St. Johns Lutheran Church in Northfield hosts a monthly event called Creating Community for Common Good – Courageous Conversations, and it is open to the public. Their focus is to invite speakers who will “enlighten local and national implications for education, housing, health care and the environment, as well as freedom of expression and equality.”
On this evening, Lupita McClanahan, a Navajo elder from Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly, was the speaker. She’s a storyteller and cultural historian and she drew a crowd. The room was full. Her event was focused on personal resilience and strengthening culture identity through adversity.
When I learned a native American elder was speaking, I knew I wanted to attend and hear first-hand stories of her experiences. Lupita focused on her people’s way, her upbringing. She grew up in a world that doesn’t exist anymore.
She explained her people are the Diné people (clan of Navajo) and her upbringing was known as Beauty Way. She told antidotes…how her people would introduce themselves including four pieces of information: first your clan name, then where you come from, who your grandparents are, and finally your name. She told how a baby’s name was whispered into to baby’s ear and not revealed to the community for a long time, how they would hold a celebration for the baby’s first laugh, and many more.
She talked about her experience in boarding school. “They” couldn’t pronounce the names so “they” called people by a number. Her name was Number 55. She was at the school for nine years. She overcame the trauma and chose to become a bridge-builder between cultures by sharing her stories.
She talked about the belief that their purpose in life is to take care of the earth and its four elements; earth and water, air and fire. They believe that the land owns us, we do not own the land, and we must take care of it.
Lupita currently lives in NW Arizona, when she is not on speaking tours. She lives with no electricity, she tends sheep, grows corn and hauls her own water. She also guides public tours of her native land through the organization footpathjourneys.com
Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Four Corners Area) is considered one of the jewels of the Navajo Nation.
I always enjoy hearing other people’s stories. An hour and a half went quickly and I’m glad I ventured out on this evening to hear Lupita and learn about her Beauty Way.
