The first issue was published on August 4, 1960, and sold for 10 cents each, and the newspaper's slogan was "Voice of Scenic Navajoland.

"[4] Unlike its predecessor Ádahooníłígíí of the 1940s,[5] the Times is published in English, rarely and infrequently printing an insert or extra in Navajo.

Originally created as a monthly newsletter and mouthpiece of the tribal Council, the paper had become a weekly publication by the early 1960s.

[6] In the late 1970s, the paper had its first confrontations with then Chairman Peter MacDonald, who fired and re-hired its general manager several times related to the publication's editorials critical of the tribal government.

[6] Under the leadership of Tom Arviso, Jr., who became editor in 1988, the paper in 2004 achieved financial independence of the tribal government.