2018: The year of the old paper/ Naal Tsoos Sani
The year 2018 marked 150 years since the Navajo Nation Treaty of 1868, and the Navajos' return home after the Long Walk.
We are two documentary makers & teachers -- one Navajo, one European-American-- seeking to explore memory, to understand history, and to find strength in storytelling. We documented and researched this project for two years and taught a companion audio-documentary workshop with Diné College.
Listen to our hour-long special, which premiered on Thanksgiving 2018: 150 Years After the Navajo Long Walk.
Listen to our story on PRI's The World: "On the 150th anniversary of the Navajo Treaty, young Navajo grapple with their history" (June 1, 2018)
Native America Calling's episode "The Navajo Nation Treaty of 1868" (from May 23, 2018) featured some of our work. Take a listen!
THE PRODUCERS:
Jaclyn Roessel (left side image) was born and raised on the Navajo Nation and is the inaugural recipient of the Arizona Humanities Rising Star Award, given to young professionals whose work elevates the importance of humanities in the community. She's been named one of Phoenix 100 Creatives You Should Know. Over the past decade as a museum professional at the Heard Museum, Roessel confirmed her belief in the power of utilizing cultural learning as a tool to engage and build stronger Native communities. In her entrepreneurial role as the president of Grownup Navajo, Roessel aims to expand her work to further inspire Native people, nonprofits and museums to use Native American teaching and cultural knowledge as a catalyst to create change in our communities today.
Alix Blair (right side image) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and radio producer. Alix has led audio-documentary workshops for teenagers, worked at the Center for Documentary Studies, graduated from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and her stories have aired on many shows, including NPR’s Marketplace, Hearing Voices, Re:Sound, Here & Now, and The Story. Her feature-length documentary film Farmer/Veteran aired on PBS’ Emmy-award winning show Independent Lens. She received a Masters from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in Human Rights and the Environment. Alix is also a researcher in the adverse health effects of traumatic experiences and yoga teacher trained in yoga for trauma therapy. .