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Show Ten years ago the Navajo People were, to the superficial view of the tourist, happy, picturesque, contented people, living from day to day by herding their sheep and goats, with ample leisure to gamble, attend native cer emonials or spend hours trading. Actually they were undernourished, with the highest illiteracy of any racial group in this country, with high incidence of tuberculosis and other lethal diseases as well as of such afflictions as trachoma and pterygium, almost unknown elsewhere. These sad features were masked under a genial smile derived from a fatalistic outlook on life. The Government's program of stock r eduction, wisely conceived as the only means of preserving the range for future generations, had not been adequately "sold" to the P eople; result: a smouldering resentment against and distrust of "Washindoon" and the Indian Service, and an incr eased feeling that all white people are out to fleece the Navajo. Such were the people we found when we pitched our tents in 1943 near the banks of ihe S~n Juan River, northern boundary of the vast Navajo Reservation. Besides the duty of preaching the Gospel, we had little idea of what our duties were to be. We had theories, but were still ready to learn. Chief among these were that education and healing must go hand in hand with r eligion. We were r esolved to have no hand in any artificial accull. ur~ ljon. We were convinced that the full hisl01'ic F aith of Christendom, without compromise, alone could meet the n eeds of a People as yet untouched by the controversies of a divided Christianity. These were our iheories. - 1- The Navajos came to us. First question, of course: "Where you come from?" then: "Where you goin'?" When they heard we were staying, they were skeptical. "What you want?" How could we tell them, "Just to help you"? This is an idea foreign not only to Navajo ways, but to all their past experience with white people. Kindness, yes; fair treatment, yes, but always with the profit motive ill concealed. This question "What you want? What you come here for?" persisted for years after school, clinic and church services had been available. It was soon evident that our own cows, gardening and canning would not support us. We needed buildings, equipment, medical supplies, horses and vehicles. Voluntary contributions from many friends met these needs. W 2 can never be sufficiently grateful for this h "lp, nor can we continue without it. After ten years, the desert blossoms as the rose. Two schools, clinics, the beginnings of a hospital, three church buildings and frequent services in many isolated areas are beginning to meet the Navajo's needs. A flowing well yields abundant pu ~ e water not only for our own use but to supply many Navajo families and 1heir gardens. But the changes in the Navajo People themselves are as startling as those in our own work. Uranium and vanadium are being found in large quantities on the Reservation. This means royalties for the Tribal Council and labor near home for many Navajo men. Exploitation is inevitable. Used car dealers know how Navajos love to travel, and extend liberal terms to working men. 'Vhere ten years ago our People hardly knew a clutch from a radiator, today many have owned and wr ecked three or four cars, have learned to tinker and -2- keep them running and drive them over a sandy trail you would think impassable. Where ten years ago less than 2 percent could read or wr ite more than their own names, today many school boys and girls are unwilling to revert to hoghan life. Wh ere ten years ago the Nn I.e of Jesus Ch rist was known only as "the 'Whit Man's most powerful swear word" today P resbytel'i<::n, Adventist, Independent and Mor mon missionaries a!"e seeking converts among those we have evangelised; radio stations from fou r points of the compass blare forth confusing and divisive variations on the Christian th eme, preached by h ired Navajos. The oth er day I h eard from within the tent of one of our catechumens the unmistakable whine of a "Gospel p ~ea ch er," emanating from a h<::11(lwinding phonograph! Native Navajo religion is dying; in this area at least there is not a medicine man under 50 or 55 years of age, and no young men are learning the ceremonies and chants. What is to take its place? It ought to he, and it can be. a world-wide religion that commands the r espect of the best thinkers of all cul~u:r;e1?, But it could well be a welter of confusion leading either to bitterness or to indifferentism. And that is what it is bound to be unless o~r pr~se~t;' inadequate equipment can be replaced. On a recent trip, due to a broken universal joint, I had to be towed 70 miles; on another I was stuck in sand two days and never did reach my destination; shortly before that! had had four flat tires in less than 50 miles of travel. In 1943 no one could h ave forseen the needs that today confront us; even had we seen them we should not have dared to ask for h elp. We had not won our spurs. Today we think we can show that we have done so. ..w. • -3- |