Ex-Navajo president honored in funeral procession, reception

LOW MOUNTAIN, Ariz. (AP) — Former Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah is being remembered as an inspirational, humble leader with a passion for education and commitment to his people. Zah was honored Saturday with a funeral procession that stretched from western New Mexico into eastern Arizona. People along a 100-mile route said their final farewells to a monumental leader who made education, family, culture and Navajo language hallmarks of his life. Zah died late Tuesday after a lengthy illness. He was 85. A private funeral and burial was held at his family’s cemetery in Low Mountain, Arizona. Hundreds gathered Saturday afternoon for a public reception near the Navajo capital of Window Rock.