{"id":49417,"date":"2026-04-06T09:50:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T09:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/?p=49417"},"modified":"2026-04-06T09:50:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T09:50:53","slug":"navajo-nation-the-fight-for-cultural-survival-photo-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/archives\/49417","title":{"rendered":"Navajo Nation: the fight for cultural survival \u2013 photo essay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rick Findler, photographer and Joan Wakelin bursary recipient, speaks to Navajo communities attempting to save a language and traditions that are being diluted by modern life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Rick FindlerMon 6 Apr 2026 07.00 BSTShare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navajo Nation, home to the Navajo tribe, also known as the Din\u00e9<\/em>, meaning \u201cthe people\u201d, is the largest Native American reservation in the US, encompassing 27,000 sq miles across New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The Navajo people exemplify resilience amid a rapidly changing cultural landscape and various threats to their heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite challenges such as inadequate housing, unreliable infrastructure and limited access to technology, elders and youth are striving to preserve their rich cultural heritage and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
A Native American dancer, dressed in his traditional regalia, makes his way to a performance in Winslow, Arizona. During November there are many public performances and events celebrating Native American culture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dancers<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

They cut off all our long hair and washed our mouths out with soap if they caught us speaking Navajo<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The legacy of colonialism has profoundly affected the Navajo culture. The forced assimilation of children into boarding schools led to significant cultural suppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virginia Brown, a 69-year-old elder, recalls her traumatic experience: \u201cI was forced into a boarding school when I was six years old. They cut off all our long hair and washed our mouths out with soap if they caught us speaking Navajo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This resulted in a generational gap in traditional knowledge and language that the Navajo are desperately trying to reclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Virginia,<\/a>
Virginia Brown cooking traditional fry bread.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite Navajo being one of the most widely spoken Native American languages, the fluency of Navajo speakers has declined. Unesco now considers it a \u201cvulnerable\u201d language, after a 3.4% decrease in speakers in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, many schools, such as the nearby Holbrook high school, have begun teaching the language and culture to help keep their heritage alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Kids my age are being consumed by social media and aren\u2019t interested in our own culture. It makes me pretty angry<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Many of the younger generation certainly believe the rhetoric that their culture seems to be declining. At a local skate park in Tuba City, young kids ride the ramps and gather around their phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think our culture is decreasing,\u201d says Victoria, 14. \u201cKids my age are being consumed by social media and aren\u2019t interested in our own culture. It makes me pretty angry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some say the influx of large-scale media exposure has shifted focus away from traditional values and practices, with many young natives choosing dominant cultural narratives over ancestral ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, there are many who actively uphold their heritage \u2013 practising and maintaining the traditional crafts that elders taught them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Drake<\/a>
Drake Mace, a shepherd and weaver, tends to his sheep at his home in Whitehorse, New Mexico in November 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Drake<\/a>
Drake Mace weaves a rug at his home using a vertical loom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel I am closest to my grandmother when I am with my sheep,\u201d says Drake Mace, 40. He herds Navajo-Churro sheep and uses their wool to weave intricate rugs on a traditional vertical loom, using the traditional weaving skills his grandmother taught him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 30% of Navajo households lack running water, forcing residents to spend hours hauling water from public spigots. As a result, some families are relocating to towns, leaving behind ancestral homesteads that have been in their family for generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others, such as Tara Seaton, 48, manage to live on the reservation while also working from home. She combines her traditional way of life with modern technology, working for Texas State University and paying $140 a month for Starlink internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Feral<\/a>
Feral horses running through the Navajo Nation. While the horses carry huge importance to the cultural heritage of Native Americans<\/a>, they also bring troubles to the land, water, traditional foods and wildlife.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Tara<\/a>
\u2018The best of both worlds\u2019: Tara Seaton, 48, at home in Dilkon, Arizona. She lives on the reservation, miles from any town.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m more of a traditional Navajo,\u201d she says. \u201cI ride my horses and try to stay true to my culture. I wouldn\u2019t be able to have what I have without my culture. But being able to work from home allows me the best of both worlds and plus I get to stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sacred ceremonies in the Navajo culture are integral to restoring universal balance \u2013 known as the H\u00f3zh\u00f3. They are often held in a hogan (earth-covered dwelling) or a tipi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
A tipi is set up in preparation for a peyote ceremony at a home in Window Rock, Arizona.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Man<\/a>
A man tending the fire during a peyote ceremony in a tipi in Window Rock, the Navajo Nation capital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Jonus<\/a>
Jonus Yazzie, left, speaks with another man during a peyote ceremony. A bucket of peyote tea on the floor during the ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jonus Yazzie, 70, has prepared his tipi at his home in Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ceremony is a peyote meeting, a sacred all-night spiritual and healing ritual using the extremely hallucinogenic peyote cactus as a holy sacrament to communicate with the Great Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonus was asked by one of his nephews to hold the meeting to help him, as he was going through a difficult time in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another of Jonus\u2019s nephews, Tom, 53, points at the local oak wood fire, which burns gently in the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Drone<\/a>
Emmet collects water from his local community well. Approximately 30-40% of Navajo Nation residents lack running water, requiring them to haul water from public taps, community wells, chapter houses or nearby border towns.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is our way of life and what we were taught,\u201d says Tom. When asked if he feels the culture is slipping in today\u2019s world, he replies: \u201cLong ago people lived differently. Our traditional values have evolved. We are constantly changing and morphing. But we are still here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native American dance groups such as the Din\u00e9 Tah Navajo dance troupe strive to keep cultural practices alive, showcasing vibrant performances to schools and at public events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shawn Rice, leader of the troupe, emphasises the healing aspect of their dancing, which reconnects younger generations with their heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Performers<\/a>
Performers from the Din\u00e9 Tah dance troupe dance in front of students at Newcomb high school, Navajo Nation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Two<\/a>
Performers from the Din\u00e9 Tah dance troupe preparing to dance in front of students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shawn explains: \u201cWhen we dance, we are healing the wounds of what my father\u2019s generation went through. When the elders see our dances, they cry because they haven\u2019t seen them in so long. What we have left we are going to cherish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight is real. And while some of the population now live in urban areas and border towns off<\/em> the reservation, this does not mean their culture is being curtailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dust<\/a>
Navajo teenagers doing donuts in their truck at a petrol station.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ira, Virginia\u2019s son, clearly shows his passion for his culture, and is committed to spreading indigenous ways of life. As his mother cooks Navajo fry bread, he says his children are fluent in Navajo, and he has helped revive the wool and textile market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe integrated hemp to help clean the land and atmosphere, and then started weaving with that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ira<\/a>
Ira at his home just off the reservation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are on the frontlines of mentorship programmes. We created the indigenous farmers\u2019 cooperative to open up the indigenous trade routes going north. We are raising our children with our language and culture in the ancient ceremonies that are still relevant today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students<\/a>
Students being taught traditional Native American games in the Native American culture class at Holbrook high school.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Ira carries the torch of Navajo culture and helps spread the H\u00f3zh\u00f3 \u2013 the maintenance of beauty, harmony and balance \u2013 there are many others on the outskirts of the reservation doing the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navajo culture is no longer tied strictly to one geographic location. Practices such as weaving and silversmithing, as well as speaking the Navajo language, are increasingly being preserved by those living in \u201cborder towns\u201d, creating a diaspora that keeps the culture alive in new environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/a>
A road through the dramatic landscape of the Navajo Nation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ira finishes by saying: \u201cOur elders used to say they were surviving<\/em>. But now we get to say we are thriving.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Joan Wakelin bursary 2026 is open for submissions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2026\/apr\/06\/navajo-nation-the-fight-for-cultural-survival-photo-essay<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rick Findler, photographer and Joan Wakelin bursary recipient, speaks to Navajo communities attempting to save a language and traditions that are being diluted by modern life By Rick FindlerMon 6 Apr 2026 07.00 BSTShare The Navajo Nation, home to the Navajo … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[435,530,1880],"class_list":["post-49417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1","tag-guardian","tag-indian","tag-navajo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49418,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49417\/revisions\/49418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}