Working with the Navajos

Kids:

• Don’t assign kids to work together; let them choose.
• Don’t do any activities that require them to give personal information about their family situation, parents, brothers and sisters, etc.
• Let kids self-select which class to be in, even if they’re grossly over the supposed age limits.
• Some kids can’t do even the simplest crafts. Watch out for them and have a grownup work with them one on one.
• Don’t ask the kids to “perform” solo. For example, don’t have each one read a Bible verse in rotation around the table but have them all read the passage together.
• With literacy activities, always offer simpler alternatives, such as writing 1-2 words rather than complete sentences.
• Kids who get up and wander around the room should be brought back, but if they try to leave the building, tell them they won’t be welcome to come back the next day. Make sure you have their name, and pass the information to the driver who brought them.

Adults:

• It is not impolite to sit silently with a Navajo.
• Talk slower and say less. Wait longer for a response.
• Interrupting is considered very rude.
• There are no equivalent words for “please” or “thank you” in Navajo. Courtesies of this sort are not traditional cultural values.
• Navajos are not touchy-feely. Let them initiate hand-shaking, hugs. etc.
• Don’t ask personal questions in your initial conversations (e.g., about their family or clan).
• Generally speaking, don’t pump them for information on their culture.
• Don’t ask people what they do for a living.
• Be humble! If you think of a brilliant solution for some problem down there, you can be sure they’ve already thought of it themselves.

Always remember: We are there to serve them.