Author

Noel Lyn Smith
Noel Lyn Smith (Diné) is a student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. She is pursuing a master’s degree in investigative journalism. She has previously reported about the Navajo Nation for the Farmington Daily Times and the Navajo Times.
Indigenous women navigate abortion access hurdles post-Roe
By: Noel Lyn Smith and Maddy Keyes, News21 - August 29, 2023
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Rachael Lorenzo calls it their “auntie laugh,” a powerful chuckle that lasts long and fills any space. Aunties are prominent figures in Indigenous culture who offer comfort when one needs help. Aunties answer the phone when no one else does. That’s what Lorenzo, who is Mescalero Apache, Laguna and Xicana, does as founder […]
Curfews saddled hundreds with citations, netted no money for Navajo police
By: Noel Lyn Smith - June 27, 2023
PHOENIX – The first COVID-19 case on the Navajo Nation came in March 2020, and by the end of the month the tribe already had in place a curfew to keep residents home. The curfew was among the most stringent measures any U.S. tribal or non-tribal government enacted to check the spread of the virus. […]
Peterson Zah remembered as inspirational leader, father
By: Noel Lyn Smith - March 13, 2023
FORT DEFIANCE, Arizona – While stories about former Navajo Nation president Peterson Zah centered on the titles and accolades he earned and received during his life, he was always ‘Dad’ to his three children. “There are many different stories that have been shared today,” Eileen Zah, one of his daughters, said at the memorial service on […]
Peterson Zah’s final journey through Navajo
By: Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, ICT and Noel Lyn Smith - March 13, 2023
NAVAJO NATION — It was a quiet, cloudy and cold morning in Tsé Bonito, New Mexico. There were six people standing alongside Highway 264 that leads into Arizona. There were breakfast burrito sellers parked on the side of the road, $5 each. Otherwise, the highway was quiet and sparsely populated. One man removed his winter cap […]