NAVAJO SCHOOL

prosperity, and fertility may be the lot of all.

The initiate is again kneeling on a pile of blankets, now directly west of the ceremonial home of White Painted Woman. The medicine man paints her face with a white substance so that the promise of the mythical character "may be actualized."

The singer then blesses the girl and her godmother once more with a heavy sprinkling of pollen.

Now a symbol of the sun is made on the hand of the medicine man. He obliterates it by rubbing it on the girl's hair just as the sun's rays first strike her. Then the singer ties a piece of shell to the girl's forelock. Chants and prayers are said for the last time.

The sun now floods the valley as it comes over the eastern hills. The full rays fall upon the girl's upturned face as she makes the final passage from girlhood to womanhood. She rises. The tips of two eagle feathers are extended to her by the medicine man. She grasps them gently and follows him as he backs through the sacred bower of White Painted Woman.

All the crowd follows the girl and her godmother, to receive these last blessings, with the girl, of the Apache Coming Out ceremony. The ceremony is ended.

From great baskets made by Apache hands, food is passed out to all, food which has been blessed with pollen and prayers. Then the crowd slowly disperses, forming small moving bits of bright color on the lovely green landscape of Apacheland.

Far removed from the sophisticated toot-toot of the streamliner as it glides into the pinewalled city of Flagstaff, Arizona; yes, even a three-hour driving distance from that assuring sign, "U. S. Post Office" at Tonalea, Arizona, lies a center of happiness. A place teeming with the joy of living and learning-doing, giving, and sharing the true essence of Navajo brotherhood. Sufficient to its immediate need is the community school at Navajo Mountain. Happily seated on the comfortable lap of the gracious mountain, greedily partaking of the strength and peace that flow from the benevo lent breast of "Naa-tsis-aan," sacred mountain of the Navajos, the Navajo Mountain Community School in turn radiates help, friendliness and happiness toward all who come within range. In 1935 the United States government through the office of the commissioner of In dian Affairs saw fit to erect a school in this remote and isolated area, described as "the most inaccessible, least known, and roughest portion of the Navajo Reservation, bounded by the Navajo, Colorado, San Juan and Paiute Can yons." And certainly that is the location of this community school-smack in the heart of the Navajo wilderness. The establishment of the school was anticipated by the community, and has ever been faithfully patronized. From the opening of school until the present only four teachers have taught in the school at dif ferent intervals. This would indicate that the trials of isolation and inconveniences were more than compensated by the friendliness and co operation of the Navajo people and their chil dren. Truly it can be said that Navajo Mountain Community School is a school of the people, for the people and by the people.

Grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and even the baby attend school with the regular pupils. Grandma can help to hook up a loom in order that the pupils may learn the old weaving patterns which nowadays are so rare. Too, she may show the children where to find the best earth color so that their finger painting may be done with more exotic pigments.

Grandpa can entertain his audience for hours with his unlimited store of stories-tribal legends seasoned with local color and historical fact. Auntie so ably demonstrates how to butcher a sheep how best to cut squash and fruits for drying. Uncle can mend the wagon, carve shinny sticks, and fashion the most elaborate bracelets from silver, while Baby favors the boys and girls of school (baa'chini oltah) with his sweetest smile, and allows his newest teeth to be counted. In return for all of this knowledge that can only be dispensed at the In the hands of the Navajos, the school helps Grandma to figure her vegetable dye-stuffs so that her recipes may be more accurate; that for so many ounces of weeds so many pounds of wool may be dyed and, too, just how many pounds of wool are needed to weave a blanket of a given size thus the yarn will be evenly dyed, and no lack or surplus of yarn involved. Most story tellers feel sufficiently rewarded by their audiences' interest and appreciation, but the stu dents show more than these; they can help Grandpa's tales with exact dates, clarify place names by actual location on maps or even offer a picture. Auntie learns how to make yeast bread, cut patterns for layettes and men's shirts. Uncle is introduced to the acetylenetorch and the use of the wagon-tire-measurer. Baby enjoys a warm bath at the hands of the oldest girls and eats his first bit of pudding. And so a full life goes, loaded with fruits of receiving, planted by the seeds of giving.

All this idealistic interchange of relations does not mean that the "three R's" are neg lected. They are an integrated part of the liv ing and doing. Since the community school serves both adults and children there is always both parental and pupil participation. Parents make rich contributions to the school program by the routine life way and moral teachings given in the hogan, as well as giving material and physical support by actually coming to the school and participating in some activity. This participation stimulates parental interest and helps create a feeling of personal worth. Par ents need to be given recognition for the im portant part they play in the total development of a child. A child who sees his parent as an able participant and contributor feels pride and respect. When Grandma accompanies young John or small Mary to school the path way to learning is an easier trail to tread.

Education is more effective when it deals with everyday living and certainly in the peaceful yet wholly alive environment of Navajo Mountain there is much material for an educational program. During the war many of the menfolk in the community thought it was their patriotic duty to go into cities and work on the railroad or defense projects. They asked the school to teach them how to write their names so that they could sign their checks instead of the usual thumb-mark. They soon learned of the required withholding tax and asked for a complete list of their children's names and ages. They acquired a taste for "white man's food," hamburgers and buns and plenty of catsup. Soon their wives visited the school seeking to find the secrets of "bellicano" culinary art. A mere twist of the corn-grinder on a chunk of mutton comes out "lamburger;" a bit of yeast dough did the trick on buns, and kept Papa Navajo within the hogan circle. While the Navajo ladies were left to woman the home front they encountered many prob lems and tasks too great for their womanly strength. Then came the school boys to the rescue. Although the school does not have a Boy or Girl Scout program these children functioned adequately as good Navajo neigh bors. Wood was cut, hauled and chopped; fields were cleared and plowed. Under the able di rection of the school assistants wagons were mended, tools sharpened and shoes repaired. Letters from home to those "outside" in mili tary and defense service helped to stave off homesickness and keep the "hosteens" on the job. Sometimes just a friendly visit from the teacher supported by a treat of candy gave "shima" the needed moral strength to live alone, but not like it. The people at Navajo Mountain have had the least contact with Anglos of any other group of Navajo. The rituals and standards of their own culture show themselves sufficient for their own needs, yet they are most amenable to accepting the hygienic and technological features of Anglo culture. Sewing machines are no longer deemed a luxury they are a necessity. Soap chips and pot-cleaners are most useful in the Navajo domestic scheme, plus fine combs and mercurochrome. Radios, stoves, phonographs and pick-ups are soon to come into their own. Now that the desire has been created and the usefulness demonstrated the Navajo Mountain