DEMONSTRATING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE. Diné College student weaver Andrethia Bia spins wool for her next rug. Photo by Daniel Zollinger; Gallup Independent.

A shade house shelters Andrethia Bia from the sweltering mid-afternoon July heat while she demonstrates the technique of spinning wool to a small audience.

She kneels closely to the ground so the handful of spectators can see exactly what she is doing. Her face reveals deep concentration when she begins to spin the strand of wool onto the spindle. She does this rather quickly but explains to participants who are attempting to do the same, it will take time and practice.

“It’s kind of hard getting the first piece started,” Bia, 30, tells them.

As the workshop continues, she switches between talking in Navajo and English, explaining what her late grandmother Mary Kitseally taught her about the art of weaving.

Bia was raised traditionally, speaking fluent Navajo and spending long afternoons herding sheep with her grandma. In spite of this, she recognized three years ago she did not have a full understanding of the Diné teachings and philosophy.

The realization brought her home to Red Mesa, AZ, after living over a decade in the metropolitan areas of both Arizona and Utah. Her yearning for traditional knowledge motivated her to enroll in courses at Diné College (DC). After two years of courses, she began gaining a deeper appreciation and understanding of the traditions she was nurtured with as a child.

“The teachings at Diné College were very special to me,” says Bia, a DC student at the Chinle, AZ, campus. “At that time, I didn’t know I was fortunate to be raised with all those teachings.”

While Bia was raised around weaving, she gives credit to her DC instructors, like her weaving instructor Jeanne Jones, for helping her to recognize the value of her traditions.

Now when Bia prepares her loom, memories of her grandmother weaving underneath a pinon tree and images of Spider Woman consume her thoughts. According to Navajo oral tradition, Spider Woman emerged from the Third World into the Fourth World and taught our Diné ancestors the art of weaving.

Jones, who has been weaving for over 50 years, shares the story of Spider Woman with her students on their first day of class before they begin the process of weaving.

“If you know the history, it will mean a lot to you when you are weaving,” explains Jones.

Jones shares knowledge she gained from her grandparents with her students and encourages them to get traditional ceremonies, such as the Beauty Way ceremony.

“My grandpa said get it done (Beauty Way) once in a while, and your tools will be happy to hear the songs.” Bia had a Blessing Way ceremony to reinforce her weaving. By doing this, Bia said the Holy People will know her. She also began to learn the meaning of the songs and value their purpose.

Jones says not many students take the time to get ceremonies done or learn the weaving songs, but the weaving comes easier to those who do.

“You have to discipline yourself in order to learn about those things,” she adds. “I tell them just don’t do it for credit. I tell them you have to learn it to teach your kids.”

It’s those students who learn the songs who successfully pass on the tradition of weaving to their children, she says.

“Just learning to weave is the aesthetic part of it, but learning the songs and words that go with it, would be whole. It would be the spiritual side,” says Harry Walters, a Diné history instructor at DC and director of the college museum. This understanding brings a holistic knowledge of the weaving process, Walters says.

Bia has become motivated to seek out further traditional knowledge from the elders in her community. Following traditional customs, Bia offers a sacred stone, such as turquoise, to elders when they share their wisdom. She compares the offering to the corn pollen given to the Holy People in the morning when she prays.

“For someone to learn, just that song, it’s something priceless,” says Bia.

Because spirituality is not emphasized in Western culture, it is something a lot of youth lack today. “But the traditional way, it is still within us,” says Walters. “Sometimes we have a feeling something is missing; there’s a gap there.”

Bia knows the empty feeling, and for years she measured her success according to Western standards. At one time in her life, she thought traditional Diné teachings were of minimal importance, but the knowledge she gained at the college has strengthened who she is and taught her an important lesson.

“The songs and prayers are valuable and determine real wealth,” Bia says. She is certain she will someday attain these teachings if she continues to pray to the Holy People. “I tell them when I run in the morning, ‘I want to learn your songs, your prayers.’”

Bia hopes other young people will realize the importance of understanding their traditional beliefs. “There’s going to be a time in their lives when they face that,” says Bia. “They’re going to think, ‘This is important’.”

Walters hopes other young people will aspire to acquire traditional knowledge, as Bia has. When people can connect this knowledge with their physical being, they become balanced and truly wealthy people, he says.

“This young lady, she recognizes it. This is what we call learning,” says Walters. “If we can instill this kind of motivation in our young people, then we will truly have Navajo education.”

Natasha Kaye Johnson is 24 years old and is from Twin Lakes, New Mexico, located on the eastern side of the Navajo Nation. Her clan is the Ute Clan, born for Arab. Her maternal grandfathers are of the Yucca Fruit Clan, and her paternal grandfathers are Arab. She graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2005 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Family Studies and Human Development, with a minor in American Indian Studies. Johnson plays Turquoise Rose, the lead role of an aspiring photojournalist, in the movie, Turquoise Rose. She is a freelance writer in the Phoenix, AZ area.