Another Great Class

Today we recited the Pledge of Allegiance and learned a new song, Dził Dadi Yinii (Four Sacred Mountains) song. We just received notice that we are no longer allowed to sing the Shoe Game Songs so we have removed it from the blog until next winter.

Special News
Congratulations to Jaime Nakai and family on the new addition to their family! A brand new baby boy was born on Monday, February 23rd! We wish Jaime and baby all the best!

Spring Events
We received other exciting news that we have been requested to sing at two events this spring. We are planning to attend the Phoenix Indian Center's annual Gala event in Scottsdale on Saturday evening, April 4. We will post more details as we get closer to the PIC Gala, so stay tuned but we encourage you to mark it on your calendars. We have also been requested to sing at the Alhambra School District's Native American parent advisory dinner. The time and date is being scheduled. These are great opportunities for the kids to demonstrate their talent and pride in their culture. We encourage everyone (both students and parents) to dress in your traditional outfits but if you need help obtaining something to wear, we will do our best to coordinate this as a group.

We are practicing some possible new song selections including Dził Dadi Yinii for this event. We encourage you to listen to the new song and practice before the next class. If you need a copy of the song, please email shtom@cox.net for a copy or leave a comment in the Comments section and we will email you a copy of the song.

Dahnaat'áí Bee Hodilzin (Pledge of Allegiance)
This is the Navajo version of the Pledge of Allegiance that is often recited in American classrooms. It is not an exact translation but the Diné interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Pledge of Allegiance by Dine Class

Dził Dadi Yinii (Four Sacred Mountains)
This song explains the relationship of the Diné people to the Four Sacred Mountains (Sisnaajínii (Mt. Blanca), Tsoodził (Mt. Taylor), Dook'oo'oosłííd (San Francisco Peak) and Dibé Nitsaa (Mt. Hesperus). The knowledge of the Four Sacred Mountains is very important to the Diné people since we use it to identify our homeland and our place as Dine people within the boundaries of these mountains.

Dzilth Dadi Yinii2 by Dine Class

Baa Hózhǫǫgo Ninááhai (Happy Birthday)
Jolyana taught us this version to sing at our next birthday party. We hope you enjoy singing this version of the popular song.

Birthday Song by Dine Class

Feel free to practice the songs as much as you can and we'll see you next class!

I also just found the Navajo version of Wikipedia! The neat things you learn while surfing the web. Hope you enjoy seeing this. It looks like a basic starting page but needs editors who can write in Navajo.
Navajo Language Wikipedia