I’m finally going to teach Caroline a lesson, as she’s been pestering me to stay at one of these old-timey Route 66 joints. I had warned her multiple times about the poor condition and run-down nature of these cheapo motels, but she persisted. Then last night, on our way down Interstate 40 in Holbrook, Arizona, I spotted a place that was super cheap at $19.95 a night, and I figured super bad. Matter of fact it was so bad the person at the desk let us have the room for our late check-in for only $16.95. My smug attitude was singing, “Well, this will teach her!” The thing is, I was the one taught the lesson when I realized that this place wasn’t half bad and that we were saving so much money was great too, in that it allowed Caroline to add to her souvenir budget, not that I’d be any more willing to stop at gift shops.

Wow, I never thought I’d go to a Native American parade, but here I am on the Navajo Reservation by Window Rock for the annual Navajo Nation Fair. There are more pickup trucks here per capita than maybe anywhere else in America, including Texas. There is also an abundance of roadside food vendors cooking up mutton and offering roasted pine nuts.

Small-town parades are the best. While the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day and Rose parades are ones of grandeur and spectacle, these parades out in the middle of our country are hometown affairs featuring local talent and simple pride.

Yei Bi Chei (Yébîchai) dancers perform the “Night Chant” in the healing ceremony of the Diné. The word “Diné” translates to “The People” among those we call the Navajo.

There is so much we do not understand, such as how to interpret the various motifs and symbolic elements that represent important aspects of the Diné and their culture. Cultural imperialism is a tragedy that shows no end; if the dominant culture cannot crush a people, it can simply push it to the margin ignoring its existence and thus removing it from our group consciousness.

An incredible burst of color and spirit while the pow-wow drums keep time and the nation of the Navajo comes out to celebrate their heritage. How can this be shared with others who could help make events such as this part of the mainstream where people would travel the world to be here on such momentous days?