Michelle Peterson/Winonan
After five years and 23 documentaries preserving the history of elders, the Navajo Oral History Project will take a hiatus.
For the project, Winona State University students traveled to Tsaile, Ariz. to collaborate with students from Diné College to create documentary films featuring the life stories of Navajo elders.
Robbie Christiano, a graduate assistant for the project, said the two colleges had a five-year agreement, and collaborators are hoping the program will return in 2015.
“We’re trying to help both universities understand the value of this project,” Christiano said.
Tom Grier, professor of mass communication and creator of the Navajo Oral History Project, said both schools and students have expressed interest in continuing the project.
“We’re looking at it as a mental health break, and we’ll come back next year,” Grier said.
Jolene Kuisle, a student who went on the trip this year, said she’s hoping it’s not the last year.
Brett Gustaftson, who also went on the trip this year, said, “If it is the last year of the program, I’m glad to know that I contributed to society.”
The documentaries are archived at the Navajo Nation Museum, the Navajo Nation Library and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. They are also available for rent in both libraries of Winona State and Diné College.
Grier said it’s rare that undergraduate work is archived at the Smithsonian.
“It tells the students that their work outlives them,” Grier said. “It’s a slice of what Navajo culture is like today in 2013.”
“The importance of this project will be felt and heard long after we’re gone,” Christiano said.
Grier said he wants to emphasize the hard work and effort students put in to create the documentaries.
“It’s about the students. It’s their work. If anything, I’m like a coach. Students do everything; we help,” Grier said.
Students who participated in the Navajo Oral History Project premiered their documentaries on Friday, Sept. 13. The following Monday, several students flew to Tsaile, Ariz. to premiere the documentaries in the Navajo Nation.
Kuisle attended the premiere in Tsaile, Ariz. as well as in Winona.
“It was intense to have this video you made about a person and actually have them watch it and see their reaction,” Kuisle said. “You’re basically telling their life story.”
The students made a thank-you video for Grier for all the work he has put into the program. The video included students whistling the theme song from this year’s trip and waving goodbye at the end.
Grier recalled his favorite moment from this year’s trip as an impromptu concert from Travis Terry, an internationally known flute player. Grier explained that Terry follows the Navajo concept of Hozho and balance, so Terry felt moved to hold a concert for the students.
“Not only did [the students] get to hear the music, but they got to hear it in its natural canyon,” Grier said.
Kuisle said it was very soothing and relaxing. She had never heard music like that before.
Grier described one of the most moving documentaries about Nita Nez, a traditional rug weaver. The entire documentary was told in the Navajo language, so the students worked closely together to translate and add subtitles.
The documentary showed Nez’s clear passion for rug weaving. Grier said the most memorable part was when her daughter praised Nez, saying she wants to grow up to be a rug weaver like her mother.
Grier will hold an Athenaeum presentation at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16 in the library. He will play some documentaries and explain some highlights.
The documentaries are on sale for $20. Contact Tom Grier at [email protected] to purchase them.
Contact Michelle at [email protected]
