Johnny Rustywire: Coming home to Navajoland for Christmas

Wednesday, December 19, 2012  

"Going home for Christmas is sometimes hard to do when there isn't enough beso (money) for gifts. It would be nice to go home and bring all the things everyone needs or at least maybe a gift they would like. If you don't have anything to take except yourself it seems not worth the effort.

A few years ago there was an effort to find every home on the rez in every community and put it on a map through Land Administration. The effort went to every chapter, every home and each house was recorded with the name of the family.

It was out toward Besh-be-to, just east of the Navajo Hopi Joint Use Area, or rather Jeddito, and little ways north of Toyei, you will find a small ribbon of dirt road that goes north from the highway. It is hard to see, The road is not used much and you just have to trust it goes somewhere. Chizh-a-teens we called them, wood hauling roads that sometimes just end up nowhere. It looked like one of these and so with the young Navajo college students and the chapter representative, I took it."

Get the Story:
Johnny Rustywire: They Will Come See Me (Indian Country Today 12/19)