the unknown culture

The last few days I've been musing about the Navajo people. I've met some of the smartest, sweetest, and most genuine people. They are all well educated and yet, still live at or near the poverty line, living in shanties with no water or electricity. So why?

Here's what I've learned.

Most of the people from generation X and younger are college educated. Higher education is completely paid for by the government, either at the Navajo university, Dine' College, or at another state school, usually U of Arizona or U of New Mexico. They all go off to school and then come right back.
Through a bill passed by Bill Clinton, they get pre-paid cell phones, or commodity phones as they call them, with minutes loaded each month so that everyone would have a phone, even where land lines wouldn't be possible.
No one owns land out here. Technically, the Chapters own it (the individual city-like divisions of the nation) and passed down through families are the Grazing Permits. These are large chunks of land that one family "owns". Each additional family that wants land has to go through the Chapter and get a land lease, where they will get a one-acre plot. BUT first they have to contact the person who holds the Grazing Permit and get their permission to squat on the land. Very interesting. AND- yesterday as I was talking to Geneva, the wonderful woman we are staying with, she was telling us all about these permits and stuff and I said "Oh, so even Herman and the church building had to find the guy with the Grazing Permit and as for land?" She said, "Well, he had to ask me" Geneva has the permit for the land from Shiprock all the way out to the road! It's like 10 square miles! She's just so humble and it's crazy!

So back to my original question- why do smart, educated people stay out here in the desert with nice trailers and big televisions and still have to carry water from the spigot outside? The truth is, I don’t really know. I think it probably has a lot to do with comfort. If they moved off the Rez, they would become the minority. White people aren’t allowed to live out here. So when I go to the grocery store or the city flea market every Saturday, they think I’m just passing through or a tourist. They do react differently when I greet them in Navajo or they find out I’m living here all summer.
Additionally, many people are educated and cannot work because there are no jobs because there are no cities, or end up working labor in the coal or uranium mines. There’s a lot of land and not as many people so everything is spread out. Every 50 or 100 miles is a “city” which is more like a town, usually with a local grocery store and one gas station. There’s one hospital every three hours. If you live outside of the city and your house is on fire, it will probably take the fire truck 45 minutes to get to your house. Police or ambulance? Same thing.

It’s an interesting place. And don’t dare get me wrong- I LOVE it out here. The people, the landscape, it’s amazing. But it’s very different from what I know, because even in the cities everything looks like home, but go down one of the dirt roads and there are hogons with dirt floors. I've learned so much. It really is a forgotten culture, not in America's backyard, but in her living room!

Aside from all that, the team just left this morning and things are still crazy for us. The next team misunderstood the 6 emails they surely got and is coming a day early. They get here tomorrow night. That means we have one day to buy all the food, get the supplies, send out budget reports and media from this past week, find work sites for this week and get Kids Club ready. One day. But it will be good. The coming group is small- only 9 people! And I'm sure we will have a great time. Keep praying that we have strength and get enough rest- sleeping in the same room with the team is definitely a change. It's a 24-hour job, and unfortunately, we are tired. God has been so faithful though, and the last couple of days with the last team were really neat. We're leaning on the Lord and resting in His peace. All is well because He's just that good.

Hagoone!
Laura Marie