Wearing a headband, bowguard, turquoise necklace and moccasins, Joe Kee blessed the new Native American Studies section at the Zollinger Library on The University of New Mexico-Gallup campus Nov. 2.
Kee is an associate professor of Navajo language and Navajo government at UNM-Gallup. He performed a Blessingway Ceremony with a Navajo wedding basket, arrowhead, blanket, corn pollen and water while speaking Diné bizaad to acknowledge and honor the many Indigenous peoples in this country and on this continent, including those from the Navajo, Zuni, Laguna, Hopi and Apache nations who live in the region.
“The purpose for this blessing is really in acknowledging the existence of a...