Richelle Montoya-Chee is an American politician who is the 11th

vice president of the Navajo Nation The office of Vice-President of the Navajo Nation was created in 1991 following restructuring of the Navajo Nation government. The president and vice president are elected every four years. The Navajo Nation Vice-President shall serve no more tha ...

. She is the first woman elected to the executive office of Navajo Nation. 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). She served as the president of the Torreon/Star Lake Chapter and is a member of the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Inc. board. In August 2022, Montoya was selected as the running mate of

Buu Nygren Buu Nygren (born December 25, 1986) is the 10th President of the Navajo Nation. Nygren-Montoya received 34,890 votes, defeating the Nez-Abeyta campaign who received 31,339 votes in the 2022 election. He was sworn in on January 10, 2023, his ...

during the

2022 Navajo Nation presidential election The 2022 Navajo Nation presidential election took place on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 to elect the president and vice president of the Navajo Nation. The primary election was held on August 2nd. Incumbent president Jonathan Nez ran for reelection ...

. Montoya is an advocate for the usage of the

Navajo language Navajo or Navaho (; Navajo: or ) is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States ...

. She is married to

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

veteran Olsen Chee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montoya, Richelle Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American politicians Vice Presidents of the Navajo Nation Native American women in politics Women in New Mexico politics Native American people from New Mexico 21st-century American politicians People from Sandoval County, New Mexico