2020 Pandemic Beauty Way Support Run
Like everything else in 2020, the annual Beauty Way Supply Run was not like it has been in past years but it did happen and thanks to all the support we found online it was a success on many levels. The food and supplies are important but the community connections and continued cultural exchange are also valuable. We really did miss the road trip to the communities that have long supported this effort. The concerts, round dancing, meal sharing, and spending time with everyone in those special moments builds community and sends us off to the Dineh Nation in a good way. We really do ride on the energy people bring to the shows with their gifts. We had to make do with what we received virtually.
It was also the maiden voyage for our new Starship– a former Green Tortoise adventure tour bus- the first of many for this rig that was made to serve.
Again travel was different – we all tested negative before getting on the bus, masked up when we were in public, did our best to stay isolated in our “bus bubble” but still got to meet with some folks at a distance, outdoors, and didn’t do as much travel on the reservation as usual. The four-person and one dog bus crew rolled into Flagstaff on Monday evening, went straight to Natural Grocers, and picked up a big order of organic peanut butter and coffee – these would be our small food offerings this year. Tuesday morning, we met long-time Oregon supporters Michelle, Brian, and their son, Jaiah. We next all met Mary Katherine, Ned, and her Grandson Dayan from Big Mountain at Olsen’s, the local feed store where we picked up 5 pallets of dog and cat food along with other treats for the 4-leggeds and loaded it all on MK’s trailer and pick up.
The next stop was the Taala Hooghan Info Shop in Flagstaff. We met Shannon and dropped off supplies, including herbs and cedar for making teas, tinctures, salves, creams, and other medicine for elders and those affected by Covid and the economic struggle. As this is a different kind of circumstance we distributed cash assistance to Taala Hooghan and people who are taking on the role of supporter for elders and others who are shut-in, sick, or struggling. This hub of native activism serves unsheltered folks in the Flagstaff area, provides material aid to people on the margins as well as teaches native students how to use and produce media. It was founded by Klee Benally, a powerhouse musician, artist, producer, activist, teacher, and organizer. This organization inspires young indigenous learners to go beyond boundaries and accepted ways of blending in to discover and be who they are really meant to be. In times like these when native and other marginalized communities are being hit the hardest by the pandemic which is also exposing the great racial and economic divide in our nation, local grassroots movements are needed to do what oversized governments can’t or won’t do – listen to the people and meet their needs.
After we finished the exchange with Shannon at Taala Hooghan some of the crew followed Mary Katherine’s loaded truck and trailer in Brian and Michelle’s truck out to make some deliveries. We got to stop in Sand Springs and see a few members of the Yazzie family, leave supplies for a few other families, and then go on to Coal Mine Canyon and visit Anna Begay.
Anna is the sturdiest, most independent person I’ve ever met. Well into her 80’s she lives completely alone, miles from the nearest person, 40 minutes by car from the nearest paved road, and then another 50 miles to the nearest town – Tuba City. She is now blind and very hard of hearing but remains on her beloved land in her tiny hogan, with her animals. The four horses, sheep, dogs, and cats all look healthy. As is often the case we arrived at her remote homestead as the sun was going down. The horses followed us into the area around her home and were very friendly as usual. No one answered when I knocked on the door but it was open so I set a few things down inside and looking around I didn’t see Anna on any of the beds in the now dark single room of her hogan. Michelle came up behind me with some more supplies and when she looked in the door she noticed Anna was sitting in the dark at her table. She was so still I didn’t even notice her. Normally we would come closer and used raised voices so she could hear us but at this time we thought it best to keep our distance and leave things just inside the door. It was strange because we usually spend some time with her, listen to a story- even without an interpreter it’s a gift to hear her talk- and to let her know someone is here checking in. She manages her home – wood heat, no indoor plumbing or running water, very rustic living mostly by herself. She has regular visitors but spends a lot of time alone.
After we left the supplies and started down the long road back to Flagstaff I thought about Anna sitting at that table. Some of us might think it sad to see an elder all by herself in this way and I have to admit I wonder how she manages but she never seems down to me. How content or evolved do you have to be to sit alone for hours on end with only your thoughts and the company of the animals? I sense she is in deep meditation, in touch with life on a whole other level that I’ll never understand. Her way seems so far removed from what most of us know. She lives at a different speed with a sense of grace that blends in with the land she loves. She takes care of what’s around her in a simple way. She has no need for all the things we fill our lives with. She has no desire for war or conquest, she doesn’t pollute the land and water, she spews no toxic words or aggression toward others, and is welcoming to all who she encounters. What if more of us lived like Anna?
The next day before leaving Flagstaff we went to the Coconino Center for The Arts to see the exhibit, Parched – The Art of Water in the Southwest. Two of the artists, Taala Hooghan founder, Klee Benally and Marie Gladue are from the Black Mesa/Big Mountain region. It was an amazing exhibit, combining stunning multi-media art with education on water issues and a deep sense of reverence for the spiritual aspect of water and what it means to life.
Next, it was on to Peace Camp, across Highway 95 from the Nevada Nuclear Test Site where we stopped to recognize all those who’ve gathered there over the years to pray, demonstrate, sing, dance, blockade, lockdown, teach, talk, be arrested and stand for peace. Sacred space is where we find it and this place has always been that for me.
From there we crossed Nevada and refreshed at Fish Lake Valley Hot Springs before cruising up Highway 395 and across Carson Pass back into the Motherlode region of California.
We made the journey, kept our connection alive and as always learned a little more about how things really are in some parts of America’s First Nation. Thank you all for your support. Stay in touch for updates including a possible spring planting trip.
