My Navajo Tradition

         Throughout my life I’ve lived on the Navajo Reservation. I’m a young mom whose family was raised with the Navajo tradition that our elders and ancestors also learned from. I was raised to believe that within our Four Sacred Mountains, we are protected by our Holy Deities. I was told to take care of our land, respect our elders and don’t be afraid to be ourselves. Our Navajo land was once the pride of our people; no one was ashamed of calling it home. It was definitely not the dullest place people have said it to be, but the most beautiful. With the corn sprouting during the spring, the sheep grazing and the smell of a mothers cooking; it was home.

            I believe the Navajo are strong and determined people. My ancestors and elders worked hard every day of their lives. Mothers and daughters took on the duties of cooking, herding sheep and taking care of the Hogan. Fathers would hunt for food, and teach their sons men duties to prepare them for the future when they have families of their own. Prayers, songs and animals, all of Mother Earth’s bounty stood for something; at times helping us in ways we would never understand. Our tradition helps us get through difficult times; sicknesses, famine and personal hardships.

As I get older I notice that teenagers, Navajo or not, do not realize the importance of our traditions. Everyday I see on comments on Facebook and at school, the comments of “rez kids.” Navajo people and our land have been turned into a stereotype. We are now thought of as a dirty, poor reservation. Gallup, where our elders shop, is now the lamest place to go. Sheep meat (mutton) is now the nastiest thing to eat. If times have changed so much, how will it be when my little boy grows up and goes to school? Will the rude comments be worse? Will our Dinetah be a sad and lonely place? Will our traditions and language be forgotten?

This is what I’m afraid of! That my little boy will grow up to an even crueler world than now. That his tradition would be the worst practice of all? I know every mother’s fear is for her child to be bullied and not be accepted, but I would never have thought my worst fear for him is to be bullied because of his tradition, something that as Navajos we were once proud of and to be. I notice that young Navajo girls take our tradition for granted; degrading it because their friends are doing it and for what, because it makes them look cool or better than us? I wish they would realize they are only degrading themselves, their families, and their elders.

It’s hard to think this is what our world is coming too, but the best thing to do is prepare for the worst. No one knows what the future holds. Will this view continue as is or will it take a turn for the worse? No one will know, till the time comes.

So with this I say, I am a proud Navajo, I love my tradition, and I love my family. I thank my grandparents, my elders and ancestor for making that Long Walk. Thank You for keeping our tradition alive for this long, and I will try my best to keep it going. I love mutton, my language, and our ceremonies that keep me safe and healthy. But I am most proud that my Jaken will grow up in this traditional environment. I know it will keep him safe and out of harm’s way. He will always be my little Navajo boy and I will always be his Navajo momma.

I say to my generation, be proud of who you are, don’t take your religion or traditions for granted! In the end, no matter what you believe in, it will always be there for you, it will help you through difficult times and be with you during the happiest. Don’t let any person change your thought on what you believe.