Culture

Strong winds bent canopies and swept across Johnson Field at the University of New Mexico on Sunday, but they did little to slow the drums, dancers and families gathered for the 67th Annual Nizhoni Days Powwow.

Nike’s N7 program took basketball gear and hundreds of pairs of shoes directly to Navajo Nation and Gila River communities last weekend, timed to the Women’s NCAA Final Four in Phoenix, in what the company described as part of a longer-term investment in Native youth.

A new mural at Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory depicting Diné and Hopi cosmology got a financial push from UniSource Energy Services, which contributed $5,000 toward the project and helped host the September unveiling.

At just seven years old, Kacee Yazzie has become a familiar name at song and dance events across the Navajo Nation. With turquoise gleaming and his steps locked to the drum, the second grader from Tó Łigaaí, New Mexico, looks at ease each time he enters the arena.

Dustin Roberto is a student and researcher in the University of New Mexico’s College of Population Health.