{"id":46026,"date":"2023-11-21T11:37:12","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T18:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=46026"},"modified":"2023-11-21T11:37:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T18:37:12","slug":"dine-doo-gaamalii-navajo-latter-day-saint-experiences-in-the-twentieth-century-a-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2023\/11\/dine-doo-gaamalii-navajo-latter-day-saint-experiences-in-the-twentieth-century-a-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Din\u00e9 d\u00f3\u00f3 G\u00e1amalii: Navajo Latter-day Saint Experiences in the Twentieth Century: A Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alicia Harris\u2014an Assistant Professor of Native American Art History at the University of Oklahoma\u2014wrote that \u201cIf the LDS Church really can work for all peoples, we need to more attentively listen, hear, and be represented by a much greater variety of voices. We must more actively prepare a place for dual identities to be touched and nurtured in the culture of the gospel.\u201d<\/span> Farina King\u2019s <\/span>Din\u00e9 d\u00f3\u00f3 G\u00e1amalii: Navajo Latter-day Saint Experiences in the Twentieth Century<\/span><\/i><\/a> (University Press of Kansas, 2023) provides a great opportunity to do just that by listening to the experiences of the Din\u00e9 d\u00f3\u00f3 G\u00e1amalii (Navajo Latter-day Saints).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Farina King\u2019s work is a study of intersectional identities and the complex results of colonizing efforts by Euro-American Latter-day Saints among the Din\u00e9 (Navajo) people. It is written as an autoethnography\u2014a collective biography and scholarly discussion of Din\u00e9 experience. Topics covered include the Southwest Indian Mission, the Indian Student Placement Program, BYU\u2019s efforts to emphasize education for Native Americans, the creation of congregations and stakes in Din\u00e9tah, the establishment of Native American congregations outside of Din\u00e9tah, and reflections on how different individuals have navigated the sometimes conflicting dual identity of being both Din\u00e9 and Latter-day Saint. The book builds on a treasure trove of oral history interviews to present an authentic history of these experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was interesting to see how much variety there is in how Din\u00e9 members deal with navigating the path of reconciling their identity. As King shows, some have felt that Din\u00e9 identity and beliefs were mutually exclusive with being an active member of the Church and that they had to choose one or the other. It also seems that Euro-American Church leaders tend to agree with this assessment and encourage acceptance of the Church being paired with assimilation into Euro-American society. Many Din\u00e9 members, however, find ways to accept aspects of both their traditional Din\u00e9 beliefs and ways with their membership in the Church. And while the idea of syncretism is uncomfortable to some members of the Church, it is something that is shown to be helpful for members whose culture is a deeply rooted part of their identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing I appreciated is how much effort Farina King put into showing how assessments of the topics covered don’t fit neatly into good-bad binaries. The Indian Student Placement Program, for example, generally had both positive <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> negative impacts on people who went through placement rather than one or the other. E.g., separation from family and the lack of learning traditional ways were generally negative experiences, but the education tended to be useful. Experiences with host families varied widely, with some Din\u00e9 being respected and even essentially becoming part of the family with whom they were staying and others having the experience of being isolated, rejected, or abused. Reality is often far more complex than we like to think of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Farina King\u2019s <\/span>Din\u00e9 d\u00f3\u00f3 G\u00e1amalii: Navajo Latter-day Saint Experiences in the Twentieth Century<\/span><\/i><\/a> is an insightful and fascinating study into the lived experiences of Din\u00e9 Latter-day Saints. It is important as the fullest examination of that history yet published. The fact that the author has Din\u00e9 heritage and a deep understanding of the culture adds to that value. The book also has bearing on understanding the impact of Church leaders\u2014especially Spencer W. Kimball\u2014investing in the conversion and development of Din\u00e9 individuals in the mid-twentieth century, for both good and ill. Individual Church members looking to understand a broader range of experience within the Church as well as scholars of Native American history (particularly interactions with Christian religions) or twentieth century Mormonism will find this book to be a valuable addition to their library.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Footnote:<\/h2>\n

[1] \u201cAn Abundant God Knows the Middle Also,\u201d in <\/span>Decolonizing Mormonism<\/span><\/i>,Gina Colvin and Joanna Brooks, Eds., (Salt Lake City: University of UtahPress, 2018).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alicia Harris\u2014an Assistant Professor of Native American Art History at the University of Oklahoma\u2014wrote that \u201cIf the LDS Church really can work for all peoples, we need to more attentively listen, hear, and be represented by a much greater variety of voices. We must more actively prepare a place for dual identities to be touched and nurtured in the culture of the gospel.\u201d Farina King\u2019s Din\u00e9 d\u00f3\u00f3 G\u00e1amalii: Navajo Latter-day Saint Experiences in the Twentieth Century (University Press of Kansas, 2023) provides a great opportunity to do just that by listening to the experiences of the Din\u00e9 d\u00f3\u00f3 G\u00e1amalii (Navajo Latter-day Saints).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":46027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2934,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-20th-century-history","category-book-reviews"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dine-doo-Gaamalii-Navajo-Latter-day-Saint-Experiences-in-the-Twentieth-Century.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46028,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46026\/revisions\/46028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}