Navajo Oral History Films Premiere at Dine' College

The 2011 Navajo Oral History project documentary films were premiered on Monday, Oct. 10, at Diné College's Tsaile, Arizona, campus.

Six Winona State University students and their professor, Tom Grier, flew from Minnesota to Albuquerque to participate in the premiere and reception event. The six WSU students who traveled to Diné College were: Josh Averbeck, Robbie Christiano, Dave Dvorak, Alex Fisher, Alyssa Reimers, and Michael Ruka. WSU student Molly Golden participated in the summer Navajo Oral History project, but was unable to attend the reception in Arizona.

While at Diné College, the WSU students sat in on a couple DC classes and then got ready for the reception and premiere.

On Monday evening, the students from both DC and WSU who collaborated this past summer to create the documentary films, hosted the reception for the films. More than 100 people attend the reception event which included a traditional Navajo dinner of mutton stew and fry bread.

Following dinner, DC faculty member Dr. Miranda Haskie, started the program, followed by inspirational words from Diné College President Maggie George. Each film was shown followed by the participating students speaking briefly about their experiences. Two of the Navajo elders who were featured in the films were present-- Mitzie Begay and Harold Morgan-- and spoke about their participation.

On Tuesday, the WSU students enjoyed a workshop on Navajo silversmithing presented by Vernon Haskie of Lukachukai, Arizona.

The WSU group stopped to see many views of Canyon Del Muerto and Canyon de Chelly from the overlooks on their way to Chinle, Arizona.

On Wednesday, on their way back to the airport, the WSU group stopped at the Navajo Nation's Window Rock Tribal Park.

They also did a short hike at Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque.

Now that the receptions premiering the 2011 films are complete, the short media feature versions of the films will be made available for streaming viewing via the WSU Mass Communication department's laboratory web site: Winona360.org. The documentary films are also being archived at the Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Nation Library, and at the libraries of both Diné College and Winona State University.

Plans are already underway for the 2012 Navajo Oral History project, the fourth year of this on-going collaboration between Winona State University and Diné College. The project will cover 18 days during June 2012 and will carry three college credits through Diné College's Social and Behavioral Sciences Dept.

Students interested in participating in 2012 should contact Dr. Tom Grier at Winona State University (tgrier@winona.edu) or Dr. Miranda Haskie and Diné College (mhaskie@dinecollege.edu).

Navajo Oral History Films Premiere at WSU

A group of people from Diné College of the Navajo Nation traveled to Winona, Minnesota, in early October to join their colleagues at Winona State University to premiere the documentary films students created this summer.

Dr. Miranda Haskie, professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Diné College, led the group which included Mitzie Begay, a Navajo elder that was featured in one of the films, and students: Trevor Foster, Lionel Harvey, Tashina Johnson, and Shawn Tsosie. Dr. Haskie's husband, Vernon, also came to Minnesota with the group. (Diné College student Jessica King was unable to travel to Winona for the reception.)

While at WSU, the Diné College students toured campus, did a mock newscast in the WSU MCOM TV Studio, and spoke to a journalism class.

The group also visited several tourist locations in the area, and enjoyed a boat ride on the Mississippi River.

Tom Grier, WSU professor of Mass Communication, and his wife, Julie, hosted the Diné College group and the WSU students who participated in the program at their house in Winona for a BBQ dinner.

The films were premiered at WSU on Thursday, Oct. 6. The four films that were created this summer were shown, then each student spoke briefly about their experience participating in the Navajo Oral History project.

Professor Miranda Haskie presented a piece of authentic Navajo pottery to WSU President Judith Ramaley.

On Friday morning, the Diné College group spent an hour visiting with President Judith Ramaley.

On Saturday, the Diné College group returned home to the Navajo Nation and prepared to host a reception on their campus.

This was the third year of the Navajo Oral History project, a unique collaboration between Diné College and Winona State University.

Plans are already underway for the fourth year of the project in June 2012.

Reception & Premiere Events in October -- Please Come!

The life stories of four Navajo elders are featured in student-made documentary films that will be premiered at Winona State University on Thursday, Oct. 6, beginning at 5 p.m. in the auditorium of WSU's Science Laboratory Center.

A second reception and premiere event will be held at Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona, on Monday, Oct. 10, beginning at 5 p.m. in the fourth floor classroom of the Ned Hatathli Museum.

Seven WSU Mass Communication students collaborated with five students from Diné College, the tribal college of the Navajo Nation, to research, interview, photograph and video record Navajo elders over a 16-day period in June 2011. The students, participating in the 2011 Navajo Oral History project, wrote, edited and produced documentary films that will be archived at the Navajo Nation Museum and Library.

The documentaries were part of a collaborative project led by Dr. Tom Grier of WSU and Dr. Miranda Haskie of Diné College. The WSU students stayed at Diné College's main campus in Tsaile, Ariz., while working on their projects. This is the third year of the Navajo Oral History program.

This year's films feature Mitzie Begay, a Navajo cultural liaison with the Ft. Defiance Indian Hospital from Ft. Defiance, Ariz.; Jack Jackson, Sr., a former Arizona State Senator from Navajo, N.M.; Keith Little, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II from Crystal, N.M.; and Harold Morgan, Legislative Assistant to the Navajo Tribal Council for nearly 30 years from Sawmill, Ariz.

Student teams completed service projects for the elders and interviewed each elder several times. They also interviewed friends, colleagues and family members and did background research while on the Navajo Nation.

After the premiere events, short versions of the films will be available for viewing on the WSU Mass Communication department's news lab web site: Winona360.org.

The premieres will include comments from faculty and students involved and the featured elders. Light refreshments will be served before the presentation of the films. The reception and premiere events are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Tom Grier via email: tgrier@winona.edu or Dr. Miranda Haskie via email: mhaskie@dinecollege.edu.

Post Travel Class #3 - Third Drafts

Friday, July 8, marked the last official class meeting of the 2011 Navajo Oral History project. Students met via Interactive Television connection between the Winona State University campus in Winona, Minnesota, and the Tsaile, Arizona, campus of Diné College, the tribal college of the Navajo Nation.

The students involved in the class viewed the third drafts of the documentary films they had been working on for more than month. The documentaries focus on four Navajo elders the students interviewed during June.

After this last class meeting, the documentary projects will get final tweaks to get them ready for duplicating and eventual publication.

The finished projects will be turned in to Prof. Tom Grier on Friday, July 15. Grier will get them ready for duplication and have professionally produced DVDs made. In October, the students will host two receptions to premiere the 2011 documentaries. One reception will be held at Winona State University, and another will be held at Diné College.

The dates for the receptions have been set:

Thursday, Oct. 6, 5 p.m. at Winona State University

Monday, Oct. 10, 5 p.m. at Diné College

These events are open to the public and are meant to honor the work of the students and the lives of the featured elders.

Post Travel Class #2 - Second Drafts

The 2011 Navajo Oral History project students met for a second time after their field work was complete.

The four teams presented the second drafts of the documentaries they are creating about Navajo elders they interviewed during two and a half weeks of field work.

The drafts are really looking good. Professor Miranda Haskie and I were quite impressed with the hard work of the student teams, and the quality of the documentaries. All class participants watched the drafts and offered constructive criticism to make them even better.

Minor corrections will be needed to some of the audio and a few video edits. In a few cases, the students will be incorporating more b-roll or still photo images in their pieces. Narration scripts are being written and will be recorded this week.

We have one more class period planned for Friday, July 8, to view the completed projects.

Once they are done, the projects will be mastered for DVD duplication. Each featured elder and their families will get copies of the DVD, and copies will be archived at the Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Nation Library, as well as the libraries at Diné College and Winona State University.

Receptions are being planned for early October to premiere the documentaries. Receptions will be held at both Winona State University and at Diné College. Following the premieres, the media versions of each documentary will be available for viewing on Winona360.org, the WSU Mass Communication department's web site.