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A red-tailed hawk circled high over the desert south of Shiprock Oct. 2. Below it, more than 100 riders kicked up a long plume of dust as they moved toward town.

For the first time in the fair’s history, organizers have taken the Yé’ii Bi Cheii dances off the schedule.

Jerrick Jumbo did not know it at the time, but the woman who brought him into song and dance was preparing him to give back.

Lucille Cody-John had about a month to get the Navajo Nation’s oldest fair ready. She spent it chasing sponsors, clearing weeds and fixing health-code problems on the fairgrounds.

Starwin Holiday was 15 or 16 when he asked his father to buy him a set of hair clippers.