The Animas River, my water relative

The Animas river, my water relative
Photo by Venaya Yazzie
2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I have been blessed in full abundance, for I was born in the presence of two rivers. The high-desert waters of the Animas and San Juan Rivers have always been flowing their dialogue in my ears.

The river is in my bones.  I have great adoration for the waters that flow in my community of To'ta'.  My eastern Dine' relatives trekked this land and blessed themselves with the water of the Animas and the later San Juan.

Water is life. That expression is the reality of us as humans, but it rings so true to the desert people of the Navajo and Pueblo people of New Mexico. This state is also home to the grandeur of the ancient Rio Grande river, which trials down the middle of the state to Mexico.  But, the Animas is my corner of heaven. I visit this river daily and I blessed myself with her water. This ritual for me as a Navajo/Hopi woman is prayer, it is in essence 'beautyway.'

For the most part I think mainstream, non-Indigenous America sees the rivers as a place to use for recreation. But I know that the Navajo people in this community see the river as a relative, as an extension of our K'e'.  Our Dine' clan system is primarily made up of water clans. My paternal clans are affiliate directly from water. I am therefore 'born for water.'

In 2015 the Animas river was contaminated by the abandoned mine tailings from the upstream Gold King Mine and that flow of pollution then fed into the San Juan river, which runs through the Navajo Nation in NM and UT. During that time in August 2015 our sacred desert waters turned a fowl yellow-ochre hue.  In my mind the river died that day. It was a time of mourning for many of us Navajo people, our water relative was in distress.  But, we enacted our prayers, recited in our mother tongues and we offered our humble plant medicines to her...and we hoped and waited for our beautiful water relative to return to us.
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Perhaps she did go away from this world for a time, and then returned  from the spirit place. Since then the Animas exists and was reborn and chose life and now she is healing herself.

I believe we as Dine' should consciously visit the Animas and San Juan rivers on a daily basis, where we should offer our prayers and bless ourselves with her waters.  This is an act of respect for the water. This process is a humble way of existing, it is about our continual survival of us and of our Dine' ways.  Lets not forget.

#animasriver

Blessings.

By Venaya J. Yazzie 2017
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED