At CataCAMP, our ‘Exploring Values’ workshop [download workshop here] took place at the Navajo Nation’s new Fire Rock Casino. Surprised? A week prior to CataCAMP, we would’ve been as well. There’s much debate surrounding the building of casinos on reservations the country over. Is it tampering with local lifestyle and culture? Will it give jobs to Navajos or take them away? With limited purchasing options already, is spending at the casino a good use of funds?
Fire Rock, the first Navajo casino, outside Gallup, NM.
A week of CataCAMP changed our group’s perception of casinos on Native land. We’ll be the first to admit that we interacted with only a sliver of the Navajo population (there are 180,000+ individuals on the Res). Yet each testimonial of the casino was alarmingly positive. People really enjoyed themselves there! It was a local attraction – a place to go with friends, to spend some set aside cash, to let loose. We won’t go as far to say it was a core value of the Navajo Nation, but it was part of life and was recognized as valuable.
Values shape our perception of and interaction with the world. They help determine what is important to us, and structure our motivations and priorities. At CataCAMP, we were constantly uncovering values.
In workshop, doing the values card activity
Throughout CataCAMP we were privileged to be in the presence of extraordinarily generous and curious individuals, all of whom wanted to share their experiences and tell us about their culture. Much of the values insight we received came from “innocent” conversation, chit-chat in the car, while other information came from more structured questioning. We would notice a particular behavior characteristic and ask about it, would listen to stories of Navajo myths and relate them to today, or would observe the interactions of family members and friends. And we asked “why?” a lot.
Our cookout with homestay family
In the short time we were there, the values of the individuals with whom we stayed (and much of the Navajo Nation at large) became clear. It was evident that, to our homestay family, fostering strong familial relationships was most important. Outings and celebrations became a family activity, and all are encouraged to participate. In Navajo culture, your family includes everyone from your immediate family to your extended relatives (your female cousin would be considered your sister, called “sister cousin”).
Leonard, in traditional Navajo silver and turqouise jewelry
Mud hogan, for traditional ceremonies
Navajo culture – the language, myths, food, dress and ceremonies – is at the center of life. The older generations we met would speak to each other almost solely in Navajo, while the younger generations would slip in and out of Navajo and English, or just stick to English. In talking with a grandmother at the homestay, we learned that she wished her grandchildren would learn Navajo; she valued the linguistic preservation of her culture. Many stories and myths were told to us by Leonard, our host, who is practicing to be a medicine man. He told us of the importance of native plants and herbs, of the four corners of the Earth and of the sacred mountains, of the Navajo creation story, of cleansing ceremonies like the Enemy Way, and of the changing ways of Navajo people. Deenise, our friend and guide at the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, told us of the significance of animal crossings (snakes or owls passing in front of you), of where and how to collect Navajo Tea in the wild, of the strength of words and how they hold meaning, and of ways to make peace with the world and stay out of harm’s way by containing that which belongs to you (when you brush your hair, and strands fall out, you are supposed to dispose of, or burn, the hair so as to remove it from area, lest some ill-willed individual collects it to use it against you. Similar to our concept of voodoo, she said).
Bessie's herd of sheep
Other entities that held significance included traditional food (fry bread, which is served with almost every meal, and mutton), land (land ownership is important for building upon or farming and herding, and homesteads are passed down through the family, although with large extended families, land ownership is quite tricky and often contested), livestock (our family owned 70 sheep, a herd of cattle and several horses), access to water (our homestay father spent half of his time hauling water from the water source to his home and back, and lamented that he wished it were less), electricity (18,000 homes throughout the Navajo Nation are without utility services), and good health (a high percentage of the population is affected by obesity, diabetes, alcoholism and hypertension, and there are increasing measures to combat these epidemics).
Our group came away from the week-long experience with a deeper understanding of the values, priorities and desires of the Navajo people. We met many resilient, generous, warm people, and started many new friendships. Our eyes were opened to alternative ways of viewing and experiencing the world, and for that we are thankful.
Land near Sawmill
As researchers and designers, it is our job to explore values, and to uncover the “why” behind the “what” when it comes to what is important, be it objects, relationships or social systems. Designers who understand specific cultural values have a huge, and very valuable, advantage in their ability to create products and services that will meaningfully and effectively meet people’s needs. Although this was not our primary goal, Catapult now has a better sense of ways in which we might be able to assist organizations on the Res in the design/tech realm in the near future. Stay tuned for more information!
This year we kicked off 
