Friday, August 19, 2011

7 Quick Takes--Navajo Southwest Edition (with photos)




1. On Thursday there was a very long line of people with grocery carts lined up in the parking lot of a local supermarket. I couldn't figure it out at first so I got closer: a couple of guys had big barrels and would roast your chiles for you if you wanted to wait your turn.

2. I hear that devout Navajo will not visit local ruins because they want to prevent the spirits of their ancestors coming along with them when it's time to go home.


3.  The Annual Inter Tribal Indian Ceremonial was held close by last week.  My camera's battery died and it was sunset so none of my pictures began to capture how spectacular it was.  Not only are there Navajo, but Zuni, Hopi, Cheyenne, Taos and even Aztec Indians (and plenty more I haven't listed here).





4. Jeremy learned at work that at the time of burial, the Navajo need to have all of their parts buried with them.  Lost or extracted teeth, missing fingers or limbs, etc.  At the birth of a new baby, a Navajo grandmother requests to take the placenta home.

5. A bunch of guys with guns are having lunch in a reserved room at the coffee shop today.  Holstered guns, I mean.  The gun laws here take some getting used to.

6. My kids' school is 80% Navajo.  They kind of stand out a little.

7. At the laundromat they play country music and folks selling food in coolers wander around.  At the Annual Ceremonial Parades the number of snack food hawkers was completely out of control.  Folks backed their pickups up so they could sell from the backs of trucks, or they set up tables, or they loaded their coolers into grocery carts and did laps up and down the streets. 


more takes over at Jen's (her #3 is particularly hilarious)

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