Voices of Navajo Mothers and Daughters Portraits of Beauty

"(A) deeply moving, must-read for mothers and daughters everywhere." - Chanticleer Reviews

In a series of intimate, revelatory personal histories, Navajo grandmothers, mothers, and daughters in twenty-one families tell their stories. They open up about how they have been shaped by powerful cultural and historical forces—and by their love for each other.

In these compelling, multi-generational oral histories, collected by a former teacher with profound admiration for Navajo culture, women talk about their experiences in their own words. As they do, their faces are captured in defining portraits.

Woven into the women’s stories are tales from Navajo history and culture, including Changing Woman, the coming-of-age ceremony (kinaaldá), the Long Walk, education, and the importance of sheep to Navajo lifeway.

"A valuable look at how Navajo women band together to celebrate life’s joys, push through adversity, and guide the next generation." - Foreword Clarion Reviews

Author Kathy Eckles Hooker grew up in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. She was introduced to Native American cultures as a child watching Native dancers perform at the Department of the Interior. She and her husband moved to the Navajo Reservation in the 1970s, where she taught English to Diné students at Dilcon Boarding School. While there, Hooker studied Navajo traditional lifeways and from her research wrote "Time Among the Navajo: Traditional Lifeways on the Reservation." She later taught English at Flagstaff Unified School District for 33 years, where again she worked with Diné students. During nearly 44 years in Los Angeles, professional photographer David Young-Wolff became one of America's top producers of stock photography. He later moved from stock photography to a niche shooting yoga, fashion photography, and creative portraiture, capturing evocative images for his clients while also working on personal photography projects. He now lives and photographs in Bend, Oregon.

Preface Introduction Part I: Their Stories Chapter 1: Lee and Swatts; “All three women back each other up, and they are here to back me up too.” Chapter 2: Scott and Dover; “I appreciate my grandmother and her customs.” Chapter 3: Fuson and Haag; “Her only regret is that she never got an education.” Chapter 4: Yazzie and Yazzie; “Say thank you back to Mother Nature.” Chapter 5: Zee and Zee; “I wrapped up each placenta and put it in a tree.” Chapter 6: Yazzie and Yazzie; “We would have breakfast first, feed the dogs, and then get the sheep out.” Chapter 7: White, White Hair, Barlow, and Boone; “The family’s land turned into a playground.” Chapter 8: Montano and Montano; “Seeks to keep the traditions alive.” Chapter 9: Mann and Paddock; “I did not learn English until I was eleven.” Chapter 10: Francisco and Sharpenburger; “If you are a woman, you are to present yourself in the right way.” Chapter 11: Nez and Begay; “Her siblings ran off to school, and she had to stay behind and weave.” Chapter 12: Powell and Smith; “It was difficult for me to live in two worlds as a child.” Chapter 13: Puente and Puente; “Because my mom could not read or write, she really wanted us to attend school.” Chapter 14: Nez, Wauneka-Goodwin, and Wauneka-Goodwin; “After the run, they dunked my head in cold water, and washed my hair with yucca.” Chapter 15: Yazzie and Yazzie; “My grandmother would share her evening time by telling us stories.” Chapter 16: Gonnie, Gonnie, and Yazzie; “You are to bless yourself with the cedar for safety before you go on a long trip.” Chapter 17: Yazzie and Yazzie; “My parents always wanted it better for me than they had it.” Chapter 18: Begay, Begay, and Begay; “There was less technology, less television, and more livestock: like sheep, goats, and horses.” Chapter 19: Smith and Hendricks; “She is very good at reusing things, like mattress springs and parts of cars for the sides of her corral.” Chapter 20: Williams, Descheny, Goatson, and Goatson; “I grew up in the weaving way.” Chapter 21: Begay, Begay-James, Love, and Love; “I lived in two cultures.” Part II History and Culture Chapter 22: Women’s Place in Navajo Culture Chapter 23: The Long Walk and Fort Sumner Chapter 24: Boarding Schools and Education Chapter 25: The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Chapter 26: Sheep and Weaving Conclusion Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography and Suggested Readings About the Author and Photographer About the Publisher