Art as medicine: Khalid Honie leads healing workshop at Navajo Nation Library

Posted by Navajo Times | Aug 28, 2025 | Arts |

By Karen Francis
Special to the Times

WINDOW ROCK

The power of art to heal was at the center of a workshop led by Khalid Honie last Tuesday afternoon at the Navajo Nation Library.

“A lot of workshops that I do focus on art therapy. A lot of the healing aspect comes from that,” he said.

With a bachelor’s degree in photography and another in psychology underway, Honie brought both fields into his session, “Holistic Healing Through Art.”

Honie is from Tsé Nikání, Arizona. He is Naakaii Dine’é and born for Tó’aheedlíinii. His maternal grandfather is Honágháahnii, and his paternal grandfather is Tódích’íi’nii.

Families find connection in creativity

This was the third workshop Honie has led at the library this summer. As participants arrived, he introduced the theme of “summer” and encouraged them to create their own pieces of art around it. He asked them to reflect on their experiences over the season and express those memories with the supplies he provided.

Crayons, markers, colored pencils, paints, scissors and glue filled the tables. Some participants built collages; others drew with markers. Sandra Largo chose watercolors, painting a landscape.

Largo attended the session with her daughter, Shawntai Allen, who had told her about the workshop. “I told her we should go,” Largo said. For the two, it was an activity to share before Allen heads back to college.

Largo’s painting captured memories of attending sports events with her children at the Window Rock Event Center during their high school years. “Around this time, there would be sunflowers,” she said, dabbing yellow onto her painting.

She has seen similar events in larger towns but hopes to see more sessions like this available for adults closer to home. “Sometimes we get bored,” she said, noting that many adults have children who are now grown. “This is closer to home, and I like to support activities here in the community.”

To read the full article, please see the Aug. 28, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.

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