Gov appoints new Indian Affairs Department secretary less than a year after last selection

Dec. 15—Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday named Josett Monette as the new Indian Affairs Department secretary. The announcement comes less than a year after her selection of James Mountain, an appointment Native American communities fought against.

Mountain, a former governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo, will move into the Governor's Office to serve as a senior policy adviser for tribal affairs.

Native American leaders, members and advocates had pushed back against Lujan Grisham's choice to put Mountain in the role, which she announced in February , because of a rape charge filed against him about 15 years ago that was later dismissed.

Lujan Grisham didn't ever formally submit Mountain's nomination to the state Senate committee that confirms gubernatorial appointees during the 60-day legislative session in 2023. The committee could have convened in the eight months since to vet Mountain but didn't.

The appointment process for Monette will take place in the upcoming 30-day legislative session, Governor's Office spokesperson Maddy Hayden said. The session starts Jan. 16 and runs to Feb. 15.

The Governor's Office didn't respond to an inquiry on if the community pushback against Mountain contributed to his transition to senior policy adviser. Hayden said as was the case with Mountain's selection, the administration received input from tribal leadership to appoint Monette.

"Both former Secretary-designate Mountain and Secretary-designate Monette are proven leaders who are dedicated to serving the Nations, tribes and pueblos of New Mexico," Lujan Grisham said in a statement on Friday.

Monette is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. She joined the Indian Affairs Department earlier this year. Monette was appointed as general counsel in March 2023 and then appointed as deputy secretary in July 2023.

Before joining Indian Affairs, she acted as the director for New Mexico Legal Aid's Native American Program. She also previously served as associate general counsel for the Pueblo of Isleta and an associate attorney with Barnhouse, Keegan, Solimon & West LLP, a Native law firm in Albuquerque.

She was an educator before her work in the law field. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, for the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Team.

Monette said in a statement on Friday she's stepping into the new secretary role with "deep commitment, dedication, care and a profound respect for our Nations, Tribes and Pueblos and their homelands here in New Mexico."

She said she has a clear understanding of the Indian Affairs Department's responsibility in overseeing state investments and government-to-government relationship commitments.

"I want to thank Gov. Lujan Grisham for her trust and confidence in me to lead the Indian Affairs Department and uphold her unparalleled commitments to New Mexico's tribal leaders and communities," she said.

Mountain said in a statement that serving as the Indian Affairs Department secretary was one of the greatest honors he's ever been asked to take on. He said Lujan Grisham has upheld her promises and commitments to tribal leaders and members.

"I am grateful and look forward to continuing to serve under her leadership in a new role for the administration, our tribes and New Mexico," he said.

State Sen. Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi, was vocal in her efforts not to allow Mountain as the Indian Affairs Department secretary. Pinto, a Navajo Nation member, told the Journal on Friday that Mountain's role in the Governor's Office will be very different from serving as Indian Affairs secretary because of the secretary's close work on the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives, or MMIWR.

Lynn Trujillo, who served as secretary before Mountain, formerly chaired the MMIWR task force. Members of the task force threatened to resign with Mountain's appointment as secretary.

The state announced a new missing Indigenous persons advisory council last month after quietly ending the first task force.

Pinto said she doesn't know how a new Indian Affairs secretary will reset the progress made on the MMIWR issues the state has been working to address. She said the MMIWR advisory council, from the start, was meant to be as safe of a space as possible, minimizing retraumatizing victims and loved ones by having them retell their stories.

"I don't know how much of a new page is going to have to be written to tackle some of the issues," she said.

Pinto said she doesn't know Monette, and the newly appointed secretary will go through the same vetting process in the Legislature other appointees have to go through.

"I think only time will tell as we move forward," she said. "And I'm sure that other people will weigh in on who she is or what they know."