Guest Essay

As concerned employees, we refute what the Board of Regents alleged in their column (“Negative news distracts from Diné College’s accomplishments,” by Board of Regents, Jan. 4, 2018).

As concerned employees, we refute what the Board of Regents alleged in their column (“Negative news distracts from Diné College’s accomplishments,” by Board of Regents, Jan. 4, 2018).

Although I grew up in Shiprock, N.M., on the Navajo reservation, both my parents were forced to attend boarding schools in the 1950s and were not allowed to speak their own Navajo, or Diné, language.

In 1999 I remember sitting at my high school graduation not knowing what would happen next. The “future” was like a huge blank canvas in front of me. It was both scary and exciting.

Several weeks ago, I was given the ultimate opportunity to promote the Navajo Code Talkers at the national level through photography. Steve Morgan, CEO of Veterans Motorsports, sponsor of XFinity race car number 74, and Mike Harmon Racing Team contacted me to see if they could honor the Navajo Code Talkers during Phoenix Raceway’s Ticket Galaxy 200 NASCAR XFinity Race.