Leave Stereotypes at Door of Navajo Museum

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

The staff at the Navajo Nation Museum and Visitor's Center knows that stereotypes about Native Americans exist, and they strive to dispel the myths.

"The ethics of the Navajo, the one you don't read about or you don't hear about on TV, it's not in the dictionary, that's the one we try to get across to the people," said Robert Johnson, Navajo cultural specialist. "Yes, there is a lot to learn."

War parties, teepees and brightly colored feathers are some of the Native American stereotypes that exist about the Navajo Nation today, Johnson said. When Navajo Council delegates travel the reservation, they too have to answer to those stereotypes, he said. The delegates decided they needed a bigger museum, a place where people could be educated about Navajo culture.

One museum program, Cultural Outreach, enables Johnson to travel the reservation educating its residents, especially the youth, about Navajo culture and language.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Navajo children from kindergarten to 12th grade have lost 70 to 80 percent of their traditional language and cultural knowledge, Johnson said. The museum and its programs help lower those percentages and spreading knowledge about the Navajo through educating tourists and the children on the reservation, he said.

Full article: http://www.reznetnews.org/article/feature-article/leave-stereotypes-door-navajo-museum