Navajo Nation

Craig Elias reflects on several of the service projects, or “community-engaged learning” activities, that our indigenous hosts invited us to participate in during the final weeks of our Navajo Hopi Study Service Term (SST): Today we talked as a group about the term service in SST, and the tension was high. Each person was set … Keep reading »

Jonathan Orjala shares about the early morning hike that came at the end of a five-day “camp meeting” at our host church on the Navajo Nation: The Sunday we left Black Mountain Mennonite Church, about ten of us woke up at 6 am and piled into two pickup trucks with the intention of climbing the … Keep reading »

Alex Koscher shares his thoughts about the hospitality our group has received during our time in the Navajo Nation, contrasting it to what he encountered while stopping for lunch on the way to Grand Canyon National Park: Hospitality has often been a key feature within Indigenous culture. Over the past few weeks, this trip has … Keep reading »

Estefania Soto shares what she learned about the land from our Navajo teachers, beginning with the creation myth and applying this to an experience that connected her to this place: During my time with the Navajo I’ve listened, learned, and experienced what it is to have a connection to the land.  I’ll start by recounting … Keep reading »

Lukas Bontrager-Waite shares his insights after a challenging experience in the Chuska Mountains: There is a question that has especially been on my mind since this SST began: “what are we bound by?” Generally, my answer has always been the same: time. In our culture and society in Goshen, Indiana, I would maintain that this … Keep reading »

For Fourth of July the group headed out from Diné College and drove about an hour to the capital of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock.  Our plan was to attend the Navajo Nation celebration, seeing traditional dancing, shopping at different vendors and finally going to a rodeo.  I had never been to a rodeo before … Keep reading »

Areli Guzman shares her thoughts on Navajo clans and her family’s heritage: Yá’ át’ ééh  (Hello) Shi éi Areli yinishyé  (I am called Areli) Ákót’ éego Naakai dine’ é asdzáán nishłí  (In this way, I am a Mexican woman) Here in the Navajo Nation, I am a person with an actual clan name:  Naakai. When … Keep reading »

Teresa Ross Richer reflects on a key concept in Navajo culture: Balance:  a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. In my culture, we do not seem to take to heart the concept of balance or consider pursuing balance in our lives. As a group we have had the chance … Keep reading »

Virginia Jimenez shares her reflections on an inspiring presentation by a photography student at Diné College: At Diné College we met various Navajo people who shared their culture with us — one of them was a photography student, Candace Harrison, who is on her way to graduating this December.  During our time with her, she … Keep reading »