‘You want to be prosperous’: MacDonald shares what ak’ídádéest’į́į́’ is
Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Peter MacDonald Sr. wears his U.S. Marines cap and yoo’ dootł’izhii for a photo inside his home in Tónaneesdizí. MacDonald is a Navajo Code Talker and a former Navajo tribal chairman. A portrait of him in his code talker hat embroidered in gold thread sits behind him.
TÓNANEESDIZÍ – Diyin Dine’é gave Diné sovereignty, said Peter MacDonald Sr. And it hasn’t changed.
Tribal sovereignty is the natural right of a people to govern themselves and operate as independent nations within a nation – like how the U.S. government exercises sovereignty on behalf of its citizens.
MacDonald, 94, says sovereignty is difficult for youngsters and older people alike to understand its importance for Native American tribes. In its most basic sense, sovereignty allows tribes to honor and preserve their cultures and traditional ways of life.
“I’m sure there’s all different kinds of understanding what tribal sovereignty really is,” said MacDonald, who understands that the Diyin Dine’é gave sovereignty to the Diné, given his upbringing in the 1920s and ‘30s.
“Back in those days, we had our own – what you call governmental system,” he said. “You were given something from the Holy People, not just ordinary people.”
MacDonald, a Navajo Code Talker and a Hashk’ąą Hadzohí, said “everyone” across Diné Bikéyah knew the term – ak’ídádéest’į́į́’ – because Diné parents were teaching their children in those days. They taught Diné Bizaad, skills, and the purpose of life: the sacred mountains, rivers, and herbs.
Read the full story in the Sept. 21 edition of the Navajo Times.
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