<html aria-label="message body"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">Navajo Mountain </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><div style="font-size: 22px;"><br></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">If you close your eyes </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">and take a deep breath </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">you can hear the green sage sing </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The gray stones beneath you </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">feel young again </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The breeze watches </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">it all with her Mona Lisa smile </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Naatsis’áán </em>takes it all in </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The thunder of a hundred hooves, </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">whoops and hollers of the crowd, </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">the intensity of the riders </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">as in the day of wild warriors </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">on the warpath. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">There are chicken pulls, children’s foot races, </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Navajo cake, kneel-down bread, drum songs </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">K’é </em>shakes the roots of the mountain, </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">which gives the people her blessing </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">as does Sun God </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">with gentle warm breath. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The story I heard </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">was that the people </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">returned from <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hwéeldi</em></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">and found strangers in their home. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ashiih Litso</em> just a boy, risked everything </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">on one horse race </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">and was blessed by the Holy People. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Another story goes that the mountain protected the people, </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">keeping soldiers away </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">and they never had to make the Long Walk. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Whichever story you live by, </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">the mountain remembers. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Eehaniih</em> celebrates her, </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;">head of the earth.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: 21.6px;"><span class="long line" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>- Norla Chee</p></div></div></body></html>