Post by Okwes on Dec 21, 2006 13:18:39 GMT -5
Weaving cultural understanding Navajo woman educates others Susanne
Tso
Special for The Republic
Nov. 29, 2006 12:00 AM
www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/1129ar-people1129Z\
14.html
<http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/1129ar-people1129\
Z14.html> For most of her life, Mary Elder has straddled two
cultures and has woven a life as distinct as the Navajo blankets that
adorn her home.
Elder, who was born in Ganado on the Navajo Reservation, grew up mostly
in north-central California during the 1950s. She was 8 when she moved
with her parents to Escarto, a tiny community outside Sacramento, where
her father took a job as a farm worker.
Her classmates, whose only exposure to Native Americans was based on
Western movie stereotypes, taunted Elder.
[http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
<http://q.azcentral.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.azcentral.com/com\
munity/ahwatukee/articles/1129ar-people1129Z14.html/564401225/ArticleFle\
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3435366538663230> [http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
She credits her mother with helping her through those difficult years
and learning to cope with the teasing.
"Mother would say, 'People don't know us or our culture. They say that
because they see it in the movies. You must forgive them.' If it wasn't
for my mother, I think I would have given up," she said.
Elder briefly attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where
she met her husband, George, a non-Indian of Irish and English descent.
Her husband's military career took the couple and their four children to
various parts of the country. While living in Middletown, Ky. in the
mid-1970s, the Elder children were bused to inner-city schools where
they encountered bomb threats, student fights and drive-by shootings.
After a bullet narrowly missed her son, David, while he rode his school
bus, Elder demanded authorities allow her children to attend schools in
their own neighborhood.
She stood her ground, despite being threatened with arrest, and
eventually won the fight.
Elder's concern for children spilled over into other areas. After moving
to the Valley, she took a job with Arizona's Child Protective Services
and served on the boards of Parents Anonymous of Arizona and the Phoenix
Indian Center, where she directed several Miss Indian beauty pageants.
Elder, a fashion designer, outfitted some of the winners and became a
regular entry at local fashion shows.
As a Navajo thriving in a White world, Elder used her cross-cultural
expertise to teach others, particularly health care providers, how to
understand and communicate with the Native Americans who crossed their
paths.
"You don't look people in the eye," advises Elder of a cultural behavior
that reflects respect but often confuses non-Indians. "People think
we're not listening because we're looking at the ground. And when
greeting people, we shake hands and introduce ourselves. It's considered
rude to not shake hands."
Tso
Special for The Republic
Nov. 29, 2006 12:00 AM
www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/1129ar-people1129Z\
14.html
<http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/1129ar-people1129\
Z14.html> For most of her life, Mary Elder has straddled two
cultures and has woven a life as distinct as the Navajo blankets that
adorn her home.
Elder, who was born in Ganado on the Navajo Reservation, grew up mostly
in north-central California during the 1950s. She was 8 when she moved
with her parents to Escarto, a tiny community outside Sacramento, where
her father took a job as a farm worker.
Her classmates, whose only exposure to Native Americans was based on
Western movie stereotypes, taunted Elder.
[http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
<http://q.azcentral.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.azcentral.com/com\
munity/ahwatukee/articles/1129ar-people1129Z14.html/564401225/ArticleFle\
x_1/OasDefault/walts_tv_ahwatukee/walts_snow300x250.gif/3365303638623063\
3435366538663230> [http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
She credits her mother with helping her through those difficult years
and learning to cope with the teasing.
"Mother would say, 'People don't know us or our culture. They say that
because they see it in the movies. You must forgive them.' If it wasn't
for my mother, I think I would have given up," she said.
Elder briefly attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where
she met her husband, George, a non-Indian of Irish and English descent.
Her husband's military career took the couple and their four children to
various parts of the country. While living in Middletown, Ky. in the
mid-1970s, the Elder children were bused to inner-city schools where
they encountered bomb threats, student fights and drive-by shootings.
After a bullet narrowly missed her son, David, while he rode his school
bus, Elder demanded authorities allow her children to attend schools in
their own neighborhood.
She stood her ground, despite being threatened with arrest, and
eventually won the fight.
Elder's concern for children spilled over into other areas. After moving
to the Valley, she took a job with Arizona's Child Protective Services
and served on the boards of Parents Anonymous of Arizona and the Phoenix
Indian Center, where she directed several Miss Indian beauty pageants.
Elder, a fashion designer, outfitted some of the winners and became a
regular entry at local fashion shows.
As a Navajo thriving in a White world, Elder used her cross-cultural
expertise to teach others, particularly health care providers, how to
understand and communicate with the Native Americans who crossed their
paths.
"You don't look people in the eye," advises Elder of a cultural behavior
that reflects respect but often confuses non-Indians. "People think
we're not listening because we're looking at the ground. And when
greeting people, we shake hands and introduce ourselves. It's considered
rude to not shake hands."