{"id":4431,"date":"2020-11-11T09:56:39","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T15:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=4431"},"modified":"2020-11-11T09:56:39","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T15:56:39","slug":"cronkite-news-covid-19-puts-focus-on-healing-and-medicine-on-navajo-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/11\/11\/cronkite-news-covid-19-puts-focus-on-healing-and-medicine-on-navajo-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: COVID-19 puts focus on healing and medicine on Navajo Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NU98064hfe8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Hataalii: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/NU98064hfe8>Silver City<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Pandemic shines light on complex coexistence of modern times, traditional ways on Navajo Nation<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Wednesday, November 11, 2020<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Anthony J. Wallace<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nPHOENIX \u2013 The most recent album from <a href=https:\/\/www.riseupmusic.org\/hataalii>Hataalii<\/a>, a Navajo Nation indie-rock artist, closes with a pair of instrumental tracks called \u201cRain.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nThe songs, the artist said, are inspired by the relief that rains bring in hot summer months and the idea that all struggles subside with time. The message connects to something his grandmother shared recently: a supernatural story from Navajo tradition in which mysterious tall figures from another world promise to come to humanity\u2019s aid in a time of need.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cYou should be careful, but you shouldn&#8217;t fear it \u2013 because it\u2019ll work itself out,\u201d he recalls her saying, as she connected the legend to the current <a href=\/covid19\/>COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>.<p><\/p>\r\nHataalii is the work of Hataaliinez Wheeler, 17, of Window Rock. His stage name, and first name, derive from the Navajo word meaning \u201cto sing\u201d or \u201cto chant.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nHataalii also refers to the medicine men who for centuries have used songs, herbs and sacred ceremonies to treat physical or emotional ailments of the Navajo people.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=row><div class=col-md-7><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4432\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/11\/11\/cronkite-news-covid-19-puts-focus-on-healing-and-medicine-on-navajo-nation\/hataaliinezwheeler\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hataaliinezwheeler.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1707,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"hataaliinezwheeler\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Hataaliinez Wheeler, 17, poses in front of the hogan he and his dad have been building during the pandemic. The teenager says he\u2019s inspired by \u201cthe vibe that (the hogan) will give off one day in a ceremony.\u201d Photo courtesy of Hataaliinez Wheeler&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hataaliinezwheeler-683x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/hataaliinezwheeler.jpg\" alt=\"hataaliinezwheeler\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4432\" \/><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5 align-self-end\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Hataaliinez Wheeler, 17, poses in front of the hogan he and his dad have been building during the pandemic. The teenager says he\u2019s inspired by \u201cthe vibe that (the hogan) will give off one day in a ceremony.\u201d Photo courtesy of Hataaliinez Wheeler<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nToday these traditional healers, who once played critical roles in governance and health care, are dwindling in number and influence, experts and community leaders say, even as a deadly coronavirus assaults the tribe.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nThis week, the Navajo Nation&#8217;s daily COVID-19 case count rose above 100 \u2013 the highest it\u2019s been since June. In all, more than 12,000 \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov\/COVID-19\">cases<\/a>\r\nhave been reported within the nation, and amid this second wave, many will be looking for support from their traditional healers.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWheeler\u2019s music blends traditional and modern elements, using the Din\u00e9 language and desert imagery over sounds derived from contemporary indie rock artists such as Mac DeMarco and classic Los Angeles psychedelic band, The Doors.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI would say that I&#8217;m traditional,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I&#8217;m also just like everybody else.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nThat duality echoes a larger tension within the Navajo community: between the Navajo Nation\u2019s centralized American-style government and its former, more locally focused Naachid system of governance; and between Western medicine\u2019s pharmaceutical drugs and the hataalii\u2019s herbs and ceremonies.<p><\/p>\r\nAnd some say the pandemic has heightened that tension.<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k4RgBqR84bE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Navajo Nation Office of President and Vice President: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/k4RgBqR84bE>COVID-19 Town Hall &#8211; November 10, 2020<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption><p><\/p>\r\nAfter the CARES Act was approved in March, the Navajo Nation received more than $700 million in COVID-19 relief funding. In July, President Jonathan Nez \r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.navajonationcouncil.org\/pressReleases\/2020\/JUL\/NN_President_Jonathan_Nez_line_item_vetoes_73_million_in_COVID_19_response_expenditures_PR.pdf\">vetoed<\/a>\r\nmore than $70 million in council-approved funding, including $1 million that would have supported the Din\u00e9 Hataalii Association of traditional healers.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe veto drew criticism from other tribal leaders and prompted calls on social media for traditional practitioners \u2013 whom some call \u201cthe original first responders\u201d \u2013 to receive some of the federal aid.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nIn a \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/covid19\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/State_Dine-Hataali-Association_FINAL.pdf\">statement<\/a>, the association called the veto \u201can act of disrespect and exclusion for our treasured and rare Din\u00e9 Hataalii.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt leaves us to question why our government leaders feel as though we should not assist in relieving the pain and suffering of our people during the worst pandemic in history,\u201d they wrote, \u201ceven though we continue to be sought for counsel and assistance.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe Din\u00e9 Hataa\u0142ii Association are in reality, the first responders and essential, front line public health workers\u201d: Navajo healers are going public after request for small share of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CARESAct?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CARESAct<\/a> funds was vetoed. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Coronavirus<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CoronavirusReliefFund?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CoronavirusReliefFund<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SoNIGjL2Di\">https:\/\/t.co\/SoNIGjL2Di<\/a><\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1283038893177274374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 14, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nNez said the funding unfairly singled out leaders of a certain spiritual belief.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cNot just the medicine man association, or the Hataalii Association, but all faith organizations should be able to get some relief,\u201d Nez told Cronkite News. \u201cBecause even the (Christian) pastors went through some hardships.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nA counterproposal later approved provides $2 million to be divided among the Din\u00e9 Hataa\u0142i Association, Din\u00e9 Medicine Men Association and the Native American Church, which melds traditional practices and Christianity.<p><\/p>\r\nMichelle Kahn-John, a professor of nursing at the University of Arizona and secretary of the Din\u00e9 Hataalii Association, said the group\u2019s portion was $600,000.<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">79 new cases, 7,802 recoveries, and one more death related to COVID-19<br><br>For COVID-19 resources, visit the Navajo Department of Health&#39;s COVID-19 website:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sNcc076Tdm\">https:\/\/t.co\/sNcc076Tdm<\/a>. For COVID-19 related questions and information, call\u00a0(928) 871-7014. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tR4AKbYuNx\">pic.twitter.com\/tR4AKbYuNx<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Jonathan Nez (@NezForAZ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NezForAZ\/status\/1326340002322796544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 11, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe squabble nonetheless left some feeling slighted.<p><\/p>\r\nFranklin Sage, director of the Din\u00e9 Policy Institute at Din\u00e9 College in Tsaile, said some tribal government leaders \u201cvalue the Western paradigm or the Western knowledge \u2013 Western medicine \u2013 more than their own traditional healers and practitioners and our own traditional way of life.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI think some people are accepting of both Christianity and tradition,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then some people are just totally one-sided.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Fighting COVID-19 on the front lines<\/div>\r\nTraditional healers, through ceremonies that can involve crystal, star and feather gazing, connect \u201cwith the natural world or the natural order or the natural universe that surrounds them,\u201d said Travis Teller, a medicine man who works with the Din\u00e9 Policy Institute.<p><\/p>\r\nSuch rituals allow hataaliis to determine what\u2019s ailing an individual \u2013 \u201cmentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, psychologically,\u201d Teller said.<p><\/p>\r\nThen they guide people through healing ceremonies, which may involve successive nights of singing, days of physical cleansing or herbal treatments with medicinal plants. For example, sage leaves often are used for cold or sinus problems, while cedar boiled into tea works for stomachaches and other intestinal issues.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cFirst and foremost, hataaliis are spiritual leaders,\u201d Teller said. \u201cA lot of people on the reservation rely on them for guidance, leadership.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<figure>\r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1134\" height=\"841\" data-attachment-id=\"4436\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/11\/11\/cronkite-news-covid-19-puts-focus-on-healing-and-medicine-on-navajo-nation\/navajosandpainting\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/navajosandpainting.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1134,841\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"navajosandpainting\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/navajosandpainting-1024x759.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/navajosandpainting.jpg\" alt=\"navajosandpainting\" class=\"alignnone img-fluid wp-image-4436\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">A young patient watches a medicine man, right, and helper prepare a sandpainting as part of her healing ceremony in 1980. Photo courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, Navajo Area Indian Health Service Today, IHS, 1980\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nOne of the rare studies published on Native healers, a 1998 \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamainternalmedicine\/fullarticle\/210290#:~:text=Sixty%2Dtwo%20percent%20of%20individuals,number%20of%20visits%20ranged%20widely.\">study<\/a>\r\nin the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that more than 60% of Navajo patients surveyed had seen a traditional healer and about 40% used them regularly.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nTeller says that when the pandemic struck, hataaliis were thrust onto the front lines. People flocked to them for help, exposing them to the virus, and several eventually died from COVID-19, he said.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nThe pandemic has since put a hold on \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/tribalcollegejournal.org\/niheiina-naas-yiilyeel-perpetuating-our-way-of-life-dine-local-goverance-from-tradition-to-covid-19\/\">in-person ceremonies<\/a>, but some practitioners are using Zoom and other distance-healing options. Without the ability to go home-to-home to perform ceremonies for their patients, hataaliis are struggling financially, and Teller says they have grown frustrated.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAs a professor at the University of Montana and the prot\u00e9g\u00e9 granddaughter and niece of traditional Blackfeet Nation healers, Rosalyn LaPier straddles the divide between Western and traditional Native American medicine. She\u2019s an ethnobotanist \u2013 an expert in the relationship between people and plants.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nHistorically, Indigenous practitioners who employed singing ceremonies and herbs were lumped together by Westerners and colonists and pejoratively called \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/medicine-man\">witch doctors<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<figure>\r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-attachment-id=\"4438\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/11\/11\/cronkite-news-covid-19-puts-focus-on-healing-and-medicine-on-navajo-nation\/rosalynlapier\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/rosalynlapier-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.7&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon PowerShot ELPH 110 HS&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1503072489&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.033333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rosalynlapier\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/rosalynlapier-1024x768.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/rosalynlapier-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"rosalynlapier\"   class=\"alignnone img-fluid wp-image-4438\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Rosalyn LaPier is a professor at the University of Montana and the  granddaughter and niece of traditional Blackfeet Nation healer. Photo courtesy of Rosalyn LaPier\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nNow, LaPier said, the ideas central to much Native American medicine \u2013 that medical problems can stem from spiritual or psychological roots and that plants can heal \u2013 are not considered outlandish.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIncreasingly academics are recognizing that there\u2019s a connection between physical ailments and people&#8217;s mental and\/or spiritual practices,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that&#8217;s something that Indigenous people have always recognized.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nShe cited the work of pediatrician \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/centerforyouthwellness.org\/translating-aces-science\/\">Nadine Burke Harris<\/a>, who has written and spoken extensively on adverse childhood experiences. The central idea of that theory is at the core of traditional Native American medicine \u2013 that past traumas can linger through life and manifest physically.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nAs for the herbal component of traditional medicine, LaPier says mainstream medical culture has embraced that as well. Historical staples of Native American herbal medicine, such as \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/17597571\/\">echinacea<\/a>, sage and American \r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/pennstatehershey.adam.com\/content.aspx?productid=107&amp;pid=33&amp;gid=000248#:~:text=Laboratory%20studies%20in%20animals%20have,therapeutic%20potential%20for%20inflammatory%20diseases.\">ginseng<\/a>, have been studied for their health benefits and are widely available.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI think that most people have some sort of herbal medicine in their household,\u201d LaPier said.<p><\/p>\r\nTraditional practitioners deserve COVID-19 relief funding, she said, because they can play a key role in addressing the mental and physical fallout of the pandemic. At the same time, she cautions against misinformation about using herbal remedies to cure the disease, which has disproportionately affected Native Americans and other communities of color.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\u201cWhile herbal medicines may help address some symptoms of COVID-19 and are good for our overall health,\u201d LaPier co-wrote in a March column in \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcn.org\/articles\/covid19-misrepresenting-traditional-knowledge-during-covid-19-is-dangerous\">High Country News<\/a>\r\nmagazine, \u201cat this time they cannot prevent, treat or cure coronavirus. And believing they could do so could have dire consequences for our communities.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Misrepresenting traditional knowledge during COVID-19 is dangerous <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/B8Swk4Iata\">https:\/\/t.co\/B8Swk4Iata<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/highcountrynews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@highcountrynews<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Roz La Pier (@RozLaPier) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RozLaPier\/status\/1242157265357918218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 23, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nHer advice on how to best boost the immune system to stave off a bad case of the virus that causes COVID-19 is familiar: get eight hours of sleep, eat healthful foods and exercise daily. Herbs work best when you\u2019re already doing all the basic stuff, LaPier said.<p><\/p>\r\nJeffrey Langland, an assistant research professor at Arizona State University\u2019s Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, is studying whether herbal treatments could help fight COVID-19.<p><\/p>\r\nThrough laboratory testing, he and his colleagues have identified about half a dozen herbs that are effective at killing the virus, he said. Once they\u2019ve landed on the most potent combination, they hope to run clinical trials and work with a private company to bring a formulation to market.<p><\/p>\r\nMost of the herbs being tested come from Chinese medicine, but Langland said he would like to establish partnerships with Native American practitioners so he can scientifically test their herbal treatments and get them to more people.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThat information\u2019s got to get to the public before it\u2019s lost,\u201d he said.<p><\/p>\r\nOn the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, LaPier said there isn\u2019t necessarily great tension between traditional and Western practices, though many people\u2019s first inclination is to see a Western doctor \u2013 a shift she says threatens traditional ways.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThat is something that has happened over time due to colonization, due to the acculturation in our communities,\u201d she said. \u201cIt&#8217;s something that our younger people need to solve.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<figure>\r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4441\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/11\/11\/cronkite-news-covid-19-puts-focus-on-healing-and-medicine-on-navajo-nation\/navajonationhogan\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/navajonationhogan.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"navajonationhogan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/navajonationhogan-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/navajonationhogan.jpg\" alt=\"navajonationhogan\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4441\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">A   hogan sits in an expansive valley outside Pi\u00f1on, Arizona. Hogans are small structures that served as the traditional dwellings for Navajo people and today house traditional healing ceremonies.  Photo by Megan Marples \/ Cronkite News)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">\u2018It&#8217;s definitely kind of fading\u2019<\/div>\r\nHataaliinez Wheeler is one young person interested in preserving traditional Navajo practices, especially those of the medicine men from whom he gets his name.<p><\/p>\r\nBut that isn\u2019t the case for all of his friends.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI think it&#8217;s definitely kind of fading,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cBut there&#8217;s also this aspect of like, we kind of need to go back because what we&#8217;ve got now isn&#8217;t working for some people.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nThroughout his life, Wheeler has participated in a number of hataalii-led ceremonies, including a recent puberty sweat lodge ceremony. Some of them, he said, can go on all night, with hataaliis singing until the sun rises.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cAfter that, it&#8217;s like you just feel better,\u201d Wheeler said, \u201cbecause you&#8217;re in there with your whole family. And the hataalii will tell stories and he&#8217;ll sing songs.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/lake_stanford\/status\/1283817028734738432\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nWheeler is a senior at Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, New Mexico, and usually stays in a dormitory during the week. But during the pandemic, he spends most of his days in his bedroom at home in Window Rock, participating in online classes and recording music.<p><\/p>\r\nHe and his father have also been working together to build a hogan, a traditional Navajo structure used for healing ceremonies. The process has been inspirational.<p><\/p>\r\nWheeler believes that spiritual convictions and mythological stories can help through hard times like this. He also sees the tension between tradition and modern, Indigenous and Western, but lives in both worlds simultaneously, with little interest in choosing one over the other.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI wouldn&#8217;t know where I am on that spectrum,\u201d he said. \u201cI guess I&#8217;m just trying to make my way through all this.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<HR><EM>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2020\/11\/10\/pandemic-spotlights-clash-between-modern-traditional-navajo-ways\">appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>.  It  is published via a <A href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative  Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkite.asu.edu\/\">Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at <A href=\"https:\/\/www.asu.edu\">Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM><HR>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Traditional healers, who once played critical roles in governance and health care, are dwindling in number and influence, even as the deadly coronavirus impacts the Navajo Nation.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[42,250,74,5,46,128,805,801,802,28,175,806,33,24,278,803,804,102],"class_list":["post-4431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-national","tag-arizona","tag-blackfeet","tag-cares-act","tag-coronavirus","tag-cronkite-news","tag-elders","tag-franklin-sage","tag-hataali","tag-hataaliinez-wheeler","tag-jonathan-nez","tag-languages","tag-michelle-kahn-john","tag-music","tag-navajo","tag-religion","tag-rosalyn-lapier","tag-travis-teller","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/navajonationhogan.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-19t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}