VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 4
Inclusion Represents Cultural Respect
Each morning, athletes gather for a walk to the beautiful dining room for
breakfast, then everyone loads into one of the 12-passenger vans for the drive to
the activity site for the day. Each year, activities are planned in and around
Flagstaff, Page, Tuba City, the Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater, and on Lake Powell
and the Colorado River. This means everyone is in the vans for 2-3 hours daily.
Again, this reflects typical life on the reservation, as most Navajo are accustomed
to traveling long distances to their various destinations, be it school, work, or
visiting relatives. At Camp, time spent on van rides is used to play games, interact
socially, or even sleep, after a long day full of activities. Most spend van time
visiting, while travelling through red-tinged mesas and the long vistas of the high
desert, through the shadows of the three San Francisco Peaks, and the cool pines
around Flagstaff. The Navajo staff who are van drivers always know the alternative
routes to our destination, in case of closures or other problems on the road.
Navajo culture is always included, honored and respected. At Camp 2022
and 2023, the art & craft of drumming, making a drum, and decorating individual
flutes, were part of our program, supported by grants from the Arizona
Commission for the Arts. The student athletes received instruction in Native
American-style flute playing. They often played their flutes while riding in the van
or in their rooms.
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