Native American Issues

San Juan School District embraces heritage of all students in the district

The San Juan School District (SJSD) embraces the heritage of all students in the district. In November, SJSD schools share the culture and language of students of American Indian descent, which are Navajo, Ute, and other tribes represented in our schools. Some events and activities that have...

Duke University graduate returns home to inspire future generations

The further Shandiin Herrera got away from her home in Monument Valley, UT, the more she realized how important it would be to use her education and leadership to benefit her people. Herrera, a 2019 graduate of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, could be headed to Washington, D...

Whose story is it anyway?

TIED TO THE POST Of all the people we work with, Dennis Ross is one of our all-time favorites. Our fondness for him is not necessarily based in his artistic talents; it is mostly about the way he conducts his life. Biologically, Dennis is half Navajo and half Hopi, which makes for an interesting...

Sisters from Montezuma Creek perform at New York City fashion show

Two girls from San Juan County turned heads at New York Fashion Week last month. Tewakeedah and Dachuneeh Martin, of Montezuma Creek, sang live for Designer Hazel Stabler’s Buffalo Hunt Camp fashion line dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Imagine the fashion show like this...

Hundreds attend Bears Ears gathering

More than 800 people attended the the fifth annual Bears Ears Summer Gathering, which was held July 19-21 at the Kigalia Guard Station in Bears Ears National Monument. Utah Diné Bikéyah (UDB) sponsors the annual event, designed to celebrate the Indigenous cultures of the Bears Ears region. In 2019...

A gift from southeast Utah

Utah Governor Gary Herbert and his wife Jeanette recently met with Pope Francis in the Vatican City while on an economic development tour through Europe. They had a brief visit with the pontiff and presented him with a gift from Utah. If you look closely, you will see that the gift is handpainted...

Monument Valley Tribal Park closes for day due to unauthorized filming

UPDATED 12/4/2018 Members of “Global Witness” attempted to gain entrance into the Monument Valley Tribal Park on Nov. 29 without prior permission or permitting and were eventually denied access. Park officials closed the park to the general public and the estimated 50 members of the...

Large group attends gathering at Bears Ears

A group estimated at more than 300 people gathered at the Bears Ears Meadow on June 20 to 22 for the fourth annual Bears Ears Summer Gathering. Organized by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, the gathering is designed to build support to restore Bears Ears National Monument to its...

Thunderbolts and lightning

TIED TO THE POSTby Steve & Barry Simpson White hot bolts of lightning bee-bopped across the darkened horizon, as we topped out on the south side of Devil’s Canyon. It looked as if an electrified game of pin ball was being played above the torn and ragged, moisture-laden clouds. I...

Honoring Kigalia

OUT OF THE BLUESby Maggie Judi See also Dust in the Wind Sometime in the year 1801, a baby boy was born near a babbling spring just north of two massive mounds of earth. The mounds appeared to have been snipped off by some unseen and careless deity, not quite reaching their original...