"Radmilla Cody grew up in a Navajo world, butchering sheep, raising goats and speaking Dine.

Yet many in her tribe - and her family - never accepted her. Her maternal uncle called her a black pig.

Neighborhood kids taunted her with names like �Zhinii Zhinii coco puff,� a Navajo slur for blacks.

Even when Cody was crowned Miss Navajo Nation, some complained she could not represent the country's largest tribe.

Cody was born to a Navajo mother and a black father.

She grew up knowing her mother considered giving her up. But her grandmother filled those empty spaces with kindness, reminding the girl she was special and beautiful - like ancient canyon walls against a turquoise sky.

She wanted a place among the Navajo, and she learned to embrace her two cultures.

�I identify more with the Navajo side,� said Cody, now 29. �But I love the black side as well. That is who I am.�

Who she is - part Native, part black - is at the heart of a growing debate about Native identity."

Get the Story:
Natives who are black struggling to gain acceptance from their own tribes (The Missoulian 12/4)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave Lee - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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