On Ashkii Happy Kids Day, ‘Good Medicine’ Distributes Skateboards, Shoes, and Diapers with OPVP

WINDOW ROCK – The 77th Annual Navajo Nation Fair opened, as it does every year, with the joyful celebration of Ashkii Happy Kids Day.

This year, thousands of Diné children arrived by bus to take part in the festivities at Gorman Hall, where the Diné Skate Garden Project and its partners — including 4Kinship, Rolling Thunder, CORE, and the Office of the President and Vice President — brought “Good Medicine” to the community.

“I joined Diné youth, teachers, and their families to distribute 7,000 shoes, 2,000 skateboards, and diapers,” said Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren.

Additional partners included Baby2Baby, Chizh For Cheii, Make Life Skate Life, and the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project.

“We are here to create space for you and celebrate you today with ‘Good Medicine,’” President Nygren told the youth as they lined up for skateboards and shoes. “I say, ‘Good,’ you say, ‘Medicine.’”

Amy Denet Deal, fashion designer and founder of 4Kinship, has partnered with President Nygren on several of these giveaways at past fairs.

“We create these beautiful events to celebrate the children,” Denet Deal said. “That’s the heart of ‘Good Medicine’—it comes through in so many ways, especially through the people who volunteer.”

The goal of “Good Medicine,” organizers said, is to work together as families and communities to invest in the next generation of professional skateboarders.

“My own journey with skateboarding has profoundly shaped who I am today,” President Nygren said. “Growing up, skateboarding changed my life—it pointed me in the direction of becoming the President of the Navajo Nation. It taught me grit, determination, and the importance of perseverance.”