Ranchergal17 wrote: Hey ya. What's with the "non-Navajo religious beliefs" making assumptions even though you were schooled at ASU. What do you know about traditional Navajo cultural mores? Also keeping your ears closed makes conversations limited. So does that mean if your family members speaks with you - you don't listen? The original poster / forum are good folks keeping the connections. Where do you get off at telling people what to do?
What assumptions? I know many Navajo who were members of Christian and even Fundamentalist churches. That is what I meant by "non-Navajo religious beliefs", as opposed to Navajo religious beliefs.

If you read my post carefully, my point was that one doesn't know from what perspective the woman was making her comment. It could be traditional Navajo beliefs causing the discomfort or it could have been Christian beliefs causing the discomfort. Either way, it really didn't matter.

I was not implying that I know Navajo beliefs - simply that one doesn't have to know them nor does one have to take the criticism to heart. It just is not important if one is passing through. In other words, she did not have standing to correct him as he was not from her tribe. Her influence did not extend to him.

If one is trying to forge a relationship with Navajos, then by all means, take the criticism to heart and ask questions to learn. But this woman did not know Riverkilt nor did he know her.

If someone is moved to comment to a stranger in a diner who is not from around the area and try to force her mores on that person, then I do not believe that is appropriate nor courteous behavior. Had he been flashing someone, then it would have been appropriate to say something. But that was not the case, here.

As for listening to my family, of course I do. My family and clan care about me and understand me. They have the privilege of criticising me and I listen. Likewise, my close friends. But the privilege is something that should not be handed out lightly. So I keep it for only those who I trust and care about. However, including that made for a long post. I was trying to be succinct.

While I do not pretend to know Navajo beliefs, I do know Cherokee teachings about how to treat other human beings. We should not expect any person to act a certain way. If we are disappointed in the actions of another, we have to realize that the person is simply being who that person is. The disappointment comes from our unrealistic expectations of the other person, so the correction must come from within, not from without. Besides, if we have taken our eyes from our path to criticize what someone else is doing, we've just strayed off the path and away from Grandfather.

As for keeping my ears closed, if a stranger criticizes me, it is my choice as to how it affects me and how I will react. So yes, in that situation I will not listen to the person. It is very rare that such rudeness is going to turn into a wonderful friendship. It would be wrong of me to expect that person to ever be anything but rude. Why fill my life with rude and offensive people? It will only distract me from my path.

Finally, as for "telling other people what to do", I don't think that I told anyone what to do. Without adequate knowledge of a culture and its mores, it is a bad idea to take one conversation and extrapolate that into an official policy of an entire culture.

Even from a practical standpoint, was what she did the best way to have handled it? What if the person would have been from Scotland? Would she have wanted them to think that all Navajo were so rude? We both know that people form erroneous impressions of our cultures based on bad experiences.

You may be good people. I don't know you. But I would ask that instead of judging me from one posting, that you take the time to get to know me before passing judgment on me.

We are both Aniyunwiya. It should have been a common bond, not a source of prejudice and judgment. And even though you didn't ask, my people are from Big Cabin, Vinita and Pumpkin Holler.