This summer when you’re planning of things to do and visit, be sure to mark down and experience, “The Gallup Summer Nightly Indian Dances.” Nestled in the heart of Gallup, New Mexico, this deeply rooted cultural experience is a must to see.

Sponsored by the City of Gallup and the Gallup Chamber of Commerce, the GSNID has been a tradition that draws crowds from all over the world. Making this year its Thirty-first year tradition, the GSNID offers you traditional Native American dances from various Native American tribes from around the area.

Tribes include: Zuni Pueblo, Navajo Dine Nation, Lakota Sioux, San Juan Pueblo, and others. Gallup is considered to be the, “Indian Capital of the World”, and thus it permeates it with the rich cultural heritage each night with traditional dances.

Located in downtown Gallup at the McKinley County Court house plaza, the outdoor setting is just right for the ambience. The GSNID begins each night at 7 pm and last for one hour. Each year it begins on Memorial Day and ends on Labor Day.

As the preparations for each night begin, tourists as well as locals begin to seek a place to sit and are getting ready to enjoy the nightly performance. If by chance you’re tummy is calling for food – you’re in luck, a local food truck is on hand.

Not just any food but, authentic Native American food prepared by members of the Navajo Dine nation. A local favorite is, Fry bread, and of course – green chili. If you’ve never had one ... now’s the time. You’ll also find local Native American artisans on hand displaying their arts & crafts of all sorts. This event is for the entire family, young and old, and best of all it’s free!

It’s the highlight of Gallup summer activities. When you attend the performances, be sure to bring your camera, as this is highly recommended by the emcees to take all the pictures you want; in fact you can also take group pictures with the performers after their performance. The GSNID is a hidden treasure just of Interstate Forty.

Teri Frazier, Director of the GSNID says, “It’s a family, safe and educational atmosphere and it’s entertaining.”

The GSNID are held every night of the week and are even emceed by local Native Americans as well. Each night they inform the audience of the history of Gallup, the significance of the dances, and even tell of their own tribal ancestry.  Locals and tourists leave with a deep spiritual sense of the great southwest and a new kinship among Native Americans.

Tourists from the entire world come out to enjoy these performances: Germany, Europe, China, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, and many from all over the United States. An ambassador of the GSNID, is also present to answers questions and hand out free literature to the audience. The GSNID can also be found on the web at www.nightlyindiandances.com.

Each night the GSNID offers performances from groups such as: The Cellicion Traditional Zuni Dancers, White Eagle Dancers, The Roach family, Morningsong, and others just to name a few. Each group brings its distinct style of traditional dances, their regalia, and the sacred meaning behind the dances.

Fernando Cellicion, group leader of the, Cellicion Traditional Zuni Dancers, says, “Our dances are to teach, preserve, and pass down the social songs and dances.” Cellicion and his group are from the Zuni Pueblo, which is the largest of the Pueblos in New Mexico. The group was founded in 1983 by his late parents, and since then, Fernando has kept the group going.

Cellicion says, “Our group has always been a family affair consisting usually of fifth-teen family members.” The group is well renowned and has traveled throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, and even, Northern Africa. They have traveled to thirty-eight countries so far and recently have been invited to perform in Turkmenistan, for a festival this coming July. Cellicion also plays the flute and mesmerizes the crowd with a virtuoso performance each time.

So whether it’s the Cellicion group or one of the Native American dance groups, all are sure to please; a schedule of the performance groups is available so as to be sure you don’t miss any of the performances.  You’ll soon find yourself coming back for more. Such is the case for this writer, one night three years ago, I was intrigued by the sound of drumming and ventured over, and that was it...now I look forward to it each year.

Whether if you’re a local or perhaps passing through Gallup, don’t miss out on the GSNID. Come enjoy a cool evening outdoors as the sun begins to dip in the horizon, partake of authentic Native American cuisine, and be prepared for a breath-taking performance. Known also as, “New Mexico True”, the GSNID offers a rich, cultural, adventure that everyone should experience.

See the Gallup Sun’s Calendar on page 23 for Nightly Indian Dances time and location.

Family was traveling on I-40 when tragedy struck

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – On Dec. 1, New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau responded to Interstate 40 around mile post 114 in Cibola County, near the town of Laguna for an unresponsive 12-year-old female child, who’s condition was believed to be the result of child abuse.

State Police Investigations Bureau agents learned that Heather J. Rooks, 39, of Pahrump, NV was traveling through New Mexico to Nevada with her 17-year-old-son Khachadourian Rooks and her 12-year-old-daughter, in a van driven by Heather’s father.  Heather and her father were in the front seats while Khachadourian and the daughter were in the rear seats of the van.

According to Heather and her son, the daughter “threw a tantrum” during the trip. Khachadourian sat on the girls face and throat to restrain her for up to 45 minutes until she was not moving. The grandfather then pulled the van over and began CPR on the girl.  Emergency Medical Services was called, and the girl was airlifted to an Albuquerque hospital.

Heather J. Rooks and Khachadourian Rooks were both arrested and charged with Abuse of a Child Resulting in Great Bodily Harm on Dec. 1. They were booked into the Cibola County Adult and Juvenile Detention Centers on no bond holds. On Dec. 4, at around 1 pm,  the child died from her injuries, and as a result Heather and Khachadourian could be facing additional charges.

This case is still under active investigation by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau. The identity of the victim will not be released at this time. The grandfather who has not been charged will not be identified. At the conclusion of this investigation it will be turned over to the appropriate district attorney for prosecution.

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Mary Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe is a Vietnam War veteran but she will never receive federal veterans’ benefits.

Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe served in Vietnam in 1968 to 1969. And while she never carried a rifle or weapon, she wore powder blue culottes and served doughnuts and coffee with a smile – with the goal of raising the morale of combat-battered military personnel.

Tsinnajinnie was one of 627 single young ladies between the ages of 21-24 years of age, and a college graduate, who went to Vietnam as an American Red Cross SRAO aide or “Doughnut Dolly.”

“Many people don’t know about the SRAO program,” she said as she flashed a smile that could light up a room.

SRAO is the acronym for Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas.

Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe recalled that during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Department of Defense asked the USO or United Service Organization to provide entertainment and the American Red Cross for its Doughnut Dollies, which is term that came from American service men that were stationed in England during World War II.

At that time, the Doughnut Dollies drove in “clubmobiles” to military bases, where they served fresh doughnuts and hot coffee and also welcomed back airmen from oversea missions by playing music over loud-speakers.

They also created and operated recreational centers.

Boosting morale

Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe said, “Our number one job was to boost the morale of the American G.I.”

And she said they did by hopping on military helicopters or riding in military jeeps and trucks from the main military bases to where the soldiers were. And the soldiers were in combat areas.

There are photos of Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe standing with soldiers in their field bunkers at “LZs and fire bases.”

She explains that LZs means landing zones.

“One thing in training that we were trained never to ask was, ‘How are you?’ We never asked that,” she said.

She said that as soon as they arrived at an LZ or fire base, they would start chatting and visiting with the soldiers and engage them in audience participation programs or “silly games.”

Some of the games were competitive and involved knowledge about the United States and the world, she said.

“The good stuff,” she said. “We didn’t really know that Vietnam was very unpopular back in the United States. We wanted to boost the morale about the American GI and so we talked about the United States in a positive way.”

She said that her audience participation program focused on motorcycles because the soldiers were very young.

They were between 18-20 years old, she recalled.

“Our job was to get their minds off what happened and what will happen or may not happen to them,” Tsinnajinnie remembered. “We saw a lot. We met thousands of guys. And some, probably many of them never came back. And those that did come back are veterans now and they’re the ones expressing appreciation online to us.”

On the donutdolly.com website, Christopher R. Barnes of Palm Springs, Calif., wrote, “I was in Tay Ninh, Viet Nam in 1969-70. One of the highlights of my tour was the night a Doughnut Dolly came out to my post and said hi. It was at Christmas when our … my … spirits were at a low point.

“I was a military police sentry dog handler guarding the ammunition dump at the Tay Ninh base and had been under a massive amount of stress for the last nine months and hadn’t seen a ‘round eye’ girl for at least that amount of time,” Barnes stated.

He stated, “I just want to thank that Red Cross girl for risking her safety in order to spruce up my life and Christmas. I hope she has had a good happy and healthy life. God bless her and all those women who were there and risked their lives for the sake of our morale.”

Native American service

Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe said that when the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall came to Window Rock, she finally met one of the Navajo service men that she had met as a Doughnut Dolly.

She also met other Navajo service personnel from the Vietnam War.

“It felt good,” she said. “We just chatted and we had a good time visiting.”

And it was pleasant to visit without having to explain without any detail, which part of the states they were from.

“I knew where they had been,” she said. “They knew that I knew. So we were just very trusting. And we’d just be talking terminologies.

“Slang stuff that guys learned and that we also heard,” she said, letting out a little laugh and smile. “So that was fun.Yes. And that was at the Wall.”

She recalled seeing and meeting some other Native American and Navajo service men when the Doughnut Dollies were out with their “mobile clubs.”

“We’re out there doing out program and I would always look to the back,” she remembered. “And there they are. Not participating. Just watching.

“So after our little program would be over with, I would excuse myself and go way to the back to where they were,” she said. “And we’d chat for a little bit and then just go on.”

She said when the Doughnut Dollies were out in the combat zones, they were welcoming military personnel to the Red Cross SRAO recreational centers, where there were ping pong tables, pool tables, library books, music and “all kinds of activities, just like any recreational centers here [in the states].”

She remembered that at Cam Ranh Bay military base that there were two recreational centers because the base was so large.

The wounded

Cam Ranh Bay served several branches of the miltary, she explained.

She added that the main bases were also where the military hospitals were located and so the Doughnut Dollies also took their smiles to the wounded, who most often had severe injuries.

She said they had to focus on the faces of the wounded and not the wounds, unlike the military nurses.

“We did fun stuff with them,” she said. “We still had to be smiling. We were still boosting their morale. We didn’t want to make them self-conscious. They were already very self conscience.”

On weekends, which were their leisure time, the Doughnut Dollies would volunteer to go with the military medics to the orphanages, she said.

Back home

And now, as the only Doughnut Dolly that is Navajo, Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe continues to take her beautiful smile and positive words and thoughts to veterans on the Navajo Reservation.

She has also been involved with the annual Memorial Day “Run For the Wall,” which is focused on military personnel killed or missing in the Vietnam War.

“I can recognize a combat veterans among other veterans,” she said softly with a faint smile. “Just from their faces and their posture and their walk.”

She sighed and added, “We too had those experiences. Probably a lot of us got contact with Agent Orange. We don’t have VA benefits. This has been researched thoroughly. But we are Vietnam veterans and we participated at all levels as much as we could with the military.”

When she returned home from the Vietnam War, she remembered how she felt.

“I felt nothing,” she said. “Just numb. I wanted to go back.”

Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe knows those were symptoms of PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder and so the Gallup Sun asked her how she dealt with her PTSD.

Her answer: “I haven’t.”

But Tsinnajinnie-Cohoe said she wanted to become a Doughnut Dolly.

“For me personally, like many Navajo families, we come from families loyal to the military,” she said. “My brother, Tom Tsinnajinnie, was with the Marines.

Her brother and her nephew, the late Dennis Willeto, were serving in Vietnam, which she said was another reason she joined the Red Cross.

She said her family didn’t support her decision, but  her dad her dad finally gave in and signed the paperwork.

But she was on her own from there. Her family wouldn’t take her from their home in Torreon, N.M., to Cuba, N.M., to catch a bus to Albuquerque.

“I hitchhiked,” she remembered. “I asked for a ride from Torreon to Cuba to get on the bus. I asked for a ride. And I got dropped off. Got on the bus. Got to Albuquerque. Got on the plane to D.C. Got on another plane and went to Virginia. And met all the other ladies who were in my class.”

One freezing death is too many during the cold season in Gallup.

So, to help put an end to this seasonal crisis, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services’ Behavioral Health Collaborative and seven collaborative behavioral health service members have launched their annual campaign to create awareness for residents in danger of freezing to death in Gallup-McKinley County’s numerous arroyos and pedestrian areas.

The group is building awareness by having the hospital’s WellSpring Recovery Center and Community Work Service Program members fan out across Gallup in November, distributing flyers to businesses for posting in store front windows.

The 8.5” x 11” sign’s sober black and blue-print alerts residents of “exposure deaths” and urges them to help save lives by watching for impaired people.

“Watch for impaired people in the evenings. Don’t let them freeze to death. They need shelter for the night. Ignoring them is neglect,” the sign advises.

The sign then advises residents to call McKinley County’s Metro Dispatch at (505)722-2231 for physical assistance and transportation to Gallup’s detox center at the Na Nihzhoozhi Center, Inc., 2201 Boyd Ave., or 911 for a medical emergency.

Metro Dispatch will launch a new dispatch software system in mid-November that will greatly assist the campaign. The system offers proximity dispatching, which maps out calls for service and officers' locations so dispatchers can quickly match units to specific calls. It also helps identify which jurisdiction a call is in, so dispatchers know which law enforcement agency to notify.

“We have zero tolerance for people dying from exposure,” says Juliana Dooley, RMCHCS’s Behavioral Health Collaborative Coordinator. “If you see something, do something. All it takes is a phone call and a location. You don’t even have to wait for Metro’s van to arrive, you have done your part.”

While the hospital’s employee’s will be delivering the flyers to businesses, she also invites establishments to call her directly at (505)726-6851 and she will ensure delivery of the fliers to any business.

In the past, the group’s efforts enabled many residents to escape exposure and saved numerous lives. According to Gallup Police Department, four residents died from hypothermia in 2017 and three died in 2018. So far in 2019, there have been no deaths from hypothermia reported.

CHAMBER ASSISTS CAMPAIGN

While Dooley and her group are busily soliciting Gallup’s businesses to place the flyers in conspicuous locations on their premises, the Gallup-McKinley Chamber of Commerce is aiding her efforts by emailing its 350 members and urging them to participate in the advertising campaign.

"The Gallup-McKinley Chamber of Commerce is partnering with RMCHCS, the City of Gallup and other members of the collaborative to help prevent residents from freezing to death this winter," said Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce CEO Bill Lee. "We welcome this opportunity and urge members to post the flyers we have sent them. We are asking they be prominent and posted in appropriate windows and other publicly accessible display areas in your establishment."

Kevin Foley, Ph.D., executive director of NCI, stated the center offers indoor comfort mats for sleeping to those needing shelter for the night. His facility can offer accommodations for up to 150 detoxing, treatment and shelter people. He also noted that the shelter’s hours of operation are from 6 pm during winter and those requiring shelter will be provided breakfast.

“We are here to help anyone desiring to end their addiction,” Foley said. “We encourage people to visit our facility when they are ready, and we will provide treatment to help them begin a new life.”

POLICE DEPARTMENT SAVING LIVES

The Gallup Police Department oversees the metro dispatch van which will assist residents needed help.

"Anybody can call Metro Dispatch or 911 if they observe anyone laying on the ground and obviously in need of assistance, especially during inclement weather," Gallup Police Chief Franklin Boyd said. "Skilled dispatchers are trained to quickly dispatch emergency services as well as aid and transportation to NCI, where those needing help can remain sheltered for up to 72 hours.”

Boyd added that the police department has implemented some life-saving strategies to try and eradicate these tragic and unnecessary deaths, especially with the help of the department’s dedicated, hard-working community service aides. He credits the aides with having literally saved countless lives.

“It is not uncommon for them to locate near frozen people in places they would not have been found otherwise had they not literally walked these cold, dark and hidden areas well after midnight in freezing temperatures,” Boyd said. “So far, these unfortunate deaths are showing a strong decline and we have had no deaths due to exposure this year, but temperatures have also just begun to drop.”

ABOUT RMCHCS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH COLLABORATIVE

The RMCHCS Behavioral Health Collaborative was formed to broaden support for alcohol and substance abuse prevention efforts by organizing, educating and empowering local providers, community service representatives, and city, county and state agencies on a variety of topics.

Other key amenities include education, housing and transportation. Through numerous culturally appropriate workshops and seminars, the Behavioral Health Collaborative has helped its stakeholders generate renewed activity on behalf of the community.

Many of the workshops have targeted an audience of providers, but others were designed to speak directly to the local population, providing a link to support for those suffering from physical and mental abuse; those in need of improved parenting skills or family support; and those contending with grief or suicidal thoughts.

The Behavioral Health Collaborative works with the Gallup Indian Medical Center and Navajo and Zuni Tribal authorities to gather and share information regarding the state of Native American healthcare.

By William Madaras/For the Sun