Ana Yoder makes connections with a favorite childhood memory: A Diné College student named Travis Mammedaty shared some Kiowa songs with us. A song that stood out to me in particular was a children’s song called the “Prairie Dog Song” which follows Séndé, the Kiowa trickster, who decides to go out and play a song … Keep reading »
300 Miles
Fae Sommers reflects on an unforgettable road trip: You can learn a lot about someone in 300 miles. Lukas, Jonathan, Micah and I stayed with our host father, pastor Daniel Smiley of Black Mountain Mennonite Church. On our second day with him, we packed all 5 of us into his pickup truck for a road … Keep reading »
A Spiritual Connection with the Earth
Micah reflects on our visit to Cliff Palace, an Ancestral Pueblo archaeological site in Mesa Verde National Park: The story I would like to reflect on today took place at Cliff Palace, a cliff dwelling of the Pueblo people who are the original ancestors of many tribes. Our park ranger, Ian, talked a little bit … Keep reading »
Teaching Others
What happens when thirteen eager Goshen College students step off an Amtrak train in Albuquerque, New Mexico to begin experiencing Indigenous cultures in the Desert Southwest? We’ll let the students themselves tell you their stories… Reflections from Julia: We, the Hopi Navajo SST class, have been together since the beginning of … Keep reading »
New Beginnings in the Southwest
Welcome to the 2023 Hopi Navajo Study Service Term! This summer’s group from Goshen College begins their adventure aboard an Amtrak train headed west. The students start in the lush green farmland of the Midwest and travel across the country to the desert Southwest. We, the directors, will meet them when they disembark in New … Keep reading »
Peace out, Peace Academic Center
Savannah Roth Walter is a sociology major. Saying goodbye is never easy- especially after spending our days interacting with the wonderful kids and staff at the Peace Academic Center. However, the last day of camp caught up to us quickly. We decided as a group to watch a movie with the kids, and landed on … Keep reading »
Read to your kids, read to your grandkids, have them read to you
Natalie Hazbun is a senior social work major and the author of this post. Reading, other than math, is one of the emphases of the Peace Academic Center. Reading camp started out with the usual routine of the bus picking up the kids, and as kids started showing up, GC students engaged them in playground … Keep reading »
Falling for Utah
Hayley Bickford is a senior majoring in Psychology with a Business minor. After a long week of math camp, we escaped to Utah for a weekend retreat. We woke up early Saturday morning to head out. On our way, though, we stopped in Shungopavi Village, as we were invited to a Kachina Dance. This was … Keep reading »
Story Time
Landon is a junior who is majoring in Biology. Throughout our journeys in the Navajo and Hopi nations, we are required to share our thoughts, themes and emergent experiences via journal entries. Three times a week, students are given journal prompts asking to elaborate on specific topics chosen by David and Kendra based on the … Keep reading »
Math Camp!
Mariah Kaufman is a senior who is double majoring in Music and Secondary Education. On Wednesday, we had our largest attendance at Math Camp thus far- a grand 23 students showed up and outnumbered us. With a steady increase in attendance each day, our daily activities changed slightly. Each day of Math Camp, we plan … Keep reading »