‘A Sweet Taste of Home’: Erickson Billy’s Blue Naadą́ą́’ Sweets rises on Navajo ground

By Nolan Bruno
Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK

His first venture was a snow cone stand at the flea market. Today, Erickson Billy’s mission is to bring the taste of blue corn to kitchens across the Navajo Nation.

Billy, the founder of Blue Naadą́ą́’ Sweets, never set out to be a culinary entrepreneur. For years, he worked as a dental assistant and planning counselor. But in September 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he began experimenting with blue corn recipes. When coworkers raved about his baked goods, Billy realized he had stumbled onto something special.

“I released the products (at midnight),” he recalled of his first online cupcake sale. “I couldn’t keep up with the immense amounts of feedback. I was going to have a cupcake sale where people would pull up and I would provide them with the sweets.”

Billy is Tódích’íi’nii and born for the Kinyaa’áanii. His maternal grandfather is Tsi’naajinii, and his paternal grandfather is ‘Áshįįhí.

Raised in the small community of Sawmill, Billy credits his upbringing for inspiring his recipes. His grandparents grew and baked with blue corn, instilling in him a sense of connection to the land. Billy carried those memories with him to Phoenix, where he was living when the pandemic hit. Sharing that taste of home soon became his calling.

Published Aug. 28, 2025, at 3:40 a.m.     Updated Aug. 28, 2025, at 7:42 p.m.
A correction was made on August 28, 2025: An earlier version of this article misstated Erickson Billy’s maternal grandfather’s clan. He is Tsi’naajinii, not Dibé Łizhiní. Billy is Tódích’íi’nii and born for the Kinyaa’áanii. His maternal grandfather is Tsi’naajinii, and his paternal grandfather is ‘Áshįįhí.

To read the full article, please see the Aug. 28, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.

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