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.

Phefelia Nez
Phefelia Nez was born in Keam Canyon, AZ and raised on Hopi Partition Land in Big Mountain, AZ. She is married to Jonathan Nez and mother of two children, Christopher and Alexander Nez. 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 Bachelor of Science degrees 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 alumni of ASU Lodestar Center’s Generation Next Nonprofit Leadership Academy Class V.
Key Points

Tribal Community Response Plan to Missing and Unidentified Persons four guidelines:

Law Enforcement
Victim Services
Media and Communications
Community Resources


The generation of individuals who experienced a loss of land, loss of culture, and loss of family integration continue to affect families and create vulnerabilities.
The Office of the First Lady and Second Lady have an emphasis on building a resilient child, which includes educating the community and modeling it for children.
Promoting research in Navajo Nation can provide answers to prevention of human trafficking and missing and murdered indigenous women.

Resources

Navajo Nation Office of the First Lady and Second Lady
Ensure Justice 2021: Race, Ethnicity, and New Immigrant Populations (Phefelia Nez starts at 39 minutes)
2022 Navajo Nation - Ensure Justice Conference
Save the Date! - Ensure Justice 2023, March 3-4









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Transcript
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 Univer...