dr. Karletta Chief is a Professor & Extension Specialist in Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. She is the director of the Indigenous Resilience Center and lead for the NSF Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Security and Sovereignty Training Program. Indige-FEWSS’s vision is to develop a diverse workforce with intercultural awareness and expertise in sustainable food, energy, and water systems (FEWS), specifically through off grid technologies to address the lack of safe water, energy, and food security in Indigenous communities.

Dr. Karletta Chief grew up on the Navajo Nation without electricity and running water. Her family live within the Peabody Coal Company leasehold area. Her lived personal experiences of environmental injustice and as a first-generation graduate motivate her to devote all her environmental research to supporting the resilience of Indigenous communities and training of students in sustainable technologies.

Her primary Navajo projects include “Navajo COVID-19 Risks and Indigenous Resilience and Gold King Mine Spill Diné Exposure Project”. Dr. Chief received a B.S. and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University in 1998 and 2000 and a Ph.D. in Hydrology and Water Resources from UArizona in 2007. She completed her post-doctorate at Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas, NV. In 2011, Dr. Chief was named American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Most Promising Scientist/Scholar, 2013 Stanford University Distinguished Alumni Scholar, 2015 Native American 40 under 40, 2016 AISES Professional of the Year, and 2016 Phoenix Indian Center Woman of the Year.

Dr. Amanda Tachine | Diné

Dr. Amanda R. Tachine is from Ganado, Arizona. She is Náneesht’ézhí Táchii’nii (Zuni Red Running into Water clan) born for Tl’izilani (Many Goats clan). She is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership & Innovation at Arizona State University. Amanda’s research explores the relationship between systemic and structural histories of settler colonialism and the ongoing erasure of Indigenous presence and belonging in college settings using qualitative Indigenous methodologies.

Tachine was recognized by President Barack Obama with the White House Champions of Change: Young Women Empowering Communities Award for her instrumental work in creating the University of Arizona’s Native Student Outreach for Access and Resiliency, a multi-generational mentoring program to increase college access among Native youth and families.

She is the author of the award-winning book Native Presence and Sovereignty in College. Her dissertation titled, Monsters and Weapons: Navajo students’ stories on their journeys to college was awarded the 2016 American Educational Research Association Division J Dissertation of the Year. She has published in the Journal of Higher Education, Qualitative Inquiry, International Review of Qualitative Research, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, the Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, The Hill, Teen Vogue, Indian Country Today, Inside Higher Ed & Navajo Times, where she advanaces ideas regarding discriminatory actions, educational policies and inspirational movements.