Introduction
Respect for one’s identity in the Navajo culture begins with a verbal self-introduction in the Navajo language which includes one’s clans. In English my self-introduction would be translated as, “Greetings or Hello. My name is Cheryl Singer. I am of the Near the Mountain Towering House clan and born for the Red Running into the Water People clan. My maternal grandfathers are of the Rock Gap clan and my paternal grandfathers are of the Mexican clan.” This is how I identify myself as a Navajo woman. Our Navajo clanship explanation can best be described in the eloquent words of the Kayenta Unified School District’s Navajo Language and Cultural Curriculum:
Navajo philosophy of education and concept of the universal law interconnect the practice of kinship. It is viewed as the foundation of life, the fundamental elements that acknowledges our self-identity: Name, Clans, Language, Culture, Shadow, and footprints. Kinship and clanship are a guiding principle for: future, history, present existence, nature and the universe. Knowing the awareness will help us sustain balance and beauty before, behind, beneath, all around us, above and from our mouth.1
From the Navajo Language and Cultural Curriculum statement above the word “shadow” refers to a Navajo child of the Holy People. The Holy People are the ancestors and as a precious child, the individual carries with them a spiritual self-identity as a human being. The next term “footprints” refers to the Beauty Way path that one will follow into old age. The child is the one who makes the decision for the future and the type of legacy he/she wants to leave for others.
In the Navajo world, a Navajo child grows up with the teachings of the Navajo kinship and respect for self, others, nature, environment, animals, and the universe. If you noticed my clans are elements of the environment like a mountain, a towering house, water, rocks and another nationality, the Mexican clan. My first clan (Near the Mountain Towering House clan) was given to me by my mother, and my third clan (the Rock Gap clan) was given to me by my maternal grandfather whose clan was given to him by his mother. My second clan (Red Running into the Water People clan) was given to me by my father whose clan was given to him by his mother, and my fourth clan (the Mexican clan) was given to my paternal grandfather whose clan was given to him by his mother. Because of these mothers’ clans given to us through our four clans, it gives us our matrilineal heritage.
The two philosophy concepts of Walking in Beauty and having the Protection Way Teachings are referred to as our maternal and paternal teachings where the female side of us is referring to the Beauty Way concept, and the teachings of the Protection Way concept are the male side of us.
My maternal grandparents’ teachings included the stories of these clans and the origin of where I come from through the stories shared with me. Family stories are shared with the Navajo children, so that they have a sense of belonging, and that there are family (e.g., people, animals, environment, plants and trees, and the universe) all around us. Therefore, a child knowing their kinship will Walk the Beauty Way Path of Life for the future and have the traditional knowledge of their Protection Way Teachings which are connected to their attitudes and behaviors.
In the curriculum unit I have prepared, students will gain this awareness and knowledge through direct instruction, worksheets, nature journaling and opportunities to sit and observe in nature, family conversations and storytelling, study of Navajo poetry, individual research, and an oral presentation. The larger aim will be to allow ‘true internalization of knowledge,’ in accord with Navajo understandings of learning.
By offering a view through the eyes of a Navajo person, the non-Navajo teacher can experience the healing that nature and the universe can give to others, especially their students. When a teacher is showing respect and gratitude to the environment, the students will benefit from the role modeling demonstrated by the teacher. By giving thanks and by taking care of Mother Earth the five-fingered ones can help to sustain life in the present moment and into the future.
When students are given Native American stories, Navajo stories, and Earth activities, they will learn about the interconnectedness we have for Mother Earth: she is our living organism. Stories and readings in this curriculum will broaden the student’s awareness of our surroundings and enrich their cultural knowledge.
In Vangee Nez’s dissertation on the “Dine Epistemology: Sa’ah Naaghai Bik’eh Hozhoon Teachings,” she quotes Dr. Vincent Werito, an educator and scholar of the University of New Mexico on Navajo youth and the Navajo Philosophy:
Werito believes that Dine teachings brings a state of hozho, conscious awareness that brings harmony and peace. And it is “entirely up to you” to manifest the principles of thinking for yourself, to live life in a delicate manner with the universe; and lastly, to come into knowing who you are. These relational principles support Dine epistemology and SNBH through nurturing and sustaining the balance of life with the universe, earth, and all living things.2
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