Diné Participant 4

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

Abstract

Participant 4 is Tłízí Łání (Many Goats clan) born for Tódík’ózhí (Salt Water clan).
Her maternal grandfather is of the Tsin Sikaadnii (Tree Clamp clan), and her paternal grandfather is of the Ashįį (Salt clan). She has lived in Tiis Názbas (Circle of Cottonwood Trees), or Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, all her life. By “all her life,” she means that even when she has left, she has always returned; it is her homeland now and forever. She is very proud of her lineage. She has strived to develop the essential qualities of a Naat’áanii (Diné/Navajo leader) since she was a young girl, imparted to her by her father, Willie Weaver, and maternal grandfather, Naatáanii Tsoh (Joe Coleman). They were respected and well-known hátááłii (singers). To be
Naat’áanii means to care for others, have a sense of vision, be courageous, and live honestly.
These teachings are connected to k’é and t’áá hwó ají t́éego (it’s up to you), which she kept
at the forefront of her mind throughout her experience in the Mormon Indian Student Placement
Program. She enjoyed raising her children (four sons) and now has six grandchildren whom
she cherishes. Her survivance of the Placement Program has led her to pursue her B.S. degree in elementary education (K-8), B.S. degree in family & child science, and a master’s degree in educational administration (higher education) from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces (NMSU). She worked with tribal college students as they advanced to research in the biomedical sciences at NMSU and Montana State University, Bozeman, for 26 years. She has always prioritized community well-being, and her survival has enabled and brought great purpose to her important work as a community and political organizer across the Navajo Nation in contemporary Northeast Arizona. At the community chapter houses, she has translated English presentations to Diné bizaad (Navajo language). Currently, she is a consultant at Diné College, Tsaile, AZ, for the School of Transformation.

Author

• Priscilla Weaver, Dine College