Seminar: Indigenous Literature as a Window into Social and Emotional Learning
Program: DINÉ
Subject Area: Other
Grade Level: 7th
Year of Publication: 2022
Abstract
Culture and language are a way to identify us as Diné people. Our culture and language can keep us grounded knowing that we have a place we can always call home no matter how far we move away from the reservation. Our grandparents fought and prayed for where we live today. After the Long Walk the Diné people were released to go back to their homes. They returned back to the Navajo reservation and did what they could to adapt with what they had. The Diné people endured a lot and had to reestablish themselves despite all the hardships and barriers they experienced. The Diné were able to preserve their culture, language, oral stories, sacred ceremonies, and the clan system. When a baby is born, some Navajos will keep the umbilical cord and bury it near their home which symbolizes the connection they still have to the Navajo reservation.