Post by blackcrowheart on Mar 28, 2007 20:48:43 GMT -5
A Navajo Student Feels the Tug of Home by Laurel Morales Audio for this
story will be available at approx. 10:00 a.m. ET on January 16, 2007
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6845552
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6845552>
[Colleen Cooley] Enlarge Cindy Carpien, NPR Colleen Cooley is
considering whether she will return to the Navajo reservation after she
finishes college. 'Our Mother' Hogan [Bobby, Colleen and Ellen
Cooley stand in front of the family's hogan.] Enlarge Cindy Carpien,
NPR The Cooleys: Bobby (from left), Colleen and Ellen stand in front of
the family's hogan. Colleen Cooley's father, Bobby, describes the
family's hogan � a windowless, circular structure used for
ceremonial purposes � as "our mother, because it secures us."
* Bobby Cooley Gives an Audio Tour
More in the Series
* Dec. 27, 2006Edge of the Rez: A Philly Husband, a Navajo Wife
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6677263> *
Dec. 26, 2006A Stranger Among the Hopi
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6662251>
[Outhouse] Enlarge Cindy Carpien, NPR With no electricity or
running water, the Cooley family uses this outhouse. But a new generator
affords them some luxuries. [Bob Lomadofkie] Enlarge Jack
Doggett Hopi elder and artist Bob Lomadofkie works with Northern Arizona
University to provide guidance and mentoring for Native American
students. [Stephanie Jackson, Vachera Yazzie, Philan Tree and
Colleen Cooley] Enlarge Elton Ashkii Cooley Northern Arizona
University classmates: Stephanie Jackson (from left), Vachera Yazzie,
Philan Tree and Colleen Cooley. A Meeting of Ecologies [Nancy
Johnson] Nancy Johnson. Northern Arizona University What does "Edge
of the Rez" mean to you? KNAU <http://www.knau.org/> reporters asked
that question of the people they interviewed for their series. Their
vote for the most provocative answer came from Northern Arizona
University Environmental Sciences Professor Nancy Johnson. She compared
"Edge of the Rez" to an ecotone � a place where ecologies meet.
* Hear Johnson's Answer
Morning Edition
<http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3> , January
16, 2007 � In "Edge of the Rez," member station KNAU
<http://www.knau.org/> probes American Indian identity. The series
profiles American Indians and non-Indians who live in northern Arizona
communities that border the Navajo and Hopi reservations. Colleen
Cooley, a junior at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, says she
still gets nervous speaking in front of classmates. "Sometimes my voice
starts shaking," she says. "I just need to get more comfortable with
it." But Cooley says this isn't just a case of the nerves. Her Navajo
classmates agree. They grew up on the reservation, not far from
Flagstaff, but it might as well be in another country. Vachera Yazzi
says the environment is much quieter on the reservation, where common
noises, like trains don't exist, and talking is kept to a minimum. "For
us," she says, "being silent is a respect, but also it's time to think
and a time to process. Working with, especially Caucasian people,
there's no silence. There's constantly talking and talking." For some
Native Americans coming to school at NAU, the adjustments are too much.
A decade ago, the graduation rate for these students was 15 percent. NAU
has managed to double that by establishing a variety of support
programs. The university opened a Native American liaison office 12
years ago that provides workshops on study skills, financial aid and
time management. Hopi elder Bob Lomadofkie offers guidance to Native
American students at the university and sometimes acts as a go-between
when exams are missed. He says family obligations can be very demanding
� rushing back to the reservation to help an ailing relative, or
honoring tribal commitments. "I try to advocate and negotiate with
professors, but there are some who are steadfast," he says. "When it
comes to ceremonies� that require you to be there to perform a
certain function, there are no ifs, ands or buts about that. You go." A
Visit Home Cooley's family lives in a remote area of the Navajo
reservation, still mostly without electricity and running water.
Recently, she drove home for a visit, a three-hour journey by car, north
of Flagstaff. Thirty miles into the trip, she stopped to check her
university research project. She's an environmental science major,
testing plants for uranium. Uranium mining began on the reservation in
the 1950s and lasted for three decades. Cooley is trying to find out if
there are dangerous levels of uranium in the desert plants and whether
that's harming people today, because the sheep eat the plants and the
people eat the sheep. The rest of the drive is mostly on a highway,
with a vast desert landscape of hills and sagebrush. Eventually, Cooley
turns off the pavement and travels the last mile or so on a red dirt
road. On the grounds of the Cooley homestead is a large ceremonial
hogan <http://www.marquette.edu/library/neh/eltsosie/resource/hogan.htm>
made of juniper logs and mud. There's also a lone basketball hoop, a
blue painted outhouse, and two corrals with some horses, lambs and
sheep. Three of Cooley's younger brothers and sisters are visiting, too.
They reside in Flagstaff during the school year, just like Colleen. But
they live in federally funded Indian dorm housing and attend public
school. For Parents, a Hard Decision Cooley's mother, Ellen, remembers
when her oldest child, Nikki, left to go to school in Flagstaff a decade
ago. "It was kind of scary thinking about all these people and wondering
how's my daughter going to survive there. But she did." Nikki Cooley,
Colleen's older sister, was one of the first Navajo students to get her
master's degree at NAU. She's now a doctoral candidate at Michigan State
University. There is bitterness among Navajos for the long practice of
forcing children to go to boarding schools off the reservation. It's not
mandatory anymore, but it is an option. Ellen Cooley believes that her
children have a better chance to go to college if they leave home. She
volunteers at local Shonto High School. Some students drop out and never
return. "They're really struggling," she says. The Cooleys have seven
children. There's only one left at home. He'll join his siblings in
Flagstaff next year for middle school. The decision to send their
children away has not been easy for the Cooleys. "Sometimes I just cry
by myself, just to know that they're really up there," Ellen Cooley
says. "They're getting their own scholarships and we just pray for them
every time when they're leaving somewhere." And Bobby Cooley says, "We
believe our prayers can be answered even if we're on the other side of
the world. So we know our children are being protected while they're out
there." With tears in his eyes, he says he's proud of his children. A
Powerful Connection Colleen says her parents have always encouraged her.
But she didn't realize the depth of their feelings until now. And she
wonders whether she'll come back to the reservation after she finishes
school. "There's not many jobs out on the reservation, I mean good
jobs," she says. "I would love to raise my children just how I grew up
because I think having no electricity and water taught us more
discipline." Colleen talks about the hard life her parents had, growing
up with only tribal charity clothing. She says her father "didn't have
much when he was younger and now he's trying to give that to us." Bobby
Cooley wants his children to go to college even if it means they could
lose some of their culture. "We might have to give away our Native
sometime to survive in the Western culture," he says. "Let them go to
school. Let them accomplish something. Bring back something to help us
Native American. At the same time you know you're Navajo. You might be
gone for so long, but you're here with us. That's how our native people
believe. You have children like that and you raise them like that,
they'll be coming back here." When Colleen Cooley was born, her parents
followed a Navajo tradition. They buried her umbilical cord close to
their home, connecting her to the land forever. So, Bobby Cooley knows
just how powerful the force is that will always pull Colleen home.
story will be available at approx. 10:00 a.m. ET on January 16, 2007
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6845552
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6845552>
[Colleen Cooley] Enlarge Cindy Carpien, NPR Colleen Cooley is
considering whether she will return to the Navajo reservation after she
finishes college. 'Our Mother' Hogan [Bobby, Colleen and Ellen
Cooley stand in front of the family's hogan.] Enlarge Cindy Carpien,
NPR The Cooleys: Bobby (from left), Colleen and Ellen stand in front of
the family's hogan. Colleen Cooley's father, Bobby, describes the
family's hogan � a windowless, circular structure used for
ceremonial purposes � as "our mother, because it secures us."
* Bobby Cooley Gives an Audio Tour
More in the Series
* Dec. 27, 2006Edge of the Rez: A Philly Husband, a Navajo Wife
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6677263> *
Dec. 26, 2006A Stranger Among the Hopi
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6662251>
[Outhouse] Enlarge Cindy Carpien, NPR With no electricity or
running water, the Cooley family uses this outhouse. But a new generator
affords them some luxuries. [Bob Lomadofkie] Enlarge Jack
Doggett Hopi elder and artist Bob Lomadofkie works with Northern Arizona
University to provide guidance and mentoring for Native American
students. [Stephanie Jackson, Vachera Yazzie, Philan Tree and
Colleen Cooley] Enlarge Elton Ashkii Cooley Northern Arizona
University classmates: Stephanie Jackson (from left), Vachera Yazzie,
Philan Tree and Colleen Cooley. A Meeting of Ecologies [Nancy
Johnson] Nancy Johnson. Northern Arizona University What does "Edge
of the Rez" mean to you? KNAU <http://www.knau.org/> reporters asked
that question of the people they interviewed for their series. Their
vote for the most provocative answer came from Northern Arizona
University Environmental Sciences Professor Nancy Johnson. She compared
"Edge of the Rez" to an ecotone � a place where ecologies meet.
* Hear Johnson's Answer
Morning Edition
<http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3> , January
16, 2007 � In "Edge of the Rez," member station KNAU
<http://www.knau.org/> probes American Indian identity. The series
profiles American Indians and non-Indians who live in northern Arizona
communities that border the Navajo and Hopi reservations. Colleen
Cooley, a junior at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, says she
still gets nervous speaking in front of classmates. "Sometimes my voice
starts shaking," she says. "I just need to get more comfortable with
it." But Cooley says this isn't just a case of the nerves. Her Navajo
classmates agree. They grew up on the reservation, not far from
Flagstaff, but it might as well be in another country. Vachera Yazzi
says the environment is much quieter on the reservation, where common
noises, like trains don't exist, and talking is kept to a minimum. "For
us," she says, "being silent is a respect, but also it's time to think
and a time to process. Working with, especially Caucasian people,
there's no silence. There's constantly talking and talking." For some
Native Americans coming to school at NAU, the adjustments are too much.
A decade ago, the graduation rate for these students was 15 percent. NAU
has managed to double that by establishing a variety of support
programs. The university opened a Native American liaison office 12
years ago that provides workshops on study skills, financial aid and
time management. Hopi elder Bob Lomadofkie offers guidance to Native
American students at the university and sometimes acts as a go-between
when exams are missed. He says family obligations can be very demanding
� rushing back to the reservation to help an ailing relative, or
honoring tribal commitments. "I try to advocate and negotiate with
professors, but there are some who are steadfast," he says. "When it
comes to ceremonies� that require you to be there to perform a
certain function, there are no ifs, ands or buts about that. You go." A
Visit Home Cooley's family lives in a remote area of the Navajo
reservation, still mostly without electricity and running water.
Recently, she drove home for a visit, a three-hour journey by car, north
of Flagstaff. Thirty miles into the trip, she stopped to check her
university research project. She's an environmental science major,
testing plants for uranium. Uranium mining began on the reservation in
the 1950s and lasted for three decades. Cooley is trying to find out if
there are dangerous levels of uranium in the desert plants and whether
that's harming people today, because the sheep eat the plants and the
people eat the sheep. The rest of the drive is mostly on a highway,
with a vast desert landscape of hills and sagebrush. Eventually, Cooley
turns off the pavement and travels the last mile or so on a red dirt
road. On the grounds of the Cooley homestead is a large ceremonial
hogan <http://www.marquette.edu/library/neh/eltsosie/resource/hogan.htm>
made of juniper logs and mud. There's also a lone basketball hoop, a
blue painted outhouse, and two corrals with some horses, lambs and
sheep. Three of Cooley's younger brothers and sisters are visiting, too.
They reside in Flagstaff during the school year, just like Colleen. But
they live in federally funded Indian dorm housing and attend public
school. For Parents, a Hard Decision Cooley's mother, Ellen, remembers
when her oldest child, Nikki, left to go to school in Flagstaff a decade
ago. "It was kind of scary thinking about all these people and wondering
how's my daughter going to survive there. But she did." Nikki Cooley,
Colleen's older sister, was one of the first Navajo students to get her
master's degree at NAU. She's now a doctoral candidate at Michigan State
University. There is bitterness among Navajos for the long practice of
forcing children to go to boarding schools off the reservation. It's not
mandatory anymore, but it is an option. Ellen Cooley believes that her
children have a better chance to go to college if they leave home. She
volunteers at local Shonto High School. Some students drop out and never
return. "They're really struggling," she says. The Cooleys have seven
children. There's only one left at home. He'll join his siblings in
Flagstaff next year for middle school. The decision to send their
children away has not been easy for the Cooleys. "Sometimes I just cry
by myself, just to know that they're really up there," Ellen Cooley
says. "They're getting their own scholarships and we just pray for them
every time when they're leaving somewhere." And Bobby Cooley says, "We
believe our prayers can be answered even if we're on the other side of
the world. So we know our children are being protected while they're out
there." With tears in his eyes, he says he's proud of his children. A
Powerful Connection Colleen says her parents have always encouraged her.
But she didn't realize the depth of their feelings until now. And she
wonders whether she'll come back to the reservation after she finishes
school. "There's not many jobs out on the reservation, I mean good
jobs," she says. "I would love to raise my children just how I grew up
because I think having no electricity and water taught us more
discipline." Colleen talks about the hard life her parents had, growing
up with only tribal charity clothing. She says her father "didn't have
much when he was younger and now he's trying to give that to us." Bobby
Cooley wants his children to go to college even if it means they could
lose some of their culture. "We might have to give away our Native
sometime to survive in the Western culture," he says. "Let them go to
school. Let them accomplish something. Bring back something to help us
Native American. At the same time you know you're Navajo. You might be
gone for so long, but you're here with us. That's how our native people
believe. You have children like that and you raise them like that,
they'll be coming back here." When Colleen Cooley was born, her parents
followed a Navajo tradition. They buried her umbilical cord close to
their home, connecting her to the land forever. So, Bobby Cooley knows
just how powerful the force is that will always pull Colleen home.