eRestorer April 2009 Inspire p1

After life in L.A., a Christian Navajo returns to his Reservation

<-- Mark Charles working in his Hogan

Prologue: "When I grow up I want to be a shepherd.” I imagine that is what my grandfather said when he was a young boy growing up near Blanco Canyon in New Mexico. I remember him telling me stories about when he used to herd sheep as a child. That is until he was 'enrolled' in school.

At a young age my grandfather was removed from his home and sent to a boarding school. There he was forbidden from speaking Navajo, practicing Navajo traditions and culture, and even learning from his elders. He was made to pick an English name and a birthday. Everything that was 'Navajo' was pushed aside and replaced with what was 'American'. He no longer was given the option of becoming a shepherd when he grew up. He was forced, at an early age, into a whole new world and this world had little value or patience for who he was or where he came from. In an effort to give their children the best possible chance of surviving in this new world, my grandparents encouraged them in English and in their education. At the same time, they also heavily deemphasized the Navajo language and traditional way of life.

As a result, I never considered becoming a shepherd. I never considered moving back to the Reservation. And I have to admit, upon leaving for UCLA in 1989 I had no plans of ever returning for more than a visit…

Flash forward: But nearly 12 years later (about five years ago), I moved with my family from Denver, Colorado back to the Navajo Nation. As I began raising a family I realized how important it was to understand who I was and where I came from. I wanted to speak the Navajo language and become familiar with our culture and traditional ways. We had moved back about a year and were living in a traditional Navajo hogan located out on a sheep camp. (A hogan is a six-sided, one-room log cabin, with at dirt floor and a wood burning stove). We were six miles off the nearest paved road on a dirt road living with no running water or electricity.

I was working at that time as a computer consultant. Much of my work I could do from our hogan (charging my laptop battery in my car, and connecting my cell phone to the laptop). I found this arrangement worked out extremely well and was delighted that I could give my children the experience of growing up in a very traditional Navajo setting while still demonstrating to them that we could also actively participate in the global marketplace.