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Full Description
An intimate look at the mystical world of the Navajo people
• Details the author's time living with the Navajo people as a teacher, sheepherder, and doctor and her profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits
• Shows how she learned the Navajo language to bridge the cultural divide
• Reveals the miracles she witnessed, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck
• Shares her fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting "skinwalker" and how she fulfilled a prophecy by returning as a doctor
In 1971, Erica Elliott arrived on the Navajo reservation as a newly minted schoolteacher, knowing nothing about her students or their culture. After a discouraging first week, she almost leaves in despair, unable to communicate with the children or understand cultural cues. But once she starts learning the language, the people begin to trust her, welcoming her into their homes and their hearts. As she is drawn into the mystical world of Navajo life, she has a series of profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits of Canyon de Chelly that change her life forever.
In this compelling memoir, the author details her time living with the Navajo, the Diné people, and her experiences with their enchanting land, healing ceremonies, and rich traditions. She shares how her love for her students transformed her life as well as the lives of the children. She reveals the miracles she witnessed during this time, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck. She survives fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting "skinwalker." She learns how to herd sheep, make fry bread, and weave traditional rugs, experiencing for herself the life of a traditional Navajo woman.
Fulfilling a Navajo grandmother's prophecy, the author returns years later to serve the Navajo people as a medical doctor in an underfunded clinic, delivering numerous babies and treating sick people day and night. She also reveals how, when a medicine man offers to thank her with a ceremony, more miracles unfold.
Sharing her life-changing deep dive into Navajo culture, Erica Elliott's inspiring story reveals the transformation possible from immersion in a spiritually rich culture as well as the power of reaching out to others with joy, respect, and an open heart.
Contents
Foreword by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 The Dead Medicine Man
2 Chinle, Arizona
3 Spirit Guide
4 Mystery and Medicine in the High Desert
5 A Walk through Time
6 Bilingual and Bicultural Education
7 The Puberty Ceremony
8 Terror off the Reservation
9 My Friend Marshall
10 Herding Sheep
11 Butchering Sheep
12 They Forget I'm White
13 Walking in Another's Shoes
14 Goodbye for Now
15 The Peace Corps
16 Back Home in the States
17 Cuba, New Mexico
18 State of Siege
19 Road Man
Epilogue
Afterword
About the Author
