Diné Participant 3

• In Event: Unforgetting Indigenous Education Histories to Cultivate Hwił Haahodinééh: Diné Experiences in the Mormon Indian Placement Program

Abstract

Participant 3 shares the same family relations as her elder brother (Participant 2) and has a home with her husband and children in Łichíí’ sinil, where she was born and raised. After graduating high school from Rough Rock Demonstration School (now Rough Rock Community School), she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree, and eventually a master’s degree in school counseling from Fort Lewis College. She worked at Diné College as a counselor for three years and has now worked as an elementary and middle school counselor for Chinle Unified School District for several years now. Her decision to pursue a career in school counseling was rooted in her desire to guide, support, and educate young Native children. At the same time, she attributes her adult decision-making about her career and family life to her own experiences with the Mormon Indian Student Placement Program. This includes a rejection or refusal of the “hurtful” and “unwelcome” feelings she experienced resulting from school bullying and living with a white Mormon foster family. It also includes the general loneliness and sadness of being separated from her family and homeland. Her survivance has led her to pursue a life and career where no one is forced to experience what she did. For her, having a tight knit family that values Diné culture, language, and tradition has helped her heal from the pain she felt living away from home. She also maintains that “there’s no bigger love than the feeling of being in a home that’s a safe space.” Her survivance has led her to create such a home for her own children, and for the students she works with.

Author

• Raythina Tapaha-Yazzie, Many Farms Public School