The possible from the impossible: 2023 in review: Community, culture, and traditions

WINDOW ROCK – Floods of emotion. ‘Truth’ in Carnegie Hall. Winning ‘big.’ These were some of the biggest feature stories published by the Navajo Times this year.

January

Restaurant revitalization of Amigo Café ‘like art’

In May 2022, Amigo Café in Kayenta underwent a three-day restaurant revitalization.

Amigo Café received assistance from Robert Irvine, a chef, entrepreneur, and the host of Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible, which contacted Julene Price, the owner of Amigo Café, for an opportunity for Irvine to come help the restaurant in a segment that would air Jan. 5, 2023.

Amigo Café was heavily impacted by COVID-19. During the pandemic, the restaurant had to shut down, leaving employees without work. Price explained that she continued to pay her employees through savings. Because of Irvine’s and his team’s assistances, the restaurant was able to get back on its feet. Through revitalization, the restaurant could comfortably adjust and make changes.

February

‘We take care of the fire’
A flood of emotion for sáanii Siláołtsooí at historic inauguration

The Diné Sáanii Siláołtsooí Color Guard on Jan. 10 brought the Bee Hółdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center to complete silence at the Navajo Nation Inauguration of Buu Nygren and vice President Richelle Montoya.

Detail Cmdr. Maj. Edna Ashley, who served in the U.S. Army, led the color guard. Her years of active duty were from 1984 to 2014. She is Naasht’ézhí Naadą́ą́’ Łigaaí Dine’é and born for Hashk’ąą Hadzohó. Her maternal grandfather is Bit’ahnii, and her paternal grandfather is Tódích’íi’nii.

Ashley served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in both northern and southern Iraq. She later joined the Colorado Army National Guard as a medic.

March

Striking gold
9-year-old Diné martial arts prodigy winning tournaments

Zoey Powell decided to follow her father’s and her older brothers’ path in practicing Brazilian jiujitsu. The 9-year-old has won three gold medals and one silver.

“I like (Brazilian jiujitsu) because I get to see my friends, and I get to compete,” Powell said. “And I like when people cheer me on, and I feel confident about it.”

Powell is Tł’ááshchí’i. She is part Black and Hispanic. She is from Phoenix and trains at Gracie Barra Arizona Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Self Defense under Professor Luis Puigb.

April

Four skateboard artists become ‘Forever’ stamped in USPS history

For four artists, designing skateboards were not uncharted territory, and the U.S. Postal Service recognized that too.

On March 24, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its latest Forever stamps collection, which celebrated the Art of the Skateboard at a dedication ceremony in Phoenix. It featured Diné skateboarder and artist Di’Orr

Greenwood, artist and entrepreneur Crystal Worl, multimedia artist Federico Frum (also known as MasPaz), and business owner and artist William James Taylor Jr. (also known as Core222).

Dinétah-Poly, a ‘labor of love’

Raynard “Ray” Scott, a Diné silversmith, won Best of Show at the 65th Annual Heard Guild Indian Fair and Market in April with his entry of a Diné culturally inspired board game “Dinétah-Poly,” which incorporates Diné terminology, traditions, mythology, and stories.

Scott is Kinyaa’áanii and born for Dziłtł’ahnii. His maternal grandmother is Honágháahnii, and his paternal grandfather is Tł’ááshchí’í. He was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Wide Ruins, Arizona.

From Tonalea to Carnegie Hall

Sage Bond performs ‘Truth’ in the Big Apple

Sage Bond, a Diné/Apache “composer-in-resident” performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Bond is Tł’ízíłání and born for Ndeh. She is from Tonalea-Red Lake, Arizona. She traveled across the country to debut her song “Truth” in the classical music powerhouse March 28.

May

Suns Originativ-inspired uniform illustrates partnership with NABI

At the 2023 Native American Basketball Invitational, athletes will get to run across the court wearing jerseys like the Phoenix Suns’ “City Edition Uniform.”

The Phoenix Suns 2022-23 City Edition Uniform emphasizes Native culture and the 22 federally recognized tribes within Arizona. The City Edition Uniform inspired the 2023 NABI jerseys.

‘It comes from inside you’
Delbert Anderson’s personal moments helped him reach milestones

Delbert Anderson frontman and founder of his jazz band, Delbert Anderson Trio, has been achieving significant milestones in his career, landing him and his band prestigious financial grants to help youth, revitalize musical history within Indigenous communities, and inspire Indigenous jazz music collaborations.

Born in Shiprock, Anderson, 36, makes his home in Farmington with his wife and their five children. He is Bit’ahnii and born for Tł’ááshchí’í. His maternal grandfather is Kinłichíi’nii, and his paternal grandfather is Tódích’íi’nii.

June

Change Labs, a place to ‘grow’
Entrepreneurship hub space opens in Tónaneesdizí

Change Labs, the nonprofit entrepreneurship incubator for Native American businesses, opened its 1,400-square-foot hub and coworking space in Tuba City in June. The hub is the first of its kind to support business owners, creatives, and self-employed individuals in the Navajo Nation.

Change Labs “grows” Native American entrepreneurs who need support building their businesses because there are several barriers that discourage entrepreneurship in the Native business world, said Ceceilia Tso, the Change Labs Incubator program director.

Three of those barriers are a complicated business license application, lack of private property rights, and limited access to lending opportunities.

July

Navajo grad is school’s first-ever Native valedictorian; Instead of routine speech, she proudly delivers a dance performance

A Diné student from Highland High School created history by graduating as the school’s first Native valedictorian. She is the first Diné woman to earn that achievement in the Salt Lake City School District.

Kayden Denny, 18, maintained a 4.0 GP throughout her career at Highland, a goal she set for herself upon finishing middle school. She said after her promotion from eighth grade, she told her parents to promise they would never let her get lower than a 4.0 GPA.

Denny is Tsé Nahabiłnii and born for Tábąąhá. Her maternal grandfather is Tódích’íi’nii, and her paternal grandfather is Kinyaa’áanii.

‘Everybody’s uncle’
‘Spirit Rangers’ features Navajo NASA engineer

Netflix selected Diné NASA engineer Aaron Yazzie to play himself as part of a new Indigenous-inspired kids show called “Spirit Rangers.”

At the end of the first year of the pandemic, a Twitter post showed up on Yazzie’s feed. The post was from Netflix announcing its new show Spirit Rangers, sponsored by an all-Native American writing team. Filled with excitement, Yazzie quickly hit the reshare button and shared his appreciation for the news.

Yazzie is from Holbrook, Arizona. He is ‘Áshįįhí and born for Tódích’íi’nii. His maternal grandfather is Kiyaa’áanii, and his paternal grandfather is Tó’áhání.

August

Tsébii’ndzisgaii girl wins Google art contest for Nevada

Shanea Anna Chee, 12, entered the Doodle for Google contest that her art teacher found online. Chee’s art teacher entered all her students into the contest.

In April, Chee was excited to learn that her drawing of Monument Valley won in the state division for the state of Nevada. She attends Brown Junior High in Henderson, Nevada.

Chee said she was inspired by the Diné culture and used it to create her drawing. She said it took several drafts before she could develop the winning design featured on the Doodle for Google website (https://doodles.google.com/d4g/) in the grades 6-7 group. Hers is the Nevada doodle titled “The Mittens.”

‘Hooyah!’
Crownpoint native ‘molded’ by community aboard USS George Washington

U.S. Navy Lt. Kellylynn Zuni of the Military Sealift Command provides sailors – some who are Diné – aboard the USS George Washington with the support and guidance they need to maintain positive mental health and be their best selves.

The USS George Washington is the sixth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier named in honor of the first president of the U.S.

Zuni is from Crownpoint and attended Wingate High. She earned a dual bachelor’s from Adams State University and a master’s and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Palo Alto University. She is the daughter of Tonilee Becenti. She is Tsi’naajinii and born for Tó Baazhní’ázhí. Her maternal grandfather is Tó’aheedlíinii, and her paternal grandfather is Haltsooí Dine’é.

September

Tó Nizhóní Ání project documenting traditional plants and their uses

To preserve traditional knowledge and help save barren areas, a group of youth set out to learn everything about Dziłyíjiin plants.

In October 2022, Tó Nizhóní Ání held a “Native Plant Identification Workshop” with Diné geologist/botanist Arnold Clifford from Bitł’ááh Bito’, New Mexico. The workshop kicked off TNA’s plant documentation project, “Dził Yíjiin Nanise’ Project.”

Clifford said his goal at the end of documenting these plants is to write a flora on Dziłyíjiin, among several reasons. In the flora, Clifford said he wants to add the geology of Dziłyíjiin, rock types, and a section of the plant names and uses in the Navajo language.

October

Avant-garde Diné artist, composer wins big award

Following his Pulitzer Prize for music in 2022, Diné/Chicano artist and composer Raven Chacon was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship of $800,000 on Oct. 4.

“It was nice to be recognized,” Chacon said. “It’s always nice to talk about where this music comes from, to talk about the support I have from family, friends, collaborators, and of course, to share other Indigenous artists out there.”

Chacon is Tódích’íi’nii and born for Naakaii Dine’é. His maternal grandfather is Kinyaa’áanii, and his paternal grandfather is Naakaii Dine’é. His mother is from Chinle, and his father is from Mora, New Mexico.

HBO features Navajo Police Department in a docuseries

In a three-episode HBO original documentary series, viewers got a first-hand look into the grit and grind behind the Navajo Police Department.

The series, “Navajo Police: Class 57,” is an original HBO series that strays away from a former stereotypical show on Navajo PD, “Navajo Cops,” which Flight 33 Productions produced for the National Geographic.

The series documents the journey of Class 57, a group of recruits working toward graduation day and becoming trained, certified Navajo Police officers.

November

‘T’áá íiyisíí Ahxéhee’’
Inscription House’s Dr. Thomas retires after 36 years of service to Diné

Dr. James Thomas, aka Chip, retired from medicine on Aug. 31, 2023. The members of his community, Ts’ahbiikin, celebrated his retirement at the end of October. His relatives – the Diné he served – gifted him with two dootł’izhii yoo’, a bouquet of yellow roses, and a book (“Native Roads” by Fran Kosik), among other small gifts.

Thomas arrived in the Navajo Nation shortly after finishing medical school (Meharry Medical College’s School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee). He graduated with honors in 1983. Thomas, a Raleigh, North Carolina, native, moved to the Nation in 1987 to fulfill a four-year obligation to work in a health shortage area.

December

‘A dream come true’
Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses honors Diné heritage and centuries-old weaving traditions

What was unwanted by rug buyers became what luxury brand Ralph Lauren sought. Naiomi Glasses, a seventh generation Diné textile artist and designer, remembers she and her brother, Tyler Glasses, admiring a stockpile of fresh-sheared wool. Her grandmother, Nellie Glasses, told her the wool wasn’t desired because of the smell.

Naiomi Glasses is the first of many artists in Ralph Lauren’s artist-in-residence program to collaborate with Ralph Lauren and his design teams to reimagine the original designs of her woven art into a collection – Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses – inspired by her family, homelands, and community in Diné Bikéyah.

She is from Tsé Ntsaa Deez’áhí, Arizona, and is Hashk’ąą Hadzohi and born for Tł’ááshchí’i. Her maternal grandfather is Áshįįhí, and her paternal grandfather is Tó’aheedlíinii.

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