The focus of the nation, briefly. 7 minus 2 Quick Takes.

Last Friday, one of the front page news stories of the Navajo Times was about the translating of the movie Star Wars into the Dine language.  Now the project has made national, and even international headlines.

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On a less awesome note, the local cult we regularly run into around town (and which I wrote about earlier here) was profiled in a short National Geographic documentary last year.  The cult leader, a woman named Lila (or Deborah) Green, appears several times throughout the documentary and on Saturdays at our fair city's weekly outdoor flea market. 

For a quick peek at her, or a summary of the views of the charmingly-named Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps, skip to 7:03 and listen for about five seconds, and that ought to answer any questions you might have.

 

 

 

(note: According to Debra Weyermann's book Answer Them Nothing, Bringing Down the Polygamous Empire of Warren Jeffs, knowledgeable sources estimate the number of Jeffs' wives to be well over 60 and somewhere between and 200 and 300.)

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This year's Gathering of Nations Powow began last week a couple hours away from us. The annual Intertribal Ceremonial will take place this August in our city, the famed Indian Capital of the World.  I love this event, and folks travel from all over to attend and participate.

 

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Our area is also known for having been the site of the largest release of radioactive material in U.S history.  It happened almost exactly 34 years ago and although the effect on the environment was devastating to local residents, the affected area was never declared a federal disaster zone and therefore federal funds were never made available for containment or cleanup. 

 

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One of our local heroes is one who was first honored on the national level.  Hiroshi Miyamura received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War.  We have a bridge and a highschool named for him, and according to Wikipedia there is also an area of town named for him.  We've seen him around a couple of times, too. 


(more takes over here)