Pollen Trail Dancers.
Sedona, AZ: Navajo Code Talkers and the fine art of Navajo weaving will be explored in-depth at the Museum of Northern Arizona’s 59th Annual Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture on Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3, in Flagstaff. Seventy-five artists, traditional music and dances, Heritage Insight programming, and food will round out the weekend’s celebration of the vibrant Diné culture.
“Navajo Festival comes to Flagstaff at a very special time of year, with the monsoon rains and cool air,” said MNA Director Robert Breunig. “I especially like the festival’s Heritage Insights programming that provides a glimpse into Diné lifeways and cultural traditions. These presentations show other ways of looking at the world. This year a professor of Navajo philosophy, a Navajo linguist, and a Navajo ethnobotanist will be joining us to look deeper into our nation’s largest tribe.”
Anne Doyle, MNA’s Heritage Program Coordinator, added, “Some of the festival’s prominent returning artists include internationally known contemporary painter Shonto Begay, last year’s Best of Show Award-winning basket maker Sally Black, Grand Canyon Railway singer Clarence Clearwater, and renowned weaver Morris Muskett, one of only a few males who weave in the Navajo tradition.”
Navajo Code Talkers
The U.S. Marine Corps’ Navajo Code Talkers are legendary. Their heroic efforts come to light with Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes…The Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, the most comprehensive exhibit yet created about the over 400 Navajo young men who were recruited by the U.S. government to devise an unbreakable code in the language they had previously been forbidden to speak. This exhibit is on loan from the Circle of Light Navajo Education Project of Gallup, New Mexico. This organization focuses on building cultural pride, self worth, and motivation among Navajo youth and educating non-Navajos about the rich history, culture, language, and contributions of the Navajo people. This exhibit is generously sponsored by Arizona Public Service (APS).
Zonnie Gorman, daughter of Code Talker Carl Gorman and a recognized historian on the subject, will present “Growing Up with Heroes…The Navajo Code Talkers of World War II: A Daughter’s Journey.” Gorman shares the touching story about her father’s role as one of the first twenty-nine Code Talkers, the Navajo Reservation of the 1940s, and the U.S. Government’s policy of assimilation and eradication of Indigenous languages. She is currently the project coordinator for the Circle of Light Navajo Education Project.
