Peterson Zah (1937–2023), first president of the Navajo Nation
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1 min readPeterson Zah was the first president of the Navajo Nation, serving from 1991 to 1995.
- Died: March 7, 2023 (Who else died on March 7?)
- Details of death: Died of cancer at a hospital in Fort Defiance, Arizona at the age of 85.
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Navajo leader
Before his political career, Zah worked as deputy director of the nonprofit DNA People’s Legal Service, later becoming executive director. He became involved in public service as a school board member and later its president. Named chairman of the Navajo Tribal Council in 1983, Zah served through 1987. In 1991, after the Navajo Nation’s government was restructured from a council into a three-branch system similar to that of the United States, Zah was elected the nation’s first president. He served for one term, through 1995. He consulted with U.S. presidents on Native American issues, and he later became a special advisor to the president of Arizona State University. There, he worked to recruit more Native American students to the university.
Tributes to Peterson Zah
Full obituary: Navajo Times
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