In our third section of the Colorado Plateau course, we’ve been meeting with many people who have unique understandings of and connections to this landscape. Three wonderful families in the Navajo and Hopi nations have hosted our group. Through our time spent with Native peoples, we have gained valuable perspectives on the land we’ve been learning and recreating on.
On the Hopi Reservation, Dorothy Denet and her family graciously welcomed us for 3 nights. As we sat around a crackling fire, Dorothy described her people’s lived experience surviving and thriving within this harsh desert climate she calls home. “People’s religion is developed from their environment,” Dorothy explained. The land’s natural aspects like water, plants, and animals become sacred because they allow people to survive.
“The harsher the land, the stronger your beliefs will be,” Dorothy said, referring to her homelands which receive very little precipitation, making water invaluable. Surviving in the desert is not easy, but Hopi peoples have managed to sustain vibrant communities despite, or maybe because of, the immense challenges presented by their landscape. These struggles strengthen Hopi peoples’ connection to the land and appreciation of its gifts. With this deep appreciation comes an obligation of respect.
One way we witnessed Hopi and Navajo peoples offer respect to non-human beings is by using the grammar of animacy, written about in detail by Robin Wall-Kimmerer. This type of language affords trees, herbs, rivers, the moon, and other natural surroundings with gendered pronouns. For example, Darrell Marks, one of our guest speakers and an incredible Navajo teacher, explained the difference between male and female rains. The male rains sweep through the landscape with a ferocity capable of washing our tents into the nearby Lake Powell. In contrast, the female rains are gentle and light, greeting the land with tenderness.
Through our homestays and conversations with guest speakers, it has become apparent the Hopi and Navajo peoples’ gender ideologies are deeply intertwined with their ways of life. The ways that these cultures understand and engage with gender is directly correlated to their survival on this landscape for hundreds and thousands of years. What is a gender role to our western Euro-American perspective is a vital piece of culture and avenue of connection and harmony within the natural world for the people of this land.
During our time with Dorothy, we got a glimpse into what it means to be a man or woman within a Hopi context. Hopi peoples exist in a matriarchal society where women are the masters of the household and make most of the important decisions. A Hopi person’s lineage and identity are traced through their mother’s side. Additionally, men and women in Hopi communities have distinctly different roles to play. For example, women are the keepers of the seeds that grow all the food the community eats, as well as the ones who cook all the food. Men are charged with other responsibilities, like planting fields and other various physical labor tasks. This traditional idea of gender roles was striking for me, and persisted throughout all of our interactions with our hosts.
As the only two male-presenting people in our group, Jon and I were singled out on many occasions to assist in traditionally masculine tasks, like lifting heavy objects. When we arrived at Effie Yazzie’s home in Monument Valley on the Navajo Nation, we climbed out of the van and were greeted by Effie’s smiling face. “Oh good, we have two strong boys to help my brother fetch water from the spring!” I felt honored to be able to help, but a little odd in having gender play such a big role in our separation of labor, knowing that some of our female peers are certainly stronger than us. As a trans person who grew up in a female body, being categorized to help with masculine tasks was validating in a way. It’s only in the past few years that my gender has been perceived in a way I’m comfortable with. Fitting into traditionally male spaces feels affirming, but also confusing for me.
I am torn between wanting to be validated in my gender identity and desconstructing the unhelpful binary gender roles of our modern society. I have been grappling with this duality more elaborately during this section of our course. Navajo and Hopi cultures have gender ideologies that help them make sense of their place in the world. My conception of gender differs from these cultures, and I believe that distinction should be celebrated. In trying to understand what it means to be a man in Indigenous cultures of the Colorado Plateau, I am left with the question of what it means to be a man in my own life. How can I best use my gender identity for the betterment of my community?
