Prayer Through Running Feet: Running in Diné/ Navajo Culture Every morning, when the sun rises, professional rural educator Diné/Navajo man Shaun Martin runs in Navajo Nation, Arizona. Martin feels the ground underneath his feet as he reflects on what it means to be a runner and to be a Navajo. When Martin runs, he connects with the land around him, the history of running in Navajo ceremonies, and his father’s struggles under American colonialism. “When the sun rises, what do the birds do? What do flowers do when the sun rises? They are open to the public. What do Navajo people do when the sun rises? They run.” (Martin 2:10). In the beginning of the documentary clip, Martin jogs through the canyons of Navajo land. He cherishes the earth and …show more content…
Advocacy for Navajo children today is vital when Navajo people continue to endure poverty, lack of access to water, and environmental hazards within their communities as an ongoing repercussion of colonialism (Prussing 39:30). As a personal antidote, I always struggled with running and was bullied for the way I run. I have had rheumatoid arthritis ever since I was born, specifically flare ups in my left wrist and my right leg. These attributes made running a shameful activity for me and I would always finish in the last group of kids at mile runs. I wondered, “how could something that was so painful to me be so rewarding to others?” That was the philosophy behind running I could never quite understand until I became an adult. I appreciated running more when I ran to get to know and take care of my body. Hearing about Shaun Martin’s personal and cultural experiences with running, even at a young age, I took time to
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
Warren St.John reports on the story of one woman who impacted her community in more ways than she probably realized. Luma Mufleh is a young woman originally from Jordan, who came to America for college and moved to Clarkston, Georgia. As a lover of soccer, she worked at the YMCA until she met a group of boys who showed more passion for the sport than anyone she had ever coached before. These kids were the refugees whose families had to move to America to escape wars in their homelands. They were looking for better place to live and economic opportunities. These kids and their families were caught somewhere between the cultures of their native homes and the new ways of life that was presented by America. Luma noticed the natural talent in all of these kids. She noticed the love for the game of soccer in these kids. She made a team called the Fugees. Fugees came from the refugees. Luma trained the kids with the strict discipline like mandatory practice, cardio and tough attitude. She told if someone misses more two game sessions you are off the team (St.John 109). On the field, Luma faced bigger challenges. “When Luma told kids to divide up into the groups for drills, they would instinctively divide themselves according to their ethnic backgrounds or common languages. In scrimmages, boys would overlook open teammates to pass their own kind. And each group, she learned, had its own prejudices toward others” (St.John 60).
The story Navajo Lessons conveys the theme that “It is important to learn and appreciate your heritage.” This story is about a girl, Celine, and her brother that visit her grandmother on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Celine arrives at a place in the middle of nowhere at her grandmother’s house and is not excited because she had better plans for the summer. Her family is encouraging her to deal with it and make something good out of it. Over time, Celine learns that this trip was worth it because she realized that it is important to learn and appreciate your heritage. Celine learned this in many ways, one of them being that she wanted to learn and listen to the stories that her grandmother was telling.
The Diné, or Navajo, exhibit in the Arizona Museum is organized in an appropriate manner. The exhibit starts with the introduction to the Diné people, discussing the Athapaskan Migration. It then displays a beautiful sand painting done by a Diné man which represents the Diné Bikeyah or homeland. The Diné are introduced as a pastoral people who adopted customs from other native peoples as they migrated south to present day Arizona. The next topic discussed in the exhibit is the Long Walk, or the forceful movement of Diné people to Fort Sumner in 1863 and the return to Diné Bikeyah in 1868. Pastoralism is then discussed more in depth including how pastoralism and specifically sheep effected the Diné economy. The importance of weaving rugs is introduced as well. Sheep were an important part of the Diné culture, not only economically, but through kinship and community as well. The sacred narrative of Spider Woman was an audio recording within the exhibit accompanied by a modern day scene of women weaving rugs and spinning their own wool into yarn. This scene is important because while it shows the Diné living in a modern home, it shows how they blend modern day lifestyles with sacred Diné tradition. The conclusion of the exhibit discusses this blend with the modern day and traditional as well as displays rugs both modern and traditional.
1) Describe the nadle in the Navajo society of Native Americans or the hijra in India. How do these so-called “third genders” challenge our traditional notions of sex and gender?
John Farella. The Main Stalk: A synthesis of Navajo Philosophy. Navajo Religion. (Tuschon: University of Arizona Press, 1984)
The Navajo Indians used to live in northwestern Canada and Alaska. 1,000 years ago the Navajo Indians traveled south, because there was more qualities they had seeked there. When the Navajo Indians traveled south there was a lot of oil in the 1940’s. Today the Navajo Indians are located in the Four Corners.
In our day and age where our youth are becoming more aware of the history of the country and the people who inhabit it, the culture of Native Americans has become more accessible and sparks an interest in many people young and old. Recent events, like the Dakota Access Pipeline, grab the attention of people, both protesters and supporters, as the Sioux tribe and their allies refuse to stay quiet and fight to protect their land and their water. Many Native people are unashamed of their heritage, proud of their culture and their ancestors. There is pride in being Native, and their connection with their culture may be just as important today as it was in the 1800’s and before, proving that the boarding school’s ultimate goal of complete Native assimilation to western culture has
...tudents, American slaves, and 1890’s immigrant children, in similar ways. Sport is often vital to the autonomy, freedom, and pride of its participants especially in regards to the Native American students at boarding schools. Even though individuals may have thought that the schools were exploiting the talents of the Native American students, which they may have been, no one considered how the students actually viewed sport at the time. There often needs to be less preoccupation with political correctness and more focus on how certain actions actually affect the ones involved. Even if the schools were exploiting the students by sport, sports should never even been taken away from the Native American students of boarding skills due to the fact that it was sport that often was allowing them to develop; not only as a Native American, but as an individual as well.
For the Navajo, oral histories illuminate the way to uphold a fruitful, modern life. Unlike other native Athapaskan speaking groups, the Navajo are “exceptionally resilient” in the face of modernization through their high language retention (9). In preserving their language, the Navajo preserve the oral traditions that give them the “knowledge” to overcome the “manifestation of improper, disharmonious behavior” generated through Western influence (41). In retaining the knowledge given to them, the Navajo can use the social crisis of an epidemic and the political upheaval of relocation to reinforce understanding of Navajo values for both Navajo and non-Navajo alike. More comprehensively, through their traditional means of expressing grief and anger, the Navajo can fight injustices embroiled in the aftermath of uranium mining, and ultimately provide for the Navajo generations yet to come.
The people who were going to become the Navajo tribe settled in what would be the mountains of New Mexico in or around the 1600's. Prior to that time the area was the home of the Anasazi (The Ancient Ones.) The Anasazi had lived there for approximately 1200 years but, for unexplained reasons, they abandoned their highly developed dwellings and moved westward and southward.
Do you believe in witches? Healers who can revive a sick person instantly? People turning into animals? These things are part of the Navajo, a large federally recognized tribe of the country. They are known for doing rituals, ceremonies, and having their mysterious beliefs. This involves witches, “skinwalkers,” and medicine-men. Many of these topics are recognized in Bless Me, Ultima written by Rudolfo Anaya. The story features a boy who is conflicted between several cultural traditions. Ultima, a wise curandera – or healer –, guides and watches Antonio throughout the story. The impact of culture significantly affects the characters and their actions. Anaya introduces many subjects that are very similar to the Navajo and its vital aspects of life. Among the topics alike factors are connections to the land, healers, witches, religion, and many more. The Navajo lifestyle, culture traditions and beliefs are very similar to the indigenous subjects of Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima.
The Navajo tribe is the largest Native American group in Arizona. They first descended from the Apaches, who came from the Pueblos, also known as the Anasazi. The Navajo are known for weaving blankets, raising sheep, and generally being a peaceful tribe. Typically, the Navajo tribe was deeply religious, worshiping their common possessions, such as livestock and homes. The Navajo women were primary leaders in society. The typical Navajo's life was a wealth of culture.
Throughout this unique class, we have explored many amazing facets of the Dine’ people. From stories, to pieces of art, to the language itself, the beauty of Navajo culture is easily seen by all who have the fortune to come into contact with them. Unlike Navajo culture, however, the Western world uses a very loose definition for “beauty” that typically revolves around physical traits: a beautiful girl usually looks a certain way, a beautiful voice usually sounds a certain way, and a beautiful painting usually looks a certain way. The Western world merely looks at physical beauty and from this vision has developed a formula for what is and what isn’t considered beautiful. To the Navajo People, beauty is a much deeper, more meaningful concept. As we have explored in class, the beauty way of life, hozho, rules the way that a Navajo person should act and interact in daily life. Hozho is not only physical but also mental, spiritual, and purposeful.
Of the Sioux movies viewed, there were differences in the accuracy of the portrayal of these people. Both A Man Called Horse and A Man Called Horse III portrayed the Sioux tribe with an almost Neanderthal style haircut. Crazy Horse correctly depicted them with long hair, though traditionally the Sioux parted their hair down the middle with braids on either side.