Sandie Morgan is joined by Phefelia Nez, the Navajo Nation First Lady. They discuss new initiatives the Navajo Nation has launched to address human trafficking and missing and murdered indigenous women, as well as how non-tribal entities can partner with tribal nations.

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Dave [00:00:00] You’re listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. This is episode number 277, Navajo Nation Interview, with First Lady Phefelia Nez.

Production Credits [00:00:10] Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential.

Dave [00:00:31] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. My name is Dave Stachowiak.

Sandie [00:00:36] And my name is Sandie Morgan.

Dave [00:00:38] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Sandie, what an honor we have today to be able to welcome an incredible leader with us who’s gonna really help us to expand our perspective in so many ways and really look at how partnership. Of course, we talk about so much the importance of partnership and being able to work across organizations, governments and of course, most importantly, people. Today, I’m so honored for us to have a first lady Phefelia Nez with us. First Lady Nez was born in Keam County, Arizona, and raised on Hopi Partition Land in Big Mountain, Arizona. She is married to Jonathan Nez and the mother of two children, Christopher and Alexander. She is the daughter of David and Julia Herbert. She grew up in a traditional Hogan without modern amenities and has always spent time outdoors, tending to livestock, the corn and vegetable field. Having ample outdoor space, she enjoyed a childhood of running, hiking and biking. Her favorite hobby growing up was reading and journaling. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science with an emphasis in comparative and international politics and criminal justice from Northern Arizona University, as well as a Master of Public Administration at NAU. She is also an alum of ASU Lodestar Center’s Generation Next Nonprofit Leadership Academy. First Lady Nez, what a pleasure to have you with us on the show.

First Lady Nez [00:02:11] Thank you for having me.

Sandie [00:02:12] I feel like I just saw you recently. Oh, I did. I was over there. Your bio is so much more meaningful now to me from just that visit and meeting so many other Navajo leaders like yourself and understanding that your bio represents your background and the traditions that bring so much to building family in the context of the Navajo Nation. So it inspires me and I’m really appreciative that you’re with us today for the podcast.

First Lady Nez [00:02:54] Oh, I was going to say, yes, it’s only been, I think, a little over a week since we’ve seen one another at the Navajo Nation Ensure Justice conference that we had in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Sandie [00:03:05] That was quite an opportunity, and it was very connected to one of the young men who became a student at Vanguard. Matthew Holgate went with us at the Global Center. Except for during COVID, we always do a study abroad. And Matthew was on one of our teams when we went to Argentina and did an Ensure Justice conference in a northern province of Argentina. And on the plane, on our way home, he asked to sit with me for a while and we had a couple other adjunct faculty and he would...