My Father's Story

The other day my kids came back from school and asked Josh and I "Are we Navajo?"  I looked at Josh and he looked at me with both our faces surprised as ever. Not once have we mentioned to our kids what their hertiage/ race was. I responded by quickly saying " Yes you are!"  At first I was kind of embarrassed I had not yet mentioned it to them. I know I mentioned alittle to them, but not so much where they understood they come from a hertiage that calls them Navajo/native Americans. But I think what was most important to Josh and I was they understood they were a child of GOD and kind of just forgot the whole Native thing. Some may call it being ignorant for allowing such question to not be known, but Josh and I are pretty okay with it.

I guess I'm okay with it because my parents really never raised me as being one who is Navajo or made aware ceremonies and what not. My father often tells me that once the missionaries came Into his home and he was baptized LDS, he let go of that culture part of him. He said, " I have had to battle with those traditions for what seems my whole life". He goes on explaining that as a young 14 yr old boy he had to constantly tell his mother he did not need a ceremony done on him when he returned back to his foster parents. He also explained thst they tried and tried, until one day he stood up and stomped over a sand painting that was being done for him. He also mentioned, that on his wedding day he did not want to wear traditional clothing and told my mom, but her father being a medicine man insisted. My father allowed that one detail, but when the church wedding started out andout-came the  traditional ceremony stuff. My father said, " the civil wedding was perform and him and my mom left their wedding, because their wishes of leaving out anything ceremonial were not being respected."  So, when he says he feels he's had to deal with it his whole life, this was what he means. So as a young child I learned that my hertiage foremost was being a Child of God and doing things according to his way. 

I asked Josh how he felt about that and he explained to me that he felt the same and it really didn't bother him we did not tell our kids. But, I guess I'm my Mothets daughter. One thing my mom did tell me was about being modest and how Navajo's were modest, she told me about how she weaved small rugs and sold them to the trading post people and made 20 dollars every week for doing that, she told me about cooking and working hard, she told me how she loved her boarding school experience and how she was able to learn so much more about housework and keeping herself groomed, she talked a lot about her father and the things she saw in ceremonies and how her testimony of the restored gospel grew when she entered the temples because she had seen those same ceremonies done in her own home, she also explained things about the cradle board and why she loves using it on her grandkids, etc... Stories like that make me proud to be called a Navajo and those are stories I will share with my kids!! Stories of seeing my Nali mourn after her sheep when she had to leave to the nursing home.  They were her babies and she loved them so much. 

I will share those same stories to my kids. I also will share one recent story about Taylor's oldest cousin Angel. Angel turned 12 years old in September and a couple months later she received a baptism temple recommend. That temple recommend is valid for 1 whole year. Angel is able to do Baptisms for the dead in the Temple. I'm such a proud Auntie for her decision to choose to be worthy of those blessings. Well, not to long ago Angel started her journey as a young women. Her mother side of the family is very traditional. When they found out they wanted to celebrate and to perform her Women ceremony for her. I can't spell it in Navajo. She was faced with a decision.  She talked to her father, my twin brother, and he really did not want her to partake and she talked to her mom who encouraged her to do it. She was getting calls from her Grandpa Cheii requesting she do it. My brother was getting calls! It was looking to be a big disagreement, but Angel went to her Dad and said, "nope I don't want to do it. I made promises to my Heavenly Father when I got my baptism temple reccomend. I want to stay worthy of those blessings".

my initial feelings about the whole thing was I felt she could just do parts of it like make her cake and run in the morning. But after her decisions on why she didn't want any part of it came to, I felt so proud of her decision. I was reminded from a child once again how sacred any promise we make to our Heavenly Father is! Thanks Angel, this is one story I will share with my kids!!