Food Run Report - Navajo Mountain 8/22/13

by John Aldrich

After an overnight rest in Kayenta following the Oljato food run we set out early on Wednesday morning for Navajo Mountain. It's a nearly 2 hour drive but a meditative and beauty-filled experience. The sky was overcast, and since the elevation at our destination is so much higher, the temperature on the mountain was very pleasant.

The box crew went right to work unloading and setting up the Rainbow Circle. Shawn rests for a moment with some of the boxes that came from his pickup while C.J. looks on.

The gift of water is unique to Navajo Mountain, and this vehicle carrying a portion of that load is riding low under the weight.

The final result is a beautiful array of food boxes, produce, gift boxes, and water.

As preparations proceeded there was time for volunteers to visit with Elders. Teresa, on her first food run, was able to meet her Grandma, Rose Atene. With Beverly Benally translating, they had a good visit.

Melyssa and Jim were able to spend time with their Elder, Betty Benally.

Ruby Burns is the director of the senior center at Navajo Mountain and also serves as our coordinator. She does a fine job and was honored with a gift basket at the start of the food run program.

Linda and Mary Begay again teamed up to conduct the program and translate.

For Navajo Mountain, the American Express gift box contained fabric and an assortment of other useful items. Mary explains to the Elders what they will be receiving.

When it's time for Elder giveaways, there is always an outpouring at Navajo Mountain. That's one of the things that makes this such a special food run. This photo shows only a portion of the people who lined up to give rugs, jewelry, and crafts to the Program or to their sponsor or other volunteers.

First time food run volunteers are often the subjects of favors from Elders. In this case, Pam and Peggy received generous gifts from Emma Seaton.

And Teresa received this beautiful little ceremonial basket from Rose.

During the Program giveaways, each male Elder received a coil of rope.

Della Graymountain, age 98, looks over the assortment of fabric colors.

To help with the upcoming winter male Elders received a heavy jacket or coat.

Not many school-aged children come to the food run here, but this young first grader is excited to find out what's in her gift box.

As volunteers start setting up tables for the meal, Ruby and one of her assistants fill containers with food. The Elders are served first and then the volunteers can eat.

After this fortification, the box crew is ready to go back to work loading the Elders' vehicles.

They pause for a moment With Buck Navajo after loading his truck.

Near the conclusion of the food run a new Elder is taken into the Program. Beverly chats with Eva Bowsley to obtain the needed information to fill out the intake form.

Before going our separate ways, we gather in a closing circle to share a few final thoughts and expressions of gratitude. We will look forward to returning to this wonderful place again next spring.

Food Run Report - Navajo Mountain 3/28/13

by John Aldrich

Returning to Navajo Mountain is always a special treat. The beauty of the place and warmth of the people make this a unique food run. My personal theory is that after years of isolation resulting from remoteness and lack of a paved road, the residents opened up to us when we started our food runs there in 2008 after the road was finally paved. Whatever the reason, we feel very welcome when we arrive.

Our journey starts at the Wetherill Inn in Kayenta,

and we leave early since the drive takes nearly two hours. We grab a quick motel-style breakfast, preferably with a minimal amount of coffee (there's no stopping once we're on the road), and are off before 8:00 a.m.

In the caravan were Bob and Dar Stack in their Eurovan camper. When it was time to unload vehicles after our arrival, the van yielded an astounding number of boxes. Melyssa Holbrook, on the left, helped Dar unload.

Nancy Greenwood is a regular volunteer on the Navajo Mountain food run, and this gives her a chance to see her Elder, Nancy Greymountain.

Wendy Sanborn and her group of volunteers always create a beautiful presentation for the ANE program giveaways.

There is quite a variety of items represented here, and it represents the culmination of hours of volunteer effort back at the warehouse. In her remarks, Wendy always pays tribute to those who serve the food runs in this way but are unable to be present on the Land.

When the Elders come to the food runs they wear their best, and when it comes to jewelry, many have gorgeous necklaces, bracelets, and belts. Here is Kee Yazzie Clitso's finery.

When they see this jewelry, some people think that the wearers must be well-off. But for many Navajos, their jewelry represents a significant part of their "net worth". The silver and turquoise have special meaning to these people, and it's not worn simply to show off.

One of the "games" we play at the food runs honors the oldest Elders. Someone gets to wear the infamous birthday hat and lead us in a round of "Happy Birthday". Then Linda starts down through the years and when someone's age matches a particular number, they get a box of Cracker Jacks. Edna Atene Fuller responded to being 96 years old.

When it's time for Elders to present their giveaways to us, there is always a great outpouring at Navajo Mountain. Some gifts are made to the Program and some donated for the Elders' sponsors. In this case Alice Billie gave her sponsor, Gale Reeves, a beautiful necklace and matching earrings.

Morris Burns had necklaces to give to the assembled volunteers.

At the conclusion of the Elders' giveaways, Fay Sombero rose to express her gratitude to those who had made the journey to help the people of Navajo Mountain as well as her thanks for the Program itself.

Then it was time for the Program and the volunteers to present their giveaways to the Elders. Dru Dury is ready to pass out "trash" bags to each Elder in the Program. We always kid Linda that it would be more appropriate to call them "gift" bags.

One of the more colorful giveaways is the fabric that we present to the women at each food run. Here Beaulah Clitso chooses her color. This fabric represents many hours of work at the warehouse before it is finally given away to the Elders for use in making skirts and blouses.

During the giveaways, this handshake illustrates what is transpiring, people of very different backgrounds have come together with a feeling of gratitude and respect for each other.

During a quiet moment between the giveaways and the meal, Linda spends some time with Helen Smallcanyon explaining what each of her giveaways is. Helen is impaired in both vision and cognition, so this shows the love and thoughtfulness Linda has for these people.

It was a pleasant surprise to see members of the Blake family at the food run. The Blakes are from Navajo Mountain but were living in Salt Lake last year when they began volunteering at the warehouse. They moved back last fall, so we hadn't seem them since last summer. Tasheena poses here with Linda.

After everyone is fed and all the Elders' vehicles are loaded we have a closing circle before heading out on our separate ways home. As Linda is fond of pointing out, each circle is unique and no two will ever be the same. But for three days we were all part of the same family.

Because Navajo Mountain is such a uniquely beautiful place, I like to close with something that illustrates this. During the food run Ella Yazzie (another native of Navajo Mountain who lived in Salt Lake and volunteered at the warehouse for a time), offered to take us on a short outing to Lost Mesa nearby.

With Navajo Mountain as a backdrop, this mesa top was covered with extensive walls. In the foreground is a prehistoric kiva. The other walls are of cruder construction, and I'm guessing are more recent. Perhaps they were built during the Long Walk era of the 1860's when many Navajos fled to the Navajo Mountain area when trying to escape Kit Carson's roundup.

We look forward to our return to Navajo Mountain in August.

Food Run Report - Navajo Mountain 8/23/12

by John Aldrich

Kayenta is our overnight stop between the Oljato and Navajo Mountain food runs. After arriving at our motel, an early evening thundershower led to heavier rain during the night, so when we arose in the next morning everything was saturated.

Moderate rain continued during the first portion of our 1 3/4 hour drive, but eased up as we approached our destination. The normally beautiful drive took on an extra atmospheric dimension as we traveled through the spectacular redrock countryside.

The ANE van has been a work horse since we acquired it in 2008. For this food run it carried most of the Rainbow Boxes for Navajo Mountain, while on the other food runs it is loaded with medical supplies and homecare products.

C.J. Robb, our master of logistics, passes a food box to Randy Hunter for placement in the Rainbow Circle.

Tony Hodges shows how many boxes can be packed into the back of a small truck.

Among the volunteer giveaways, Lois, a new volunteer from Connecticut, probably had the most unique. The Program provides onions and potatoes as part of each Elders' Rainbow set, but Lois decided to embellish the produce with a bag of carrots for everyone at both Oljato and Navajo Mountain.

Once the Rainbow Circle was completed everything had to be protected from the rain. The Blue Bird flour sacks were placed in plastic bags and everything was covered with tarps. This was fortunate because it rained hard again during the inside portion of the program.

Before the start of the program inside there was plenty of time for visiting with the Elders. Manny Diamontis of Naples, FL, was on his first food run and was able to meet his Elder, Henry Smallcanyon. Manny brought Henry a selection of gifts, and the two seemed to hit it off nicely.

Elders were pleased to be able to visit with one another also. Celone Dougi, on the left, catches up with Berna Little.

Once the food run program was underway this photo shows Mary Robertson-Begay translating for Linda as the volunteers are about to be introduced to the Elders.

When it was Daniela Musolino's turn to be introduced, she received a very warm round of applause as the Elders were impressed that she had come all the way from Australia to meet them.

American Express provides a grant to support the food runs to Oljato and Navajo Mountain. As a part of this, every Elder at Navajo Mountain received a blanket for the upcoming winter weather.

I have written before about the generosity and giving nature of the Elders at Navajo Mountain. This tradition continued with an abundance of giveaways being presented to volunteers and the Program. Rena Greyeyes gave new volunteers Markie and Kailea Campbell each a necklace.

Rena is also proudly wearing her first-place ribbon which she won for submitting her life story.

Another unique giveaway was presented by Berna Little. Although wheelchair-bound, Berna continues to process wool from her own sheep. She presented skeins of natural wool representing the different colors of her animals.

When it comes time for the Elders to receive their giveaways from the Program and the volunteers, their bags fill quickly with a wide variety of items.

At the heart of the Program is the connection between Elders and their sponsors. Those sponsors who are fortunate enough to come on a food run and spend time with their Elder receive the best reward of all.

At the conclusion of each food run we have a closing circle. Each food run is unique in many ways including the makeup of volunteers. As we say our goodbyes we feel nostalgia for the recent memorable experience, but also look forward to seeing each other again on a future trip to the Land.

After the Navajo Mountain food run is over we like to explore a bit in the local area which abounds in natural beauty. A number of our Elders live some distance to the east at a location called Paiute Mesa. My guess is that this is the most remote place on the Navajo Reservation that is actually occupied year around.

Paiute Mesa lies across this 1000 foot deep canyon and is seen in the distance. On the left, below the rim, you can see the beginning of the narrow shelf road that leads to the bottom of the canyon. Because of the rain, the road had become quite muddy and slippery, and we elected not to proceed further. However, as as were chatting by our vehicles, Pete and Rena Greyeyes came along in their pickup and started the harrowing traverse of the canyon that they have made countless times before.