Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
Abstract:
The purpo se o f t his paper is t o examine t he Navajo o ral t radit io nal st ory
and t o init iat e meaningfu l lear ning in cu lt ure-based educat io n (CBE). In
Navajo, cu lt ur e oral st o ry t elling is t he way t o make mean ing o ut o ne own
ident it y. CBE can build a cu lt urally r icher co nt ext fo r Navajo child ren and
enhance under st and ing o f t heir ident it y and commun it y indiv id ualit y. The
rat io nale o f t his st udy is t o demo nst rat e how Navajo ch ildren can find who t hey
are t hro ugh list ening t o and lear ning t he stories o f t he sacred mou nt ains o f t he
Navajo Nat ion. Spir it u alit y t o t he Navajo is having respect fo r t he relat io nsh ip
t hat exist s bet ween t he Navajo , includ ing t he nat ural enviro nment , and t he
sacred mount ains.
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Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
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Introduction:
The Navajo narrat ives enable learners t o und erst and t he nat ural wo r ld
and bu ild cult ur al awareness wit h st oryt elling. The o ral t rad it io n facilit at es
narrat ive examinat io n and co llabo rat ive learning fo r Navajo childr en t hro ugh
cult urally relevant st ories and act iv it ies. The cult ure- based ed ucat io n (CBE) is
root ed in t he idea t hat Amer ican Ind ians eng age in t he pro cess o f educat ing t heir
children t hrough bo t h Ind igeno us wisdo m and k no wledge (Bra ybo y, 2005).
These r ich cult ural t radit ional st o ries t ell ho w Navajo came t o be in t he
so ut hwest regio n of No rt h Amer ica.
This inqu ir y will det er mine how using st or ies engages t he lear ner in
lear ning about t heir own cu lt ur e. Acco rd ing t o Nat ive scho lar s, Demmert and
Tower (2003), “The curr iculu m is based o n t radit io nal cult ure t hat recognizes
t he import ance o f Nat ive spir it ualit y, and place t he educat io n o f you ng childr en
in a co nt empo rar y co nt ext ”. The Navajo oral cr eat io n st o ries confir ms Demmert
and Towers not io n of CBE, since t hey have element s o f cu lt ure- based educat io n
(CBE) as it is grounded in t he belief o f t he Navajo elders.
CBE has co mponent s t hat promot e lit er acy in Navajo lang uage and cu lt ure
in t he schoo ls. CBE is a different educat ion init iat ive ju xt apo sed t o t he Bureau
of I nd ian Affair s (BI A) schoo ls o f t he past . The BI A scho o ls educat io n ser ved
to assimilat e Nat ive Amer ican st udent s using cru el met ho ds t o abo lish t heir
languag e and cu lt ural t ies. No w, similar pract ices are u sed co nt inually in t he
Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
pub lic school as a hidden curr iculum. The hid den curr icu lu m in educat io n is
when t eacher s do o nly a short sessio n abo ut t he Nat ive Amer ican t o pic.
The t he mes used for Navajo childr en are unfamiliar in t hese sho rt
sessio ns, because t he su bject s are about different ind ig eno us t r ibes fro m
different reg io ns, which have lit t le t o do wit h Navajo Cu lt ure. T he st ories t hat
connect Navajo st udent s to t heir id ent it y are st or ies wit h sp ir it u al co nt ent lik e
t he Navajo creat io n st ories, t he Navajo sacred places, and Navajo sacred
mou nt ains. T hese st ories ar e told to Navajo childr en in t heir ear ly ch ild hoo d
years. Stories t hat have many co nnect io ns for t he Navajo p eo p le in relat io n t o
t heir exist ence as nat ural being s.
Origin of Oral Story
A br ief background o f Chang ing Wo man ( Asdz"" Nád leehé) cont ains t he
fo llo wing element s, since she was a child creat ed by t he Ho ly Peo ple t o reso lve
mean act s o f t he mo nst er against t he Navajo peo ple dur ing t he t imes when t here
was diso rder on t he Navajo land (Dinét ah). Go ber nador Peak (Ch’ó o l’22) was
her birt hplace, which is one o f t he sacr ed mo unt ains. Navajo First Wo man and
First Man raised Asdz"" Nádleehé at t his sacred mou nt ain. Under t he ir
gu idance and in a myst ical and magical way (acco rd ing to Navajo st o ries), she
qu ickly became a yo ung wo man. S he had t he fir st sacred Pu bert y Ceremo n y
(Kinaalá) on Ch’óo l’22 mesa and t his was Navajo t he fir st Kinaa lá ceremo ny.
Short ly aft er t hat she gave birt h t o a t win Mo nst er Slayer (Naayéé’Neezg hán í)
3
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Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
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and Child Bor n of Wat er (Tó Bájíshchín í) t wo bo ys. This is o ne versio n o f t his
sig nificant Navajo st ory, which I will use fo r t his for t his paper.
The t wins’ dut y in t he st or y, when t hey go t older, was t o get rid o f t he big
mo nst ers dist ur bing Navajo peo ple. This part icu lar st or y confir ms how,
“I nd igeno us k nowledge embedded wit h a cult ural context , expressed t hro ugh
language, ceremo ny, art ifact s, co smo log y and so cial relat io nship”(Pac i J.C.D. &
Krebs L, 2004) are import ant element s o f lear ning to o bt ain knowledge. The
Navajo wealt h o f knowledge is const ruct ed t hro ugh cult urally relevant act ivit ies
relat ed to t he past , present , and t he fut ure. It is t hro ug h t hese t ypes o f st ories,
lik e Changing Wo man, shared by educat o rs, which will inst ill Navajo children
wit h insight s and k nowledge expla ined in CBE.
Wit h t his pict ure above, I will sho w t he significance o f Navajo o ral
st ories connect ed to t his part icu lar sacred place. This is an aer ial view of
Shiprock Monument (Tsé Bit 'ą'í) t aken from t he air o f t he ro ck fo r mat io n 1,700
feet t all. Tsé Bit 'ą'í t ranslat io n in Navajo is t he “rock wit h a wing ”. The
lo cat ion o f t his for mat io n is 30 miles sout h o f S hiprock, New Mexico o n t he
Navajo Nat ion. It is near anot her hist o r ical nat ural sit e o f “Four Co rner
Nat ional Park” where t he four st at es meet t hat is also part o f Navajo Nat io n.
The p ict ure in t his sacred place has rock br idge fo r mat io ns like a t hread leading
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Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
5
to Tsé Bit 'ą'í. Dyso n and Genishi, (1994) wo uld also dep ict Shiprock t o be a
scared p lace for Navajo s since t he “[place] is cru cial and it shapes and co nst rain
t he st ories t hat are told or ind eed, t hat could be told about Shiprock, acco rd ing
to t he Navajo people, simp ly shou ld no t be co nsid ered a p iece o f geograp hy
(Dyson and Genishi 1994).
This p lace, S hiprock, has co nnect io n t o t he o ral st o ry about Asd z""
Nádleehé who is t he Navajo fir st mo t her and Navajo deit y, and her so n, Naayéé'
Neizghání, who had one of t he many bat t les wit h t he g iant bird mo nst er at t he
top of t he Tsé Bit 'ą'í. Naayéé' Neizg hání, was t ossed fro m t he t o p by t he g iant
mo nst er and was saved by an eag le feat her before he hit t he grou nd. Aft erward,
Naayéé' Neizghán í, killed t he g iant bird monst er wit h t he bo w and arrow g iven
to him by his fat her t he Sun.
Today, Tsé Bit 'ą'í is ho me fo r Lu cy T apahonso , Navajo po et and
Universit y o f Ar izo na pro fesso r, who speaks o f Tsé Bit 'ą'í as a birt h p lace fo r
t he Navajo and “ensures ident it y” she speaks o f and t he p lace where placent a
are bur ied near a t ree next to t he family sheep corral. Even t he corral is
consid ered a scared place in it self. Acco rd ing to Nat ive scho lar and po et , N,
Scott Momaday, he eloq uent ly d escr ibes what a co rral means t o him. “[T he]
corral, t he high a st one wall: it is great ring, a well. At nig ht , it is per hap s
beaut ifu l when t he moon shines down upo n t he man y facet s and smoo t hes t hem
out , so t hat t he figure is who le and so ft ly defined and g leaming. And ins ide t he
r ing is no t hing, blackness” (p. 36). The co rral, which ho uses animals and
umbilical cords is sacr ed and has many valuable t eachings. It is t rue fo r Navajo
Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
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children t he corral is wher e a Navajo child's umb ilical co rds lie as exp lained by
Tapaho nso.
Tsé Bit 'ą' í r epresent s of a ship o n it t hat sailed o ut to t he desert when t he
land t he Navajo peo ple call ho me was all under t he wat er in t he past .
There is an image o f t he Navajo wo man st and ing at
t he bot tom o f Tsé Bit 'ą'í facing t o t he east . I became
conscio us o f t his image o f Tsé Bit 'ą' í surr o unded by
Navajo t rad it io nal hoo ghan, a corral, an o ut ho use and
wat er fro nt . In t his pict ure, I saw an imag e o f Navajo
woman ho lding a baby. Based o n my k no wledge, I
immed iat ely connect ed t he image in t he pict ure t o
Chang ing Wo man ( Asdz"" Nád leehé) fro m t he Navajo
creat ion st ory. Asdz"" Nád leehé went to ward t he west
direct io n t o live out her life aft er she creat es t he first four original Navajo clans
and hu mans' beings began t o emerg e in t he world. The Nava jo s t o day have had
incr eased t o o ver 50 clans. Asdz"" Nád leehé is a sacred and myst ical de it y and
t he fir st child and lat er a mo t her in t he Navajo creat io n st ory. It is becau se o f
her creat ion, all Navajo childr en are co nsidered a pr ized and sacred g ift fro m
t he Ho ly People. The Ho ly peop le ask par ent s to t each t heir childr en t he
kinship t ies and t o know t heir clans, which are import ant element s of cu lt ure.
Cu lt ure shapes mind, it provides Navajo childr en wit h t he t oo l kit by which t hey
const ruct not only wor lds but also o ur very co ncept io n o f t hemselves and power
Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
7
(Bruner, 1996). In Navajo co mmunit ies, childr en lear n t o respect t he nat ural
environment of t heir co mmu nit y in t heir ear ly ch ild ho o d years. Asdz""
Nád leehé br ing s t he sp ir it ual k nowledge. To day, many Navajo ident ify
t hemselves t hrough knowledge b y t heir clan relat ionship. The st ory o f Asdz""
Nád leehé adds t he spir it ual k nowledg e o f t he clan’s relat io n, which is t he
pr imar y focus o f CBE.
Ways of Knowing
The prot ocol o f int roducing o neself by int roducing, o nes clans mu st be
hono red and well present ed. In t he fo llo wing o rder, fir st ident ify your mat ernal
clan, second your pat er nal fat her ’s clan, t hird, your mat ernal grand mo t her clan,
and fo urt h, yo ur pat ernal grand fat her clan . This pro cess dist inguishes o ne’s
id ent it y.
One o f my per sonal exper iences wit h ident it y was recent ly in Washingt o n
D.C. at a French rest aurant . A Peruv ian r est aurant att endant asks me about my
nat io nal affiliat io n and I t old her I was a member of t he Nava jo Nat io n. The
respo nse t o my t r ibal membership was “so yo u are pure Nat ive Amer ican?” This
was a surpr ising response for me. It was the first t ime t he wo rd “pur e” was used
to descr ibe my Navajo ident it y. Int roductio n is essent ial in Navajo langu age
becau se it is a p ersonal se lf- id ent it y in t he Navajo cult ure.
Navajo oral st ories are o r ig in st o ries t eaching children and adu lt members
of t heir co mmun it ies. The st o ries u sed fo r list ening, remember ing, and t hinking
Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
t hro ugh for bet t er under st anding o f t he world aro u nd t hem. This is t hrough t his
pro cess, in which st ories find t heir way in to Navajo co mmu nit ies and lives.
In t he Nat ive co mmu nit ies, t he elder s and t he parent s do sto ry t elling.
The st o ries t each mo ral values o f liv ing a goo d life and knowing yo ur k inship
relat ionships. Navajo childr en are exp ect ed to kno w t heir clan relat ives and t o
kno w ho w to int roduce t hemselves as member s o f t heir clan. This is pro cess is
what Basso (1996) point s to as “mo r al t ools wit h psycho lo g ical implicat io ns.”
The parent s t elling t heir children o ral st or ies in Navajo is go o d pract ice
for language ret ent ion t o prevent Nava jo childr en growing up wit h Navajo as
t heir seco nd language. To day, t here are many Navajo you ng childr en who do
no t speak Navajo and t hey t ake Navajo classes in t hey are in hig h scho ol o r in
co llege as a foreign languag e. Navajo par ent s shou ld st art t eaching t heir
children Navajo by t elling and shar ing o ral creat io n st ories in Navajo. Take
advant age o f t he t eaching mo ment s o f put ting t o get her min i lesso ns for t he
Navajo children.
Tradit ional o ral st o ries are a go od way o f immer sing yo ung ch ildren in
t heir mot her t ongue (Basso, 1996). Any Navajo St o ry is no t fr ivo lo us o r
meaningless, Basso (1996). Nat ive st ories have a purpo se because it provides
cont inuum o f connect io ns t o place and an cest ors. Nat ive o ral st o ries br ing fo rt h
narrat ives o f t he ancest ors and place.
I lear ned my first language fro m my mo t her t elling wint er o ral st or ies
and speaking t o me fluent ly in Navajo. I am ver y proud t hat my mot her
cont inues t o speak to me in Navajo t o t his day. My fir st language is impo rt ant
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Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case
9
and I am ver y pro ud and honored to speak Navajo . Navajo parent s also need t o
suppo rt and enco uragement t o t each t heir children in Navajo. “We must creat e
t he kind of educat io n t hat creat es great human being s” (Ca jet e 1994), by us ing
o ral st o ry t o t each o ur children t heir mo t her to ngue. It is t hro ugh t he t eaching s
o f my parent s I am t he human being Ca jet e (1994) descr ibes. I mu st cont est ;
Navajo people have st rong oral t radit ions, which are t he vehic les fo r t he
t ransmissio n o f cu lt ure and k nowledg e. This t radit ion is import ant and must
co nt inue t o be pract iced t o educat e yo ung Navajo children.
Model of Learning :
The mod el I will use t o descr ibe t he process o f get t ing a st o ry in t he
Navajo cult ure fro m Navajo elder s is Caje t e is “Cent er ing P lace” co nnect ed
r ing s illust rat ion. How a perso n will ask the elder t o t ell an oral t rad it io nal
st o ry. The fir st st ep one is ask s an eld er. The second st ep is to seek meaning o f
t he st ories and ask quest ions. The t hird st ep is t o make meaning o f t he st o r ies
and relat ed t hem t o life exper ience. The fourt h st ep is to t ake o wnership, find a
creat ive meaning, and make t he k nowledg e sig nificant to yo u. Ever y learner has
his o r her own u nique int erpret at io n o f each st ory. The fift h st ep is shar ing t he
o ut co me o f lear ned kno wledge by t eachin g t he ot hers about t he mean ing o f t he
st o ry (Cajet e 1994).
As Cajet e says, “Teaching and shar ing are part o f t he pro cess o f
beco ming mor e who le and sp ir it ua lly mat ure.” Ind igenous k no wled ge belo ngs
to t he co mmunit ies. The sixt h st ep is t he celebrat ing o f sp ir it ua l shar ing and
Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case 10
spread ing indigenous k nowledge amo ng t he peo ple in t he co mmu nit ies. The
sevent h st ep is being t hank fu l o f t he g ift of k no wledge broug ht fort h t hro ugh
o ral st o ries. Cajet e says, it is t he place where t he sou l and spir it reside, “t hat
p lace t hat t he Indian t alk about .” The exp er iences o f being fu lly immer sed in
t he st ory and applying it t o o ur o wn exper ience is like having a sp ir it u al
underst anding o f t he st ory (Cajet e 1994).
This process sho ws how oral st o ries ar e const ruct ed and how it is a useful
too l fo r cult ur e-based educat ion. Each t ime an o ral st o ry is rep eat ed it is
renewed, and t he process provides a co nt inuu m o f co nnect io n t o p lace,
ancest o rs, and t he present .
Implication
The Navajo believe t heir language is a sacred g ift fro m t he Ho ly peop le.
Cu lt ure- based educat ion is t he curr icu la t hat work best fo r Navajo childr en fo r
t heir educat io nal lear ning. CBE t eaching helps Navajo children t o beco me t he
speakers in t heir co mmunit ies. They can u se t heir Navajo cu lt urally k no wledg e
beco me a successful. St udent s do t heir best in t heir academic achievement
t hrough CBE (Demmert and To wner 2003) .
Children have posit ive t ho ught s about t heir ident it y. This causes t hem t o
go beyo nd t heir limit at ions and expect at io ns in scho o ls. “T hinking abo ut
t hinking has t o be a pr incip al ingred ient of any empo wer ing pract ice o f
educat io n” (Bruner 1996).
Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case 11
Navajo Nat ion own high scho o l Navajo Preparat o ry Scho o l in a
Far mingt on, New Mexico is an example o f a cu lt ure- based scho o l. Navajo
languag e, cu lt ure, and hist or y classes ar e CBE curr icu la at Navajo Preparat o ry.
Mo st of t he st udent s who graduat e fro m Navajo Prep go o n to att end co llege
aft er t hey graduat ed. The Navajo Prep gr aduat es co nt inue t o reach fo r hig hest
go als t hrough scho lar ship and resear ch. Navajo Prep is t he schoo l where I have
t aught Navajo lang uage and Navajo cu lt ur e. My o wn exper ience t eaching t he
st udent s at Navajo Preparat o ry Scho o l was great to see st udent s being pr id e o f
t heir Navajo her it age.
Navajo Nat ion want t heir children t o be t he best and t he br ig ht est
st udent s. They are alwa ys looking t o t he fut ure and want t heir children t o
att end schools t hat have cha lleng ing, inno vat ive curr icu lum. T he CBE
curr icu lum in K-12 helps make t he t rans it io n t o do well at t he co llege
inst it ut io ns.
The childr en t hat are profic ient in t heir her it age fir st language, also will
be pro fic ient in ano t her language (Demme rt and To wer 2003). Navajo St udent s
who do well in co llege are t he st udent s who have bi-cu lt ural k no wledge o f bo t h
t heir own and t he mainst ream cult ure. Many o f t hem appreciat e t he Navajo o ral
t eaching o f ident it y and for lear ning t he meaning o f t heir cu lt ure and lang uage.
This is what t he co mponent of educat io n Navajo Prep st udent s o bt ains fro m t he
CBE balanced educat io n. The expect at io n is for of t he Nava jo children t o
beco me leader s o f t heir peop le and ro le models fo r fut ure generat ions.
Conclusion
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Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case 12
In conclusio n, I wo uld like t o say t hat I wrot e t his pap er fro m a Navajo
perspect ive, t aking int o consider ed t he impo rt ant and scared e lement s o f t he
Navajo cult ure. There is k nowledge in I ndigeno us ways o f k nowing and to t he
shares t he kno wledge is t o cont inue t he ways o f our ancest o rs.
This p aper will beg in my jo ur ney in wr it ing abo ut t he significance o f t he
Nat ive o ral st ory t elling. Thro ug h my own imag inat io n and u nder st and ing o f
Navajo oral cr eat io n st ory, I t ry t o paint a p ict ure t o sho w t here is a t hread o f
Nat ive Amer ican oral t radit io nal st o ry in sacred p laces in Navajo co mmu n it ies.
This st o ry and my knowledg e abo ut Chang ing Wo man immed iat ely co nnect ed
me t o her image on t he S hipro ck Mo nu me nt .
It is t hro ugh a Nat ive Amer ican scho lar, Br yan Bra ybo y; I d isco vered
ho w my own st ories could beco me my o wn t heor ies. “I o nce had an enco u nt er
wit h a co lleague who told me t hat peop le like me, “t o ld goo d st or ies” and lat er
added t hat because I to ld good sto ries, I might not ever be a “go o d t heor ist ”
(Br ian Braybo y, personal co mmu nicat io n, 2005). My ho pe is t hat t hese are no t
t he o nly st ories I will wr it e becau se t here are ot her sacred p laces t hat I can
make sig nificant co nnect ions t o.
In t he fut ure, I wo uld like t o writ e is abo ut t he image o f t he wo man
st and ing in S hiprock in furt her det ail. The o verall t heme Chang ing Wo man and
t he t ime she ret urns t o Navajo Nat io n will be next . The st o ry will co nt inu e wit h
ho w Chang ing Wo man rest ores o rder and r ids mo der n day mo nst ers disru pt ing
t he har mo niou s connect io n in t he Navajo societ y.
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Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case 13
Last ly and mo st import ant ly, if Navajo children are t aught in t heir Nat ive
mot her’s language in a cu lt ure- based educat io n curr icu lum, t heir acade mic
per fo r mances will improve. There is a cont inue suppo rt fo r lang uage
revit alizat ion and cu lt ural kno wledg e (Lip ka and McCart y 19 94) in so me
successfu l Nat ive Amer ican scho ols. There is no do ubt Navajo childr en
speak ing t heir mo t her 's language will lear n t he sacr ed creat io n o ral st o ries o f
t he Navajo people. These Navajo childr en will beco me t he st o ryt eller and shares
t heir st ories.
Gilbert Brown
Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case 14
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Finding Identity through Oral Stories: Navajo Case 15