Culture

Dressed in traditional wear, with plastic wrapped around their moccasins and wearing aprons on to prevent any blood from getting on them, Miss Navajo Nation contestants gathered under a tent early Monday morning, preparing their butchering stations for the competition to come.

She wanted only to win the “best butcher” title that year – but she achieved more than expected.

Whenever Gene Shepherd reached a convenience store, he would go inside to buy his dog, “Tonapah,” a package of hot dogs to eat.

Navajo women today have a proud heritage that parallels that of Navajo men, as both follow traditional roles specified by the holy people.

While the land within the four sacred mountains is beautiful, sacred and beloved to the Diné, no one would say it’s an easy place to live.