Personal Narrative Essay On My Reservation

My Purpose
Climbing rock formations, having long discussions with my grandparents in Navajo, and driving on dirt roads is what encompasses trips to my reservation. I am grateful for these trips because I cherish spending time with my family, immersing myself in my culture, and being in a place that I identify as home. On my homeland there is beauty in both the land and people that is unlike anywhere else. Looking around, you will find that every viewpoint looks like it could be printed on a postcard. The large mesas, rich red sand, and open blue skies make the area stunning. Like the land, my people are powerful, determined and insightful. Despite having faced many trials in the past, we still have strength and resilience. On my reservation, you will find people who practice our traditional beliefs, who eat our traditional foods, who speak our traditional language, and who wear our traditional velveteen outfits. Navajos are proud people who balance living both in a traditionally indigenous world as well as a contemporary one.

For example, whenever I stay at my grandmother’s house there is no running water, plumbing, or electricity. My grandmother is not an outlier in this situation either. Many families on my reservation do not have these necessities. Instead, my people survive through their own hard work by hauling water to their homes, using outhouses, and using lights operated by unreliable batteries. Even though I see poverty, underdevelopment, and pollution that directly affects my people and our land, I still have hope that one day this will