The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature ed. by Esther G. Belin et. al. (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature ed. by Esther G. Belin et. al. Vernon Ng (bio) The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature edited by Esther G. Belin, Jeff Berglund, Connie A. Jacobs, and Anthony K. Webster University of Arizona Press, 2021 "CAN YOU NAME ANY PROMINENT Navajo environmental activists?" I once asked LaFrenda Frank, the late Diné educator and editor. I posed my question in an intentionally shameless way, but the weight of her answer still managed to embarrass me: "All Diné women elders are environmental activists." Traditional Diné epistemology is synonymous with what one calls "environmental activism," Frank suggested, and if a Diné person practiced their traditional language (Diné Bizaad), reared their children within the Four Sacred Mountains (Dinétah), and lived daily in consideration of all their relations (K'e)—human, natural, spiritual—then by definition they would live in harmony with the natural world. These principles are at once particular to the Diné and universal. Certainly, we would all do well to live conscious of language, to be connected to the land we inhabit, and to consider how our personal actions impact who/what surrounds us. For the Diné, these values and practices are codified and distilled in the phrase Sa'ah Naaghai Bik'eh Hozhoo, commonly translated as "walking in beauty" and sung in a spiritual context as an intention for the speaker and audience to live in a harmonious way. The reader should be aware of these basic Diné tenets before opening The Diné Reader; otherwise, they risk being overwhelmed by this landmark collection. The writers in this volume—living, published Diné writers—all write about or in response to traditional Diné lifeways and philosophy. What is "traditional" is always under debate, but whether they were born on the reservation or relocated to urban centers, fluent in Navajo or currently learning it, all writers gathered here consciously probe their connection to Diné identity and examine what I call Diné-itude, to adapt Aimé Césaire's formulation. Seen together, these writers constitute a vital, essential strain of American literature and present a viable decolonial canon that is historically conscious and restorative. The volume is arranged chronologically, capturing the historical sweep of Diné publishing history, beginning with Blackhorse Mitchell's fascinating Miracle Hill. Miracle Hill's initial publication in 1967 and its subsequent [End Page 202] recovery is itself an interesting study of how the early paternalistic attitudes white editors bore toward Native writers and languaging practices have given way to more balanced efforts to frame and give space to the writers. In this volume, the writers are introduced by thorough biographies and, significantly, many are accompanied by brief interviews. While perhaps unintended, the anthology's arrangement leads to surprising pairings. Irvin Morris next to Esther Belin is a revelation: they share the same concerns—language, identity, home—but their affective and perspective differences are enough to place them on separate poles. Morris records his deep personal memories along the Chuska Mountains, using Navajo words and phrases to spur and organize his reflections. The selections—judiciously excerpted from his book From the Glittering World—adopt a deceptively plain language that is void of emotional markers. In stark relief, Belin's representations of Native life in an urban setting reveal a formal and verbal restlessness: she uses schematic representations in poems and titles like, "I keep my language in my back pocket like a special handkerchief that I only display when I want to show my manners in a respectful way" (174). The young poets in this volume are especially fine: Orlando White, Tacey Atsitty, and Jake Skeets are among the best American poets writing today. Atsitty's poem "Ach'íí'" is one of the great contemporary American poems. The work ranges from personal loss and trauma to the shared histories of boarding schools and the Vietnam War. The title refers to a local delicacy made of prepared sheep intestines; when I lived on the reservation it was always offered to me in partial jest, but it was evident that the food bore a deep emotional meaning for many Navajo friends and acquaintances. For the reader wanting additional guidance, Michael Thompson (Mvskoke...