NAATSIS’AAN, Ariz. – “Head of earth woman,” is a mountain protecting its children, the Diné (Navajo) people.
At the base of Naatsis’aan on Aug. 3, Andy Endischee, Jr., sat facing north looking up to the 10, 348-feet peak while drinking an Arizona green tea under a large umbrella.
“I know a lot of history about this mountain,” said Endischee, Jr. “My grandpa, way back, 60 years ago, said they were going to have this (Ééhániih Day). They said, ‘Where can we have it?’”
Looking towards the base of the peak, Endischee, Jr.’s grandfather said it should be near where it now takes place. Through the years, land was cleared for Ééhániih Day.
The origins of Ééhániih Day have different variations of when it was started, who organized it and where it emerged.
The organizer behind the event is Hank Stevens. Stevens knows each family has their own story and connections to Navajo Mountain, also known as Paiute Mesa by the San Juan Southern Paiutes.
“It was actually called Pioneer Day and it was started by Harold Drake who brought it from Monticello, Utah, but he was living in San Juan County, Utah. He had to have help to establish the event over here,” said Stevens.
Navajo Mountain straddles the Utah and Arizona state lines.
Honoring Diné Lifeways
Stevens believes Ééhániih Day remains strong and is an event he encourages many people across Dinétah to attend at least once in their life because it is for everyone, not just a few people.
“I think it has a lot to do with the younger generation,” said Stevens. “We support a lot of the adults in other activities like fairs. With Ééhániih, we focus on the younger generation, we provide incentive to promote education, and we encourage everyone to participate.”
This year, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren attended Ééhániih Day for the first time and he felt Diné traditions.
“There are not many events that bring grandma and grandpa together with their grandchildren and teach traditional values,” said President Nygren.
President Nygren and the First Lady Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren were given shawl blankets as tokens of appreciation from community members.
In summer heat, President Nygren and First Lady Blackwater-Nygren walked to family campsites to hear community concerns and followed-up to ensure they’re addressed.
When President Nygren took office, he built a community representative team from all five agencies to directly address community concerns.
Community representatives like Timothy Begay, Jr., Gervana Begay and Rena Dodson take information from individuals needing help and are currently working on those issues from Navajo Mountain.
Early History of Ééhániih Day
Stevens said when Ééhániih began there were ceremonies issued for its purpose, including a sweat lodge. From oral history, Stevens learned about how boulders from the mountain were brought down to the valley floor. The boulders have yet to be located, according to Stevens, but he has found the original sweat lodge. He has not disclosed the location to anyone for sacred reasons.
In finding the original sweat lodge, Stevens also found other areas where campgrounds may have been set up and raceways for horses.
“So who started Ééhániih Day? It was not Harold Drake. It was the Paiute, Ute, Navajo’s, the older ones,” said Stevens. “People can tell whatever story they want. This has been going on for decades before we started calling it Pioneer Days or Ééhániih Day.”
Ééhániih Day has been funded by many different organizations throughout the years. This summer, the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, Navajo Nation Oil and Gas, Grand Canyon Trust, Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and Coconino County worked together to give back to the Ééhániih celebration.
Stevens said Ééhániih has a lot to do with charity work for everyone.
Horse Trail Riders
During Ééhániih Day, many families camp out the night prior along the horse raceway and wait for the trail riders and trekkers coming from Narrow Canyon.
When they arrive at the Ééhániih Day grounds, the organizers give out saddles, halters for horses, T-shirts for the walkers, and other awards, not only for the individual themselves but for their horses.
“We’re actually acknowledging the horse,” said Stevens. “They’re putting their hoofs into ancestral trails.”
Stevens knows that the Navajo Nation has a “horse problem.” However, he thinks people created that themselves and it’s their job to fix it. People need to take care of their horses, he said.
“Hopefully we move away from that idea that there’s a horse problem,” Stevens said. “They carried us, our luggage, and migrated with us, we need to take care of them.”
The families who come together for Ééhániih Day try to commemorate the lifeways of their Diné ancestors.
Next year, Stevens said the trekkers plan to walk from Sanders, Ariz., to follow Gene Shepherd, an original cowboy who rides his horse, Midnight, every year to Ééhániih.
Shepherd rode with his granddaughter for the second time to Ééhániih Day and Stevens wanted to make sure the cowboy was honored for committing to teaching his granddaughter a traditional way of life but also for keeping Midnight healthy enough to travel trails for many decades.
“Hopefully someone can continue this tradition,” said Stevens. “Someone younger. That’s the importance of having children here. They learn to carry this on. That’s what Harold Drake said, ‘Aadi, take it,’ and now we’re here many years later.”
