Gallup at first glance

I have officially been in Gallup for 3 days. As of right now, I still don’t know if I’ll be teaching here in town or on a Native American reservation. I’ll probably find out after I finish my 5 weeks at Institute in Phoenix. Gallup totally rules. Described as “the Indian capital of the world,” there is a wealth of Native American culture here- mostly Navajo, but also Zuni, Hopi, Laguna, Apache and more. There are even traditional tribal dances every evening in the center of town during the summer. Established as a railroad town in the 1880s, it definitely still has that old-timey flavor to it.

On the not so positive side, Gallup-McKinley county is the 3rd poorest county in the whole U.S., and their economy is almost entirely dependent on selling Native American art, jewelry, and other items. I’m beginning to get a sense of some of the challenges that my students face, and in what ways I’ll encounter them. Alcoholism, HIV (on the rez, specifically,) and domestic abuse are the most serious problems out here. Also, a lot of homes don’t have access to running water, and some don’t have electricity . I’m learning to think of creative ways to help my students overcome these hardships, but right now I’m just kind of out of it. I think being exposed to their reality for the first time is still hitting me.

Back to the positive: A lot of people around town speak Navajo- I’ve heard it on the streets, in restaurants, and in the hotel where I’m currently typing from- El Rancho. The Navajo language is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. It’s like underwater music. If I was one of those fools in WWII who had to decipher the code talkers, I straight up would have been possessed by that shit. The local people I’ve met here have been extremely kind and generous. They’re very willing to talk to me about their culture, and they seem interested in my coming here to teach. I talked to one man today, who works at UNM-G, who was telling me about some Navajo traditions and hardships. He stressed the importance of song and dance, which express more than emotions, and he explained to me the idea of the 4 directions. Something that stuck with me was how he said non-Indians sometimes expect him to have long hair and sport “typical traditional Indian dress.” He pointed to his long-sleeved button-up shirt and tie, and said, “I’m an Indian. THIS is my typical dress. My traditions are in my day-to-day practices and the beliefs I hold, not in what I’m wearing.” It reminded me of a class I took last quarter, where my professor discussed how society presents indigenous peoples with a choice between “the traditional lifestyle” or “modernity,” which is conceived as less-authentic.

Did I mention it’s insanely gorgeous out here? Yesterday evening, I actually had an hour of free time, so another corps member and I went running at Church Rock- The trail is on a tiny ledge on the parameter of a gigantic canyon of red rock. I felt so small! I could have run forever if not for the fact that it’s 7000 feet up here and impossible to breathe. Apart from the awesome red rocks, the sky out here is absurd. It’s bright blue and the clouds are basically tangible.

How am I personally? Keyed up and freaked out. I haven’t slept nearly enough this week, and yesterday I straight up walked into a cactus. It took like an hour to pull out all the pins, but it’s cool now.

This is Church Rock: