March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26

CONSERVATION
Connection to Mother Earth is at the
heart of culture for Diné people.
Connection to the Diné Bikéyah
By Jared Mummert and Louise Tsinjinnie
E
ach morning, as the sun rises over the expansive desert, mountains
and canyons of the Diné Bikéyah - the people's sacred land
- the cycle of daily life begins. For centuries, Diné traditionalists
have conducted their offerings early in the morning to embrace the
sun's rays, encouraging a mentally-, physically- and spiritually-healthy start
to the day. Traditions like this are deeply rooted in place and the land Diné
people have inhabited for time immemorial. Connection to Mother Earth is
at the heart of culture for Diné people.
Reclaiming Land and
Culture Through Parks
Diné Bikéyah is known to most
non-Native people as the Europeancoined
Navajo Nation and
encompasses nearly 17 million acres.
Many non-Diné people are familiar
with the most iconic spots, like the red
rocks of Antelope Canyon and the
towering buttes of Monument Valley.
In response to the U.S. government's
taking of their land to create national
park sites, like the Grand Canyon and
Glen Canyon, the Navajo Nation's
26 Parks & Recreation | MARCH 2 0 2 3
government created the tribal park
system to protect these sacred spaces
and to create a park system that
could bring economic revenue to the
Navajo Nation.
The Diné community continues
to experience devastating challenges
due to hundreds of years of
efforts by colonizing Europeans
to
suppress
their human rights,
such as eradicating their culture,
removing them from their land and
denying
them
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
essential
services.
These elements bring about high
levels of depression, suicide,
alcoholism, poverty and poor
health. Exemplifying all of these
factors is the sheer disparity in
economic status between Navajo
Nation communities that experience
grave poverty and neighboring
communities that harvest wealth
through revenue generators, such as
Grand Canyon National Park and
Glen Canyon Recreation Area.
To foster connection to
and trails
tribal
parks
healthy
lifestyles,
and promote
the
Navajo
Nation partnered with NavajoYES,
a community-based
empowering
Native
youth
an active lifestyle. Navajo Nation
Parks and Recreation
received
NRPA Resilient Park Access grant
funding for its Diné Canyon trails
initiative. The goal of the project
is to provide an opportunity for
organization
with

March 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023 - Parks & Recreation

March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 4
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 5
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 6
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 7
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 9
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 11
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 12
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 14
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 15
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 17
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 19
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 21
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 22
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 24
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 25
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 30
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 31
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 32
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 33
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 34
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 35
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 36
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 37
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 38
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 39
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 41
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 46
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 47
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 49
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 51
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 52
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 53
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 54
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 55
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 56
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com