An initiative on the ballot this November, Proposition 139, would allow abortions based on fetal viability, generally around 24 weeks of pregnancy. Jaynie Parrish, executive director of Arizona Native Vote, a Native voter engagement organization that supports Proposition 139, said local community matriarchs have expressed support for abortion access in small group meetings. Distinguished elders from the Navajo, Hopi and White Mountain Apache tribes participate in these conclaves.

“They might look around, but they'll say, 'Of course it's our decision.' It doesn't belong to anyone else.' … And then we start having deeper conversations about shame and judgment,” said Parrish, who is Navajo. “The way it's portrayed has been taboo for so long, and it's going to take some people some time to break free of that.”

Abortion access could be a critical issue for Navajo voters in Arizona as they consider their options at the state and federal levels in November. Democrats argue that abortion is also on the ballot for their candidates: Vice President Kamala Harris, the party's presidential nominee; Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is seeking to become Arizona's next senator; and Jonathan Nez, the former president of the Navajo Nation who is running for the congressional seat that includes much of the tribe's territory.