Indians

THE NAVAJO ZOO PROMOTES THE UNIQUE INDIAN WAY OF RESPECTING WILDLIFE

Atsatsoh glares down at the schoolchildren. Suddenly, it flaps its wings, and a few of the children jump back, momentarily startled. The others laugh and point fingers at the skittish ones.

The flapping of the eagle's wings has caused a small feather to come loose. It descends slowly, floating toward the heavy wire mesh of the enclosure. The children are oblivious to the floating feather but not so the elderly Navajo man standing a few feet away. He moves toward the mesh. If the wind blows just right, the eagle feather might... just might... float out where he can pick it up. No such luck.

The young elementary schoolteacher from the distant community of Kayenta on the sprawling 25,000-square-mile Navajo Indian Reservation in northeastern Arizona claps her hands and in a pleasant voice urges the children on to the next enclosure.

"Naatsedlozii," she tells them. "In English he is known as roadrunner. They say if you offer prayers with corn pollen that has touched him, you will be a fast runner."

The old man at the eagle enclosure lingers for a few moments. Finally, he moves on. The feather has come to rest inside. Today is not the day, he concludes. Perhaps another time.

Eagle feathers are prized by Navajo who adhere to traditional beliefs. They believe that an eagle feather bestows protection, strength, and healing powers on the person who possesses it. The belief, many generations old, is contained in the Navajo creation stories. Eagle feathers also are employed in many Navajo ceremonies. However, obtaining the feathers is not easy even for tribal medicine men. This is because killing eagles (which a Navajo would not do) or even gathering eagle feathers violates federal law. The possession of them by non-Indians TEXT BY WILLIAM HAFFORD PHOTOGRAPHS BY MONTY ROESSEL An unusual zoo that was blessed by tribal medicine men, the Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park is home to a variety of wildlife that might not make it on their own, including a mountain lion (LEFT) and a golden eagle (RIGHT).

is prohibited. Native Americans may obtain them for ceremonial purposes from a national repository in Ashland, Oregon, but first they must get a permit from the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife.

At the Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park in Window Rock all of the moulted eagle feathers are sent to the repository, a disappointment to local medicine men and the elderly Navajo man because feathers from a live bird are considered more powerful than those from a carcass.

A tourist family from New Jersey strolls leisurely. A six year old tugs at the mother's sleeve. "I want to see the chimps, Mom!" But there are no primates at this tribal zoo, only animals and plants indigenous to the Southwest and important in Navajo culture and history.

The 10-acre zoo, located in the Navajo Nation's tribal capital exists primarily for the education of Navajo children and contains only animals and birds that have been injured, found abandoned in the wild, or donated by other zoos.

Says Loline Hathaway, the zoo's curator, "Animals occupy an extremely important position in Navajo culture. The zoo would not exist if healthy animals were captured or if the zoo were operated for profit. Some Navajo believe the zoo should not exist even as it is that wild animals should not be held in captivity. But generally, when they learn that the animals here are not suited for living in the wild, they temper their position. They also are comforted by the fact that the zoo has been blessed by Navajo medicine men."

Hathaway, formerly curator of education at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo, says she accepted the position at the Navajo zoo in 1983 because of the natural beauty and tranquility of the reservation.

By the enclosure that houses the turkeys, the teacher tells her young students the story of the Yellow World, which was the third world in Navajo creation. "In this world were two great rivers and six mountains but no sun. Maii the coyote, at the urging of First Woman, stole Water Monster's baby and this caused a great flood which forced people and animals to move up to the next world." She points to one of the birds. "Turkey being the last one up had his tail touched by the foaming white water and that's why the tips of his tail feathers are white." The giggling children lean over the low rock wall of the enclosure, trying to get a closer look.

Before the youngsters reach the enclosure of Shashlizhini, the black bear, they are instructed to finish cookies, candy, and any other food they have with them. This is because Shashlizhini is the most revered of all animals. Many Navajo believe it is a sign of disrespect to eat in front of a bear, one of the guardian animals.

According to Navajo spiritual beliefs, guardian animals were introduced after the creation of the fourth world, the Glittering World. Changing Woman, who had gone to live with the Sun in the West, created the first humans and assigned guardians to the people of the four original clans: the bear, the mountain lion, the bullsnake, and the porcupine. All are considered to have special powers.

Maii the coyote, which appeared long ago in the first, or Black World, is a multifaceted being whose role in Navajo religion is sometimes difficult for non-Navajo to understand. One aspect of Maii is that it has many of the defects of ordinary human beings, and the people take lessons from its experience.

For example, during the creation of the Glittering World, it is told, the stars were being arrayed in the sky in an orderly fashion (constellations, as we call them), but Maii became impatient and grabbed all the rest of the stars and scattered them indiscriminately, creating the Milky Way. The Navajo strive to be more patient than the coyote.

The zoo is located within sight of downtown Window Rock, not far from the offices of tribal government. Situated at the base of a sheer sandstone cliff and surrounded by four giant sandstone monoliths, it was made possible by a grant from the Bicentennial Commission and was dedicated on July 4, 1977.

The zoo is operated with tribal funds and donations. Admission is free. "We will never compete with the zoos in the larger cities," says Hathaway. "We have a smallbudget and a small staff." She has three full-time Navajo employees.

While the Navajo staff shoulders the burden for most of the animal feeding, only Hathaway, a non-Navajo, feeds the snakes. And she never does this in the presence of her employees or other Navajo because tradition says that it is unwise to watch a snake eat.

The teacher suggests to the students that they not get too close to the owl enclosure. Many Navajo believe owls are messengers that carry bad news. It is not considered prudent to be touched by an owl feather or to have one drop on house or hogan. Hathaway says that the Navajo do not consider the owl a bad bird, only the bearer of unpleasant tidings.

The park includes a display of Navajo Churro sheep. The ancestors of these animals were brought to the Southwest by Spanish explorers nearly 500 years ago. Navajo women traditionally wove their blankets from the wool of Churros whose outer fleece may have hairs more than a foot in length. Churros also are noted for the fact that some of the animals sport four horns, a good omen to the Navajo.

In addition to a collection that includes most of the major species of large Southwestern birds, the zoo features a cougar, endangered Mexican gray wolves, deer, pronghorn, elk, bobcats, raccoon, and many smaller animals, such as skunks and prairie dogs. Rabbits, snakes, lizards, and turtles are displayed in the exhibit building. All of the bigger animals live in large natural outdoor enclosures.

Now the teacher and her wards are in the area of the park that displays two authentic forms of the Navajo hogan, as well as a Navajo shade house. Both the fork-stick and crib-log hogans have doors facing the dawn, which is proper for all Navajo dwellings. It is explained to the children that this is the way the first hogans were built by the Holy People, and that traditional Navajo dwellings have a significant role in the sacred world.

Navajo students, on field trips that include the zoo, often travel from reservation schools nearly 200 miles away. Attendance at the zoo is more than 26,000 annually, mostly Navajo. "That's good for a small zoo," says Hathaway.

"The issues at this zoo are sometimes more complex than those at a typical metropolitan zoo. I consult tribal medicine men whenever I encounter a situation I'm not certain about."

The environment, too, is a challenge for the staff. While awesomely beautiful, the reservation is a land of drastic climatic changes. During rainy seasons, the park sometimes floods. Winters can drop to -20° F. Summer often brings drought and soaring temperatures.

But the zoo endures so treasured Navajo traditions and spiritual beliefs can be passed on to the children. The evidence that it is working can be seen in the faces of the youngsters as they scamper down the path to the enclosure where Nashdoitsoh, the cougar, is lying on a large rock.

The children crowd close. Nashdoitsoh

NAVAJO ZOO

lays back its ears, bares sharp teeth, and snarls. Students push back, bumping one another. Some eyes grown saucer-size. They are frightened. They love it.