The Food Runs to Dilkon and Leupp - Early History

by John Aldrich, utilizing information provided by Ann Voda and Carol Ashton. Historic photos by Ann and Carol.

In two prior posts I tried to provide an overview of the food runs to Dilkon and Leupp. These included a bit of the history of those food runs. Subsequently Ann Voda and Carol Ashton have provided some additional details about those early years. Ann and Carol were a part of the original small group of volunteers that initiated these food runs.

The initial planning for these runs took place at a meeting in Winslow in May of 1999 that included Linda Myers, Cyndy Sheldon, Eunice Spencer, Louise Walker, Ann Voda, and Carol Ashton. Cyndy was a social worker at the Indian Health Service facility in Winslow and felt that the elderly population at both Dilkon and Leupp was in need of basic care and comfort items. Working with Eunice Spencer at Dilkon and Lorraine Walker at Leupp, a group of needy Elders greater than 70 years of age was identified and enrolled into the Program.

To keep the logistics simple, the Elders received $50 food certificates for Bashas supermarkets rather than food boxes at these initial food runs. There is a Bashas market located in Dilkon, and Winslow, a border town not far away, had one as well at the time. In addition to food certificates, Elders also received utility buckets filled with a variety of giveaway items that would be of assistance to their personal health and comfort.

In March of 2000 the first food runs took place. At Dilkon the meeting was held at the First Church Of The Nazarene, and at Leupp it took place at the local Chapter House. The group of volunteers that participated in this occasion were Linda Myers, Ann Voda, Carol Ashton, Sarah Sifers, Cyndy Sheldon, and Pearl Towne.

This photo, taken at the first Dilkon food run, shows Ann distributing items to the utility buckets that will be given to each of the Elders.

In September of 2000 the second food run to these locations took place and included these volunteers: Linda Myers, Ann Voda, Carol Ashton, Cyndy Sheldon, Pearl Towne, and Ray Coleman. In addition to food certificates, Elders received laundry baskets filled with soaps, scrubbers, towels, bleach, and other miscellaneous items. Ann and Carol did all the shopping for the items contained in the baskets for these initial food runs.

This photo, taken at Dikon in September 2000, shows Ann and Ray unloading giveaways from a car while Elder Bessie Paul looks on.

Here are some of the laundry baskets used to hold the giveaways.

After these first food runs, the number of volunteers increased and sponsors were found for the Elders. This made it possible for the food runs to evolve into full-blown food runs as we know them today. However, as mentioned in the other blogs about Dilkon and Leupp, the Elders at these locations have now elected to receive food certificates again in lieu of food boxes.

Ann Voda and Carol Ashton have been dedicated volunteers with ANE for many years and remained active in attending food runs until 2010. They still take part in the annual rug show where they can be found working at the hand spun rug table. Their heartfelt years of service and infectious laughter will always be an important part of ANE's history.

Linda's Vision

by Linda Myers

(note: Linda wrote this piece for the recent ANE newsletter. As we start a new year it serves as a reminder of the power of Linda's vision and the strength of her purpose to help the Elders.)

Twenty-five years ago my life changed after watching a documentary called Broken Rainbow and listening to a young Navajo woman speak about the plight of her people. I didn't know what to do - but I knew I had to do something.

When I traveled to the land with Grace Smith Yellowhammer, she said something to me that I still remember. "The people are so despondent and helpless. They're giving up caring. They need someone to care about them, even a hairbrush or a jacket, something that would make them feel good about themselves." As I looked at the condition of their homes and the simple lives, I knew I had a voice and somehow I would find a way to share with others about their simple needs.

As I look back, I think of so many people who offered help to me. When I would get home from work at night I would sort through donations and pack food in any boxes I could find. We have come a long way since those days, and even though times are challenging for us now, they haven't changed very much on the land for the Elders over the last twenty-five years.

Many of the original Elders twenty-five years ago relocated and were given new homes. Many more were displaced and left the homes and returned back to their homelands.

Poverty on the reservation is hard to rise out of - education is the greatest way out and presents many challenges to students because of lack of funds and support. My goal with the old ones is still the same - to help them live out their lives in their traditional ways.

Food is the greatest gift I know -firewood has helped relieve their greatest worry of freezing to death. Drinking water in many areas is only safe by buying bottled water. The Elders have taught me a lot about survival. To sell their rugs for them is to touch each of them daily, to feel their hands in the rugs, to know even in their old age they will weave to eat and feed their families. They have shown me how giving and generous they are with so little.

Their strength has kept me going many times when I am tired and overwhelmed. I have experienced a different kind of love not in words but in the gentle touch of holding their hands and feeling their prayers. They have blessed me and all the volunteers who help them.

With five hundred Elders we assist now, it isn't often I visit each of their homes. We send letters to them from the program letting them know we are thinking of them and, through donations, include Food Certificates or Firewood Checks, and boxes of yarn to weave their rugs with.

When I visit their homes, I often see the letters taped to the wall that show the pictures of the volunteers or the families that sponsor them. I look forward to the New Year and to the blessings it will bring. We have struggled to keep many things going as simply as we can, to help the money donate to go to the Elders directly.

I have so much gratitude for all the volunteers and supporters who come into my life daily with working hands to give their time, such a precious gift, and to all of you who adopt Elders  and generously give to help them.

We send you our Heartfelt Blessings.

The Vision of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program

by John Aldrich

What is the purpose of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program? Why does it exist? What sets it apart from other humanitarian organizations that exist to help the Navajo and other Native American tribes?

The Program got its start in the 1980's  during the turbulent years of the Hopi-Navajo land dispute which ultimately resulted in 10,000 Navajos being relocated from their traditional homelands. During those times there were many Elders facing severe hardships and deprivations. When Linda Myers became aware of this desperate situation it was food more than anything else that these people needed for their survival. With the assistance of Grace Smith Yellowhammer, Linda began to help.

As Linda's solo trips to the reservation with food and clothing gradually evolved over the years into the complex logistical endeavor of today's food runs, food has remained the core focus of how the Program assists the Elders. But in addition to the challenges of survival there were also challenges to the traditional lifestyle of the Elders, including dislocation and the ever-increasing influences of Anglo culture.

Linda's commitment from the outset was to provide what assistance she could for the basic survival of the Elders as well as to honor and respect their traditional culture and lifestyle. These are among of the principal values that differentiate ANE from other humanitarian organizations. We wish to honor and respect the Elders as they are and have no agenda to try to change them in any way. These are resilient people, and as long as they have their basic needs of food, heat, and shelter met, they will survive as they have for hundreds of years.

These core needs are met through the delivery of food through the food runs, and, particularly in winter time, the distribution of food certificates and checks for firewood. Food certificates are a particularly effective way of aiding families in the winter since they are simple to deliver and provide Elders with a resource to acquire whatever they might need at the moment.

Despite the urge to want to try to help in any way possible, the reality is that our Program has limited resources, and thus, we continue to remain committed to the core mission. We can't become substitutes for  the role of the family in caring for their Elders; we can't become their healthcare system; we can't provide the resources that are more appropriately derived from the Navajo Nation and Chapter Houses.

Another important way that we support traditional Elders is by facilitating a market for their weavings.  For many weavers this has been their sole means of supporting their families. Through the annual rug show at Deer Valley, smaller shows and markets, as well as online rug sales via our web site, ANE is able to offer a significant amount of income to our Elders who are weavers. This, in turn, provides them with additional resources for food, shelter, and transportation.

The Program assists Elders and their families to maintain a traditional way of life in other ways as well.  ANE, through the Ceremony Fund, provides funds to help families that need help with traditional healing ceremonies. We also help families who need financial support for funeral expenses when one of our Elders passes away.

Our mission statement refers to "mending the broken circle" of our relationship with Native Americans and the Land. This is another unique aspect of our Program. It is important to educate ourselves about Native American culture as well as bring the cultures in contact with one another. This happens extensively through the food runs and the annual rug show.

What does the Program mean to the Elders whom we serve? Linda receives many letters expressing the gratitude of the Elders and their families. For many, the assistance we provide, especially through the winter months, makes survival possible.

What we do for the Elders is based on the principal of the Native American Giveaway. We give our best and give it freely with no expectation of return. The Elders feel gratitude for these gifts, often expressing it through their shy smiles. Some give small gifts such as necklaces and jewelry in return. Many are too poor to be able to make such a gift. Their gift is to touch our hands and our hearts and to offer their prayers. That is enough.

 

The logo of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program illustrates the key elements of our vision. The rainbow arc represents the Program under which  two cultures are reaching out to each other. With the power of prayers, represented by the eagle feather, the broken circle is mended.

A Visit To Rocky Ridge

by John Aldrich

The Hardrock/Big Mountain/Rocky Ridge area is one of the most remote in Navajoland. In the mid-1980's there was a great deal of turbulence in this region due to the Hopi-Navajo land dispute. The roots of this dispute rested in the perceived need to establish a firm boundary between the two tribes' lands. This was not a need as far as the people were concerned but was rather something forced upon them by politicians and businessmen. When the court finally handed down its ruling, the result was that thousands of Navajos were forced to leave the land that had been their homeland for generations. Only a handful of Hopi's were affected.

The founding of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program occurred in this time frame as a result of Linda Myers' interest in helping these Elders who were faced with relocation. Many resisted and spent time in jail as a result. With the help of Grace Smith Yellowhammer, Linda was able to meet and begin bringing food, clothing and supplies to these people, and thus began the semiannual food runs.

Initially the food runs took place at May Shay's homeland at Big Mountain. May's land fell on the wrong side of the new boundary, but rather than move she elected to stay and lease her land from the Hopis. Now the food runs are held at the Robertson family homeland at Hardrock.

Recently we had occasion to travel to this area to deliver Christmas stockings to the Rocky Ridge School. This boarding school is run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and serves a population that is determined to stay on their land despite the hardships of living in such a remote area. The closest stores of any size are in Winslow, ninety miles to the south while picking up mail is a fifty mile round trip. Many have no running water and must haul their water from many miles away.

As one drives north from the Hopi villages on Second Mesa, an expansive landscape unfolds which has little to no evidence of human habitation. This is because Hopis traditionally dwell in pueblos and villages, and this is Hopi land.

The first indication that you have reached Navajo lands is this sign indicating a turn that will take you to the Hardrock Chapter facilities and beyond to Rocky Ridge and Big Mountain.

This view, looking west across Dinnebito Wash, shows the Rocky Ridge area. The water towers are located at the school. At this point the pavement ends, and travel north and south is on rough dirt roads which become impassable after storms.

The Rocky Ridge General Store carries a limited selection of food and supplies. A concession to modern times, videos are available.

A colorful sign near the store espouses the virtues of education.

Here is a typical Navajo home. Most Navajos live in family clusters with multiple dwellings for different branches of the family along with a shared hogan.

The school is seen here. The number of students attending this school has declined in recent years as many students are bused to schools further away.

Leaving Rocky Ridge we pass a flock of sheep. This is a common scene on the reservation, as livestock grazing, especially sheep, is a cornerstone of traditional Navajo life.

With a blizzard warning in effect the morning we left, we beat a hasty retreat back towards Salt Lake City.