Friday, March 29, 2024

Diné dads: Stay involved!

Diné dads: Stay involved!

By Times Staff

WINDOW ROCK

What does it mean to be a good father?

That was the question the editorial staff at the Navajo Times wondered about in its weekly meeting for this June 18 edition.

And when it came to deciding on a Father’s Day package — a tribute to fathers who play a significant role in their children’s lives — editorial staff decided to profile fathers from different outlooks and ages.

There is an elected leader who promotes a fatherhood initiative, a gay dad with three children and a new dad who was a top finalist for the 2014 Ultimate Men’s Health Guy competition.

The two other fathers include a firefighter as well as a professional bull rider, who recently won the MegaBucks BullRiding event in Window Rock.

The Navajo Times profiled these fathers in an effort to get a sense of what fatherhood means to these men, and to reveal how fathers can play a major role in parenting today.

And, to all fathers, Happy Father’s Day!

Losing a father

Tom Chee

Tom Chee

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Tom Chee was five years old when his father died.

Born at a sheep camp in Leupp, Ariz., Chee grew up without a father, spending much of his childhood in boarding schools or helping his mother. The absence of a father had a profound influence on his life, he said.

“I experienced separation from my family since I was small,” he said. “But I grew up with the frame of mind that someday I would be a husband and a father, so I needed to develop those skills.”

Chee forged a relationship with his grandfather, who taught him traditional skills and passed along insight that has helped Chee navigate life, career and relationships — and a marriage and family of his own.

Now a delegate from Shiprock, Chee, 57, advocates for healthy relationships, particularly between men and their children. He has six grown children and five grandchildren.

“Men need to be more conscious of their interactions with their boys,” he said. “The older I get the more I miss an elderly father, one who will put his arm around me and say, ‘Hey, you came out a decent guy and I’m proud of you.'”

Prior to running for elected office, Chee coordinated a fatherhood initiative under the Navajo Healthy Marriages Project. Backed by a five-year, $1 million federal grant, the project hosted free education sessions for couples and parents.

In that role, Chee taught couples to forge healthier relationships and to pass that on to their children. He also pushed men to maintain relationships with their children.

“I think there’s a father crisis that has come into existence on the reservation,” he said. “When there are no men in the home, that really puts a burden on our Nation. When men have a presence in the home, everyone benefits.”

Sometimes you’re the villain

Jeremy Curley

Jeremy Curley

Jeremy Curley, 28, is a firefighter — a profession most people think of as a hero.

But once in a while he has to play the villain for his 4-year-old son, Chasen Curley.

“He likes Ninja Turtles so we have to play-fight and I’m always the bad guy,” he said with a laugh.

Supporting his son’s imagination and adventurous spirit is important to Curley because he wants Chasen to “always have a mindset that he can do whatever he wants,” Curley said.

While the two are adventurous, Curley said his son is also inspirational.

His son is why he became a firefighter, he said.

“I’m trying to be a good example,” Curley explained.

Being a good role model for his son and the community is something that Curley strives to do everyday.

On trips, when Chasen sees a fire truck, he tells his dad that someone is hurt or needs help. Curley is happy to know that his son recognizes the nature of his job.

Curley makes certain not only to teach his son about fire safety, but also volunteers his time at local schools.

His advice to young dads is to strive everyday to learn something new.

“Never stop learning and be mindful of others,” Curley said, adding that a dad’s job is never done.

Curley also wishes a Happy Father’s Day to fellow public service workers, his dad and brother.

Taking the bull by the horns

Justin Granger

Justin Granger

His father, Teddy Granger Jr., was an avid bull rider who toured on the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association circuit a couple of years ago.

His grandfather, Teddy Granger Sr., was a roper.

So it only made sense that Justin Granger would follow in his family’s footsteps.

That upbringing has helped him become one of the area’s best bull riders as the Tuba City cowboy has traversed all over the country competing in some of the top shows over the last decade, which includes a $24,000 win in Connecticut in 2007.

At 24 years old, Granger still competes but after having a second and third child in 2012, he’s cut down his schedule so that he can be with his family.

“I don’t travel as much, but that’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Granger said of becoming a father. “I have three kids and it’s a handful but it changed my life.”

Granger has an older son, Tatum, and while he was winning the International Indian Finals Rodeo, his wife was delivering fraternal twins — Jace and Kaylin — in Albuquerque.

“It was great that they were born when I became a world champion,” Granger said. “I got three big prizes in one weekend.”

On Saturday, June 13 he collected his third highest payout ever by winning the $15,000 winner-take-all at the MegaBucks BullRiding at the Dean C. Jackson Memorial Arena in Window Rock.

“I could use some of this money for going down the road, but I have three kids to support at home,” said Granger, who now lives in Rio Rancho, N.M.

According to his dad, Justin got interested in the western way of life by riding his first sheep when he was four years old.

“He got started real early and he grew from there,” Teddy Granger said. “And when he turned 14 he started to ride bulls at the PBR level.”

Asked if his son is following in his footsteps, Justin replied, “Yeah and he’s already riding sheep at two years old. He wanted to get on this afternoon (in Window Rock) but we got here a little late. They closed the books on us but it’s a cool deal to see that he wants to ride just like I did when I was a kid.”

Co-parenting through divorce

Renaldo Benally

Renaldo Benally

When Renaldo Benally became a dad, he felt the most important thing was to teach his kids an appreciation for their family.

“Family is made up of people who love and care about you,” Benally said, adding that family is there to “strengthen you to face the world.”

Benally, originally from Church Rock, N.M., is the father to three kids: Stoney Chapman, 17 and Rain and Gavin Chapman, 11.

Benally adopted his children in 2008 with his then-husband Demetrius Chapman. Now divorced, the two dads spend equal amounts of time with their children.

“I have two Navajo kids and one African American kid, and all of them are ethnically Navajo,” he said.

Benally added that he may not be the biological father to his children, but the bond he shares with them is more than enough to prove he is their father.

“The bond I have with my children, people would assume they’re my biological kids because we’re so close,” he said, noting that everything he does in his life is for his children.

In the seven years that Benally has been a dad, he said he’s learned the importance of raising strong, self-sufficient and loving young people.

“The most important person in their life is me,” Benally said, which is why he wants to strive to be a positive influence on them.

Benally added that the only challenge he faces as a dad is dealing with three kids and their different personalities.

The advice that Benally has to offer other dads is, “you don’t have to be a perfect dad,” but be sure to spend time with your children.

“If you spend five uninterrupted minutes with them, that means the world to them,” Benally said. “Kids need a secure learning environment and need to always know they are loved.”

A gift of good health

Justin Hollowell

Justin Hollowell

Since becoming a father to Hawx Hollowell five months ago, Justin Hollowell says he has become more content with his life and the direction it’s moving.

The 28-year-old from Church Rock, N.M., who is of Navajo and German descent, stated that being a father is “one of the greatest feelings in the world.”

“He’s all that matters now,” Hollowell said about his infant son, adding that his love for him marinates deeper each day.

“Yesterday I loved him, but today I love him even more,” he added.

In the five or so months that he’s been a father, the fitness guru, who pretty much works out daily, noted that he makes an effort to surround his son with positivity and good health — all the time.

“It’s a crazy feeling. It’s a new feeling,” Hollowell said about being a father.

Fatherhood, he said, has been an anchor point for him to lead a better life each day. It has also inspired him to achieve his educational goal of studying nutrition, or dietetics, this fall at Arizona State University.

Once he graduates from ASU, Hollowell plans to pursue professional school, and become a doctor of naturopathic medicine.

His son’s existence drives him to also help others live healthier lifestyles by promoting cleaner diets and frequent exercise.

Along with being a father, Hollowell works and attends college full-time at the University of New Mexico-Gallup. He’s currently employed with the nonprofit National Indian Youth Council this summer, where he helps local youth with fitness training and life coaching.

Part of his role as a father is to teach his son to be physically active and healthy, and lead by example. What many don’t know about Hollowell is that he was a top finalist for the 2014 Ultimate Men’s Health Guy competition, sponsored by Men’s Health magazine.

Hollowell is featured in the November 2014 Men’s Health, with winner Noah Galloway, a former U.S. Army soldier, a model and athlete, who lost his left leg and left arm serving in the Iraq War.

In his profile, for a shot at being the Ultimate Men’s Health Guy, Hollowell talked about how diabetes and obesity is an issue and that his mission is to alleviate this public health epidemic across Indian Country.

These goals, however, wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for his girlfriend, Hawx’s mother, Hollowell said.

When asked what advice he can offer to new dads, Hollowell said, “Be there everyday. Be positive. To be a father, you’re going to have to want to be a father.”


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