First Stories

Native American Heritage Day is celebrated in the United States on the day following Thanksgiving Day. Despite the calendrical order, in my mind it comes first when I think of this country’s rich history and heritage. Long before my ancestors came to the land, Native Americans lived with respect for the Earth, a holy Creator, all growing things, and every sentient being co-inhabiting their surroundings. Concepts involving reciprocity and reverence, and lifestyles in which resourcefulness was expressed daily resulted in lived-out traditions that remain untarnished, desirable, admired.

This young man and member of the Diné looks with a steady gaze and calm demeanor at his ancestral homeland, the Navajo Nation. Located where the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet, Diné Bikéyah, or Navajoland, covers over 27,000 square miles and is larger than ten of the fifty states on the North American continent.

His long hair is bound with the traditional white sheep string known as the tsiiyéél. Considered sacred, each strand of string is like a prayer and wraps the hair of men and women with ancestral holiness. Other elements of his dress—rings, earrings, belt, necklace—are not simple fashion accessories. Each component and its crafted creation is an expression of indigenous histories told and belief in stories yet to come. Despite human calendars, my heart welcomes and my mind knows these stories of the past and of tomorrow are first.