$8 loaf of bread? Inflation drives already-high prices even higher on the Navajo Nation

Arlyssa D. Becenti
Arizona Republic
Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer stands by bottled water donated from Bashas' grocery stores at the Window Rock Airport in Window Rock on the Navajo Nation on May 15, 2020.

It’s already expensive to live on the Navajo Nation and inflation has only added to the cost. 

Crystalyne Curley saw a picture posted on Facebook from a Blue Gap community member that drove home the message. 

The photo was of three loaves of bread at the Blue Gap Store, which is the only place in the community that sells some grocery items. The prices of the bread were $8.09, $5.39 and $4.89. The bread wasn’t homemade, or even a fancy kind, but rather prepackaged from the Sara Lee company and a generic brand.  

“Blue Gap is one of the smallest communities out there where we don't really have an outlet for fresh produce, groceries,” said Curley, who is running for tribal council delegate from the communities of Low Mountain, Tachee/Blue Gap, Tselani/Cottonwood, Nazlini and Many Farms. “It's the definition of a food desert.”

Blue Gap is a remote community on the Navajo Nation and whichever way you go it's more than 20 miles to the nearest supermarkets, in Chinle or Pinon, and the roads in and out of Blue Gap aren’t the greatest. 

“It takes 30 to 40 minutes to drive out from Blue Gap and a lot of families are trying to save gas, especially to get firewood,” Curley said. “A lot of the roads out in Blue Gap aren’t paved, so a lot of our community members live off the road and it gets muddy there. Our families save for coal or firewood, the last thing a family should have to worry about is a $9 loaf of bread.” 

The distances from Blue Gap would be welcome for some people, many of them elders, who live in the more remote parts of the Navajo Nation. With the distance comes the hardship of living in a food desert, with a lack of grocery stores except for gas stations, like the Blue Gap Store, that sells some food items.

As inflation hits the rest of the country, the Navajo Nation has also been experiencing it in a severe way, making it even more expensive to live there, whether it's the rise in the cost of food, gas or building supplies. Long distances make moving goods even more expensive as gas prices remain high.

Inflation Act includes tribal funding

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez took this picture outside the White House the day President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Recovery Act, which included money for Indigenous communities.

The federal Inflation Recovery Act is set to send money to tribes, but how much exactly is not certain because tribes will have to apply for aid. Higher jobless rates in some Navajo communities affect how much a person can afford when it comes to necessities like food and gas.

As wildfires burn on drought-stricken lands, Navajo President Jonathan Nez met with President Joe Biden to stress the need for forest thinning on the Navajo Nation.

Earlier this month, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, along with other tribal leaders, were invited to Washington, D.C., to be a part of President Joe Biden’s signing of the Inflation Recovery Act. The measure authorizes over $700 billion and addresses policies related to climate change, energy, taxes and health care costs aimed at improving the country’s economy. 

From the Inflation Recovery Act, $272.5 million is intended for Native communities for climate resilience and adaptation, including $25 million in targeted climate resilience funding to the Native Hawaiian community for the first time ever; $12.5 million to mitigate drought impacts for tribes; $10 million for tribal fish hatcheries;  $150 million for tribal home electrification; $75 million for loans to tribes for energy development; and what is described as a tenfold increase (from $2 billion to $20 billion) in loan guarantees for tribal energy development.

“We talked to U.S. Treasurer Marilynn Malerba for the guidelines of the Inflation Recovery Act because the treasury will have to determine those guidelines,” said Nez on how tribes will be able to get some of those dollars. “It won't be divvied out like CARES or ARPA. We have to apply for these opportunities. We just gave our recommendation on that.”

CARES and ARPA were relief measures passed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nathaniel Brown, a Navajo Nation council delegate who represents communities such as Kayenta, Chilchinbeto and Dennehotso, said he hopes the Inflation Recovery Act can assist the Navajo Nation in some way, but he said more has to happen. Brown is a member of the council’s Budget and Finance Committee, the oversees Navajo Nation funds.

“I hope it helps some,” Brown said. “I think it has to be Navajo-specific.”

Spending is high in border towns

The Navajo Nation spans three states — Arizona, Utah and New Mexico — and because of the distance and the lack of economic development, the only recourse for many residents is to travel long distances to purchase goods in border towns. These towns, like Farmington, Gallup, Winslow, Flagstaff and Page, count on money from Navajo customers who have no choice but to shop there. 

“Our people were calling us and telling us that plywood, 2x4's, has dramatically increased in price but some has gone back down,” Brown said.

Brown cited a study done nearly 15 years ago that showed the aggregate personal income on the Navajo Nation was approximately $1.6 billion and more than $1 billion of that is spent in border towns annually. It was presented by the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission for its 2008-2009 Assessing Race Relations for Navajos and Non-Navajos, a review of border town race relations.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Nathaniel Brown speaks with his Dinè community.

“Our people, like in Kayenta, we are probably the most remote area and the closest lumber store, the closest Walmart, the closest mall we would have to drive to Farmington,” Brown said.

The drive from Kayenta to Farmington is about 130 miles. 

“It’s kind of a one-stop shop for us," Brown said. "So, you have to consider the gas for a round trip, the mileage is a lot, the wear and tear. Farmington gets more than any other border town gets from Navajo dollars. People ask why we don't have sidewalks and parks, but they don’t know our people pay for those parks in Farmington, we pay for all those wonderful amenities they have. We are missing out.”

In 2012, the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development reported approximately $219 million in sales taxes were collected from Navajo Nation border towns in New Mexico and Arizona combined.

More recently, results from the 2022 Navajo Hardship Assistance Consumer Impact Survey show that approximately 53% of hardship assistance funds are spent off-reservation. Figures say more than half of earned income in the Navajo Nation is spent off-reservation. 

When Navajo customers aren't contributing to the border town economy by shopping, working or eating in those towns, they are contributing to other parts of Arizona through gas fuel taxes, such as the Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax, which Brown said earns a considerable amount annually from Navajo drivers. He said annually Navajo drivers make up at least $16 million to $26 million in ATP tax, money that goes everywhere else but the Navajo Nation.

Inflation also hit hard in communities with higher unemployment rates. On the Navajo Nation, unemployment for 2021 was 10.4%, compared to the rate for Arizona at 7.0% and the national unemployment rate at 6.8%. Since 2011, the Navajo Nation’s labor force participation population, the people who have a job, has decreased by 2.8% for the 25 to 54 age group and decreased by 3.4% overall.

The unemployment rate also affects key industry clusters within the region. On the Navajo Nation, the four-year average unemployment rates have risen in several sectors, including hospitality and tourism (18.7%), services (14.9%), arts-A/V-technology and communications (12.7%) and architecture and construction (12.5%).

JT Willie, the economic development director, said his agency is working to collect data from tribal government entities but for now has to rely on other sources for such information, such as the U.S Department of Commerce International Trade Association’s 2022 Select USA Diagnostic Data Report for the Navajo Nation, the source of the unemployment figures.

Fuel costs play a pivotal role in prices

Curley said the Blue Gap community member who initially posted the photo of the price of bread asked why the bread was so expensive, especially knowing that elders shop there because it is the only place where they can buy some food items if they aren’t able to travel to border towns. She was never given an answer.

“A lot of people did reach out and said the little stores like Blue Gap are encountering the same thing,” Curley said. “But the community member was able to ask why the prices increased and the manager never gave her an explanation. It seems more challenging to get answers. A council delegate or chapter official should have the capacity to reach out and get some answers. But we don't feel like it's being done.”

Navajo Petroleum owns the Blue Gap Store, along with other stores in Window Rock, Kayenta, Tse Bonito and Chinle. The Republic reached out to Navajo Petroleum and a spokesperson in the retail department, who declined to be named, said suppliers and competition are some factors for the expensive grocery prices.

“It depends on our supplier, lately there has been a lot of price increase,” the spokesperson said. “We have to adjust to the margins and see also where our competitors are for the same products. We are constantly doing price surveys and looking at the suggested retail pricing from the grocery supplier who brings us our supplies.” 

Gas prices play a pivotal role. The main supplier for Navajo Petroleum is in Albuquerque, which is 250 miles from Blue Gap. The spokesperson emphasized that distance can drive the price up more than anything.

“The cost of fuel has also taken a toll as to why grocery prices have gone up,” the spokesperson said. “It really comes down to where the store is located as far as what we are deciding what the margin is going to be, it depends on the location of where the store is. It’s not just happening here. It’s all over the United States. Being in the rural area, it's noticeable to us.”

Arlyssa Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.

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