‘Nihizaad Nizhoni’ works to bring Navajo language learning back home
Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Andy Endischee Jr., left, talks with U.S. Army veteran Lee Graymountain of the former Rainbow Lodge area of Naatsis’áán in Coconino County during the 58th annual Ééhániih Day celebration Saturday, Aug. 1, in Navajo Mountain, Ariz. Graymountain wears a hat sponsored and distributed by Nihizaad Nizhoni.
NAVAJO MOUNTAIN, Ariz.
Mabelle Drake Hueston remembers when nearly everyone in here spoke Navajo. She wants families to make the language part of daily life again, beginning at the kitchen table.
Hueston, 62, is the daughter of the late Harold Drake Sr. and Stella Begay Drake, who were from Navajo Mountain. She grew up in the community.
She and her husband, John Hueston, founded Nihizaad Nizhoni, a nonprofit that encourages families and children to speak Navajo at home.
Mabelle Drake Hueston has served as the nonprofit’s president and executive director since 2024, according to the University of California Board of Regents. She taught Navajo at the Southern California Indian Center from 1993 to 2006 and at the Torres Martinez Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program from 2009 to 2012.
The nonprofit is concentrating its work in Navajo Mountain while members determine which community projects are effective, Hueston said during the 58th annual Ééhániih Day gathering Saturday.
To read the full article, please see the Aug. 6, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow