My heroes have always wore turquoise.

My great grandmother, me and my maternal grandmother.

My heroes have always wore turquoise.

The childhood I was fortunate to grow up in always, always included women adorned with turquoise, shell and silver jewelry and velvet and cotton clothing. Now as an adult I am so very thankful for the life Creator God has given me.

Growing up between the urban areas of the San Juan Valley in northwestern NM and on the eastern region of the Navajo Nation I was taught to value the practice of adoring oneself. This photo is one of my favorite pictures of my childhood, it is one that encaptulates the beauty of my grandmothers. The unconditional love they both had for their grandchildren was healing, it was home. I was blessed to have my great-grandmother presence in my life until I was 18 years old. Through her daily rituals of rural reservation life, she taught me much, her gentle yet steadfast way of a Diné

 matriarch of the Manyhogans clan is my eternal blessing. I can still remember the last moment I shared with her in December of 1991. She would leave this earth later that month to become an angel.

And too, I am super blessed in the 21st century to have a best friend in my maternal grandmother (pictured on the right). She is my rock, and I am happy that she is a part of my daily life. From her I have learned to adorn myself with the traditional jewelry items of the Diné culture, she stands in my minds eye as a reminder of the matriarchal ancestors of my family's past.  If I happen to miss putting on my turquoise earrings, ring or a bracelet she always catches me and says, Where's your jewelry?

Such moments, such memories make me who I am, a Diné and Hopi woman of the matriarchal way of life. Shimásaní ayóó ba’ahénisín.