SHIPROCK, N.M. – Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer were joined by students, families, 24th Nation Council Delegate Eugene Tso, and Shiprock Chapter officials on July 1, as they signed into law resolution CJN-29-22, appropriating $4 million from the Nation Nation’s Unreserved, Undesignated Fund Balance for youth employment funds for the 110 Navajo chapters. The funds may be used throughout the year to employ Navajo youth.

“With today’s signing of the resolution, we are demonstrating our commitment and support to provide employment opportunities for our Navajo youth throughout the year. Youth employment is a great strategy to ensure that our...

Tsaile/Wheatfields, Ariz. – On July 6, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez was joined by 24th Navajo Nation Council Delegate Carl Slater, Tsalie/Wheatfields Chapter officials and community members during a July 6 ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of Navajo Route 12, a primary route for Tsaile/Wheatfields residents, Diné College students, and first responders. In 2019, Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer approved funding for the project with the support of the late Council Delegate Nelson S. BeGaye.

The N12 project in Tsaile/Wheatfields includes 10.7 miles of new paving, asphalt placement, roadway excavation and embankment, subgrade treatment where needed, placement of...

Curley Taylor, Zydeco Trouble introduce music genre to Gallup

According to Louisanatravels.com, the early Zydeco music genre is a blend of Louisiana-French accordion music and Afro-Caribbean beats. It takes influence from Creole, Cajun, gospel and the blues, along with other genres. It almost always includes an accordion.

And now, Gallup citizens will be able to witness this style of music on July 2 at the Levitt Amp Concert Series, when Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble come to town.

Louisiana native Taylor has been around music all his life. In an interview with the Sun, he explained that he was born into a musical family and that the drums was his first instrument. He began playing...

Teaching kids the art of circus performance

Meek Watchman (Bit’ahnii, born for Ts’ah yisk’idnii) is a mother, aerialist, poet, and painter. She received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts in May 2016, and now she’s gallupARTS’s Summer 2022 Social Justice Creative-in-Residence.

From June through August, Watchman will be working at ART123 Gallery to develop a  youth-focused Indigenous social circus curriculum that brings together aerial arts, creative writing, and the principles of  K’e to help pre-teens and teens build self-esteem, develop trust, and establish a sense of belonging.

In an interview with the Sun, Watchman explained...