Speakers Bureau Speaker
Evangeline Parsons Yazzie, Ph.D., Flagstaff
Dr. Evangeline Parsons Yazzie is a Professor of Navajo at Northern Arizona University. A Navajo woman, originally from the small community of Hardrock on the Navajo Reservation, Evangeline teaches and writes on behalf of elders as a means of acknowledging and honoring her parents for their gift of language, culture-knowledge, and teachings. Evangeline is an award-winning author of a bilingual children’s book and co-authored a Navajo language textbook for high school and college level students.
Presentations are suitable for high school as well as adult audiences.
The Beauty of the Navajo Language
The Navajo language is reliable, strong, and kind. It is the heartbeat of the Navajo Nation and keeps the culture alive; it describes the traditional lifestyle while nurturing Navajo traditions; and, the language strengthens the beliefs of Navajo people. The Navajo language is also one of the most difficult languages to learn. The complexity of the language is embedded in simple verbs, verb-based nouns, and descriptive nouns. An introduction to simple Navajo verbs demonstrates that the intricacy of verbs is derived from prefixes that are attached to the verb stem. As one becomes aware of the intricacies of the language, one sees the beauty of the language. Audiences will discover the beauty of the Navajo language as Dr. Yazzie Parson demonstrates how culture and language are inseparable and offers a chance to learn to speak (non-Navajo speakers) or write (Navajo-speakers) a few simple phrases.
Host organization provides screen for PowerPoint presentation.
Indian and Navajo-U.S. Treaties
The Navajo leaders and the United States’ representatives entered into a total of eight treaties from 1846 through 1868. In this presentation, the importance and purpose of Indian and Navajo-U.S. treaties is explored, as well as a discussion on how treaties remain valid documents, and where the validity of treaties is determined. This presentation includes a simple contrast/comparison of the eight Navajo-U.S. Treaties and concludes with an examination of the specific components of Indian-U.S. Treaties and examines how each component was applied to the Navajo-U.S. Treaty of 1868.
Host organization provides screen for PowerPoint presentation.
The Long Walk of the Navajo People, 1864 - 1868
. In 1864, the Navajo people were forced to walk over 450 miles to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. The Navajo people refer to the Long Walk as Hweeldi At Ft. Sumner, they were imprisoned on a 40-square mile reservation for four long years suffering from hunger, loneliness, illnesses, and severe weather conditions. Events surrounding the Long Walk have been recorded and collected in historical literature by many non-Navajo authors. Absent from the literature is the Navajo perspective. Many Navajo elders refer to Hweeldi as if it was the beginning of time. Their version of this unfortunate event has for the most part remained as oral history. To acknowledge the Navajo perspective, the recollection of many Navajo elders has been preserved in this presentation. In this powerful presentation, the audience will discover the Navajo elders’ version of the Long Walk.
Host organization provides screen for PowerPoint presentation.
Navajo Elders: Our Children’s Birthright!
Navajo elders hold on to their heritage as if their lives depend on it; actually, their lives do depend on it. Because of this, the elders are a Navajo child's first teacher. Elders live their culture. They are able to talk about their heritage without having to rely on others who only write about it without having actually lived it. Navajo parents fear their children are experiencing an identity crisis; in actuality, it is the elders who are experiencing an identity crisis because they know what is being lost and what has been lost. It is among elders that one finds therapy. Elders have a wonderful way of expressing compassion. Their words heal. It is through the prayers they voice and the songs they sing that the health and well being of a person is maintained.
This presentation explores how Navajo elders maintain our birthright. It shares the way Navajo elders hold the key to the culture, beliefs, traditions, identity, and lifestyles of the Navajo people.
Host organization provides screen for PowerPoint presentation.
