Day 5 - Interviewing The Elders

Today was the first day for our student journalism teams to meet with the Navajo elder they are working with to create their oral history projects. Each student team provided several hours of physical labor for the elder, to help build a relationship based on respect and trust.

The work included: Moving brush, removing stumps, herding sheep and goats from one corral to another, weeding a garden, dismantling an outdoor oven-- including removing a black widow spider from it-- piling up downed trees, and digging a small retaining pool for a natural spring.

(Unless otherwise noted, all photos on this blog are by Tom Grier, Cindy Killion and Chops Hancock.)

Each team interviewed the elder for about an hour, talking about their life stories: birth, education, parents, siblings, marriages, children, military service, etc. This was the "getting to know you" phase of interviewing. Teams used a variety of media during the interviews: audio recorders, digital video cameras, still photography, and skillful note-taking.

The elders being interviewed include: Samuel Tso, one of the few remaining original Navajo Code Talkers from World War II; Dr. Beulah Allen, one of the first female medical doctors on the Navajo Nation, and recently retired director of the Tsaile, Arizona, Indian Health Services Clinic; Dr. Wilson Aronilth, an author, silversmith and faculty member in the Department of Diné Studies and Diné college; Ruth Roessel, among the founders of Diné College, educator and widow of Dr. Robert Roessel, the first president of Diné College; and Harry Walters, A Navajo culture specialist who recently retired after 35 years as a faculty member of Diné College and director of the Navajo Museum at Diné College.

(Above two photos by Miranda Haskie)

(photo by Matt Wandzel)

In the evening, the students gathered in our hogan-shaped dorm for a debriefing discussion of how first interviews went, and how to improve them before the second of three interviews with each elder.

At day's end, students and faculty alike had sore muscles and confident smiles. Friends were made among the students on the teams and with the elders. Only two and a half days into this adventure and we all feel very privileged to be involved in something very important, very meaningful.

Day 4 - Diné College Tour and classes

Editor's Note: Lots of photos today. Unless otherwise noted, photos are by Tom Grier and Chops Hancock

We had a very full day. We started with breakfast together in the cafeteria, then had class to get things organized for tomorrow's first interviews with our Navajo elders. Before lunch we had a tour of the Diné College campus.

We spent nearly an hour with Diné College President, Dr. Ferlin Clark who described the philosophy of teaching the Navajo Way at the college. 

Later, we had a class on Diné college history from our host faculty member, Dr. Miranda Haskie.

Dr. Anthony Lee, president of the Navajo Medicine Men organization, and a retired Diné College faculty member, described Navajo culture related to teaching. He also helped us understand more about the ceremonies medicine men use to bring Navajos back into hozho: harmony with the natural world. 

Alex Mitchell, director of the Diné College Museum, led a tour of those facilities which include pottery, interpretive photographs of Dinetah, the ancestral homeland of the Diné people, a multi-paneled mural of the Navajo creation story, and a ceremonial hogan.

In the later afternoon, a small group drove to Window Rock for groceries and stopped to see Window Rock park. A nice young man, Lionel, gave us a hiking tour up to the window which made for some cool photos. The first two photos are by David Busse.

Andrew Neumann stayed on the ground to create these amazing photos looking up at us in the "window."

This next photo was taken by our Navajo guide, Lionel.

Then we had a nice conversation with Lionel and his parents., Chubby and Peny, who showed us some of their beautiful pottery. Lionel's Dad, Chubby, Shot this group photo.

Our whole WSU-DC group will visit Window Rock Thursday.

At the end of a long day, Cory Hinz made this great sunset image from the top of Window Rock.

We spent the evening getting equipment ready for the first interviews with Navajo elders tomorrow (Tuesday).

Day 3 - Arrival at Diné College

After meeting the rest of the WSU group at the Albuquerque airport, our caravan of four vehicles drove four hours to Tsaile, Arizona, home of Diné College - The Tribal College of the Navajo Nation.

We enjoyed a Welcome Dinner including Navajo Tacos, Fry Bread, corn-on-the-cob, salad, watermelon, etc. Miss Diné College, Sharon Richards, gave a prayer for safety and productive, respectful work. WSU President Judith Ramaley described her history of working with Tribal Colleges in general, and specifically Diné College while she was with the National Science Foundation. She also shared some heart-felt comments about her commitment to this collaborative program between the two institutions.

Four of the five Navajo elders who will be oral history subjects were present, and each gave a short introduction of themselves and their lives. (I didn't take photos during the dinner out of respect for the importance of the occasion.) 

Following the dinner, students finished settling into their dorm rooms and began getting comfortable with the surroundings.

Here's a selection of candid photos from today:

Day 2 - Still On The Road

Day 2, Chops and I drove from Salina, Kansas, to Las Vegas, New Mexico. We're about two hours from Albuquerque. We need to be to the ABQ airport by 1:15 p.m. tomorrow to meet the plane containing WSU President Judith Ramaley, our faculty partner Cindy Killion and the 12 WSU student journalists. 

While driving today, we stopped in several small towns along the way to shoot some photos. I like to shoot images of old courthouses and post them to Google Earth. Chops likes old movie theaters and really anything else interesting and out of the ordinary.

Below, you'll see some of the things we found interesting. 

We saw some wild Pronghorn along the highway near Boise City, Oklahoma. I shot these using my Nikon D300 and Chops' 300mm f/2.8 lens. 

We stopped to check out this Drive-In Movie Theater in Dodge City, Kansas, and spent about an hour talking to Dick Ridge and his daughter Judy Smith who run the place. The theater opened in 1947. Dick has worked there since he was a teenager in 1948. He took some time off while he was in college and the Navy, but came home to Dodge City and taught science and math at the local high school and Dodge City Community College. 

Dick and Judy took time out to show us the projection room, the concession stand and just enjoy a great conversation about Drive-Ins, about life, kids, education, entertainment. 

We told Dick we were heading to the Navajo Nation to work on journalism projects. He told us he listens to KTNN Radio, the voice of the Navajo Nation, at night when it beams in well to Dodge City (more than 600 miles from its transmitter in Window Rock, Arizona). We agreed we love the sound of the Navajo language-- even though we can't understand it. 

When we were about to leave, Judy's husband, Lyle showed up in his 1968 GTO, so we hung around a little longer to marvel at the classic muscle car and talk about cars. We heard about the 1965 Mustang coupe Dick has been driving for more than 40 years and how he keeps it running, though it's close to 300,000 miles. 

This stop was the highpoint of our trip so far. 

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