‘Our Livestock Will Never Diminish’ opens at Navajo Nation Museum
Special to the Times | Karen Francis
Jennifer Denetdale stands beside the “Our Livestock Will Never Diminish” exhibit, which highlights Milton Snow’s photography and the enduring legacies of livestock reduction from 1935 to 1959.
By Karen Francis
Special to the Times
WINDOW ROCK
The new exhibit at the Navajo Nation Museum proved to be an emotional experience for many attendees during its opening night Friday.
Wilhemina Yazzie brought her daughter, Kimimila Black Moon. “I told her walking in, ‘I might cry,’” Yazzie said.
The exhibit, “Nihinaaldlooshii doo nídínééshgóó k’ee’ąá yilzhish dooleeł,” translates to “Our Livestock Will Never Diminish.” It features more than 60 photographs by the late Milton Snow and explores the legacies of livestock reduction between 1935 and 1959.
After viewing the photographs, Yazzie reminisced about herding sheep with her grandmother. “Earlier when they said it brought back a lot of memories, it definitely did. I remember herding sheep five miles to the chapter house to dip the sheep,” she said.
Personal memories stirred by Snow’s photographs
Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya attended with her daughter. The exhibit, she said, stirred memories of her paternal grandmother.
“Every time she sat down under a juniper tree, as she saw her flock go across the lands, the lambs would come, and they would sit with her and that was the heart she had for her animals. There’s so many people across Navajo Nation that have that story identical to mine,” Montoya said. “We’re still here, our flocks are still here.”
Immanuel Charley, the deputy director of the Division of Natural Resources, recalled his own childhood herding sheep while being raised by his grandparents. “Every morning they would wake me up early in the morning while it was still dark and I would have breakfast with my grandmother and then she would make lunch for me. It didn’t matter if it was raining outside or if it was snowing or if it was cold. She would bundle me up and I’d go on foot after the sheep and I would be out there all day long,” he said.
Charley still keeps sheep. “When I’m assigned to go somewhere on weekends to do presentations at chapter meetings, I got to find a babysitter to take care of my sheep,” he said.
To read the full article, please see the Aug. 14, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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