Culture Significance
The health of individuals, whether young ones, adults, or older people, affects their outcome in combatting COVID-19. Monitoring diet and exercising will help individuals fight illnesses. Having the amenities of running water and electricity also makes life a lot easier when sicknesses arise.
In Navajo culture, stories and songs help individuals maintain the traditional way of life. The songs and ceremonies of the Navajo Shoe game and the Circle of Life say the Navajo people are supposed to live up to 102 years because of the four divisions in the Circle of Life and the 102 yucca sticks used in the shoe game represents years of life
Along with the stories and songs, Navajos survived on their traditional food: the three sisters, various melons, apricots, peaches, venison, buffalo, and wild plants like onions, spinach, and many seeds. That may be why many elders live to age 102 and beyond.
Drugs and alcohol are not in our traditional culture, just songs and ceremonies to heal and live a good life. Most traditional songs and ceremonies subsided during the Long Walk of 1863-1866. Some traditional Navajos are trying to revive the old way of life by replanting the cornfields and returning the songs and ceremonies.
Teaching our students some traditions and songs can help them learn to live a healthy life. Adding other healthy lifestyles from the dominant society will also help infuse students' contemporary living for today. Teaching the available resources will help students live a good life.
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