“I never learned my Navajo language and I was never inspired to learn it. As I got older, I realized how valuable our language is to the livelihood of our Navajo Nation. ” -Dr. Shawna L. Begay
Our Navajo or Diné language is in danger of becoming extinct. Help us create and develop the first Navajo-English educational media TV puppet show, “Diné Bí Ná’álkid Time” which means ‘The Navajo Movie Time.’ It will inspire and teach our youth basic language skills using media as a technology tool. Parents, grandparents, children and grandkids can learn to speak Navajo fluently together within their own homes.
Long-time friends and educators, Dr. Shawna L. Begay and Charmaine Jackson have teamed up to create this new TV pilot for an all-ages audience or for anyone who wants to learn the Navajo language.
With your support, it’ll be the first educational Navajo and English puppet show that will teach and preserve the Navajo language and culture through digital media.
After several years of extensive research on the Navajo Nation, Dr. Begay recently completed her PhD from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with her doctorate thesis, ‘Developing A Navajo Media Guide: A Community Perspective.’ As project director, she quickly realized she was a pioneer on the topic.
“When I decided what topic to study I realized there existed very little research in Indigenous educational media, especially with our Navajo people,” stated Dr. Begay. “As Navajo people, we have our own learning objectives and Navajo way of knowing is completely different for Euro-Western schooling. I decided that I had to research and develop our own curriculum guide that is meant to teach Navajo through media.”
Dr. Begay and Jackson, co-writers of the show, developed the first 3-puppet characters and plan for many more. The pilot features Nanabah-a young Navajo girl, Gáh (Rabbit) and Dlǫ̀ǫ̀ (Prairie Dog) who will go on endless adventures learning about language, gardening, the environment and the importance of family values. Nanabah is fluent in Navajo and likes to teach children about life on the reservation with her animal friends and special guests. Children who want to learn Navajo will also be an important part of the show by interacting with Nanabah, her friends and storyline.
Dr. Begay’s research concluded there exists very little research in the area of Indigenous educational media. Currently media is a very powerful tool that can be used to teach. She is cognizant of the digital age we live in and the opportunities to utilize media to revitalize the Navajo language.
“Star Wars and Finding Nemo,” dubbed in Navajo, was a great place to start and it has garnered national exposure of our language. However, we need a show based on our own Navajo learning principals our ancestors set out for us to learn and live by. I don’t think a non-Navajo, non-Native or non-Indigenous person can do that for us, nor should they. We, as Navajo, need to produce this show ourselves, if we are to be truly sovereign,” added Dr. Begay.
Both educators, Dr. Begay and Jackson, of Naalkid Productions have been talking about this educational language project for about the past four years and still have a long way to go to finance their dream.
“With the support of Navajo TV Anchor Colton Shone, our team of Navajo artists, filmmakers, family and friends, this video pilot is a huge step forward,” said Jackson. “Our journey has just begun and the big next step is finding financial support to create a whole new puppet TV series.”
We aim to raise $50,000 with this project which will allow us to continue with pre-production and production aspects of making this digital media project become a reality. We need your help to save our language by teaching Navajo to our future generations.
Pre-Production: -Script writing for the pilot show -Puppet Development/Creation -Casting for puppeteers and other talent that will be on screen -Hiring of all key cast and crew
Production: -Locations and permits -Rental of Studio space -Equipment: cameras, sound, lights, etc. -Cast and Crew budget
Despite all the notes on this post, they’re still at $13,155 of their $50,000 goal.
Please keeping sharing and donate if you can!
what it sits at as of 07/27/18
GoFundMe as of 09/01/2018 Currently: $35,912 of $50,000 goal
“Socialism never took hold in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” – source disputed, but accurate
More working class Americans than will admit are a paycheck or two from homeless.
to my fellow freshman girlies out there, go parties in groups, don’t walk alone late at night, and if you sense some shady shit going on don’t hesitate to interfere. trust your gut. people are getting sicker by the minute and nothing seems to be changing anytime soon.
PS: CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS REGARDING WEAPON PURCHASING
I’m not lying fuck men omfg
as a former RA, who has seen way too much of this shit, it is important to highlight that most of these assaults will not be someone grabbing you from behind a bush or something – a lot of the weapons used against you will be social convention and alcohol/drugs.
it will be at parties. surrounded by people, where you lose sight of a friend and you’re surrounded. it will be guys “making sure to bring you home” while you’re drunk. it’ll be “come on over and let’s watch a movie”, it’ll be so many insidious things.
please always push back from any pressure or challenge to your boundaries. GET LOUD. your physical and mental health is SO much more important than how “cool” you seem. make a fuss, and it might make things awkward, but it’ll be so much better than the alternative. i’ve had so many of my residents come back for the night, so regretful about staying silent while a guy felt her up because she didn’t want to rock the boat or “ruin the mood” of the party. DO IT.
keep a friend, a trusted friend, preferably a girl, and use the goddamn buddy system.do not let your buddy out of sight. keep together at all times, and not just at parties – even at casual outings. new roommate? talk to them about how you want to stick together and make sure nothing happens.
do not go anywhere alone for the first month (this is also just a good practice to meet new people and find new friends lol). go to campus-run events, which are usually more tame and supervised (and still fun!).
know the red flags, and always be cautious of going alone with any man – ESPECIALLY if they’re older. that includes going to parties, movies, even out to lunch.
i don’t want to scare people at all, i really want you to be safe. know that there are campus resources if things do happen, but when it comes down to it, CALL THE POLICE. campus police and counselors can help you deal with trauma and change your classes so you’re away from your assailant, but they’re ultimately working for the university that doesn’t want to report assaults. grab a friend to stay with you to support you – hell, if you live in a residence hall, most RAs have been trained with crisis counseling and will stick with you to the end, and CALL THE POLICE.
pepper spray is a good start, but half the battle is knowing the warning signs and sticking together, and never being afraid to fight back.
also like… start checking your guy friends who do this type of shit and not just when it’s a girl you personally care about
This is something that more people should be aware of, if only because (in many states, at least) defense attorneys are actually prohibited from mentioning it to jurors. The law allows a jury to return a “not guilty” verdict contrary to the facts of the case, but not for the defense to inform them of that power or to argue for its application in the current trial.
I didn’t know about this. Wow.
always reblog
This is SUPER IMPORTANT and also a good reason to show up for jury duty. You know all those laws you think are stupid? This is your chance to maybe do something about it.
I…. I thought this was common knowledge… signal boosting this because it obviously isn’t!
the death toll has passed 350. this is one of the worst natural disasters we’ve faced and they’ve declared emergency in the state. tens of thousands of people are stranded and have lost their homes. please help or donate if you can
“Muslims forced to drink alcohol and eat pork in China’s ‘re-education’ camps, former inmate claims ‘The psychological pressure is enormous when you have to criticise yourself, denounce your thinking,’ says detainee”
these are from may 2018.
The majority being discriminated against are called Uyghurs. Khazaks, Uzbeks, and Tajiks are also being ostracized. They are Turkic minorities. They are people. And the world is unaware.
There is an estimated one million people in these so called “re-education camps”. Uyghur people are being forced to assimilate into Chinese culture through marriage. Uyghur children are forced to learn Mandarin and Uyghurqi, the language, is prohibited to be taught in schools. There is a lot of Uyghur unemployment due to ethnic discrimination. Uyghur people are routinely, unjustly imprisoned, and many die. An elderly Uyghur poet was imprisoned. An Uyghur couple my family knows was beaten, and the wife suffered a miscarriage. These are just a few examples of discrimination.
Rebiya Kadeer is fighting for our voices to be heard. She is one of many who was unjustly imprisoned, due to her political activism. She was put on death row and was told to keep quiet or her family would be killed. More than 30 of her relatives have been unjustly detained in the concentration camps. Read her book (Dragon Fighter).
My culture is forcefully being erased. My people are dying. Who is listening? Who can help us?
This is the coming of the second Holocaust. I know that that word cannot be used lightly, which is why I am using it. I hope you all understand the severity of the situation.
Please spread the word. Be aware of this. Tell your friends, your family, anyone who will listen.
Uyghurs can’t reach out for help, but you can on their behalf.
I’d appreciate if you read and share both, as between them they sum up our struggle pretty well.
However, let’s see if I can sum things up: my daughter Dessie has chronic kidney disease, currently at stage 4. Sometime, hopefully soon, she will need/get a donated kidney transplanted. That will take us over to Seattle for three to four months, basically moving us there for the duration.
I divorced my abusive ex about four years ago, taking on the marital debt up speed the divorce.
I consolidated it, but just trying to staying alive as a family keeps piling up debt, pretty consistently putting us in the negative each month, because there’s more bills than money, and no way to be rid of bills without more money than we have. I’m trying. It kills me to keep asking for help. But I’ve learned if you don’t ask, people won’t help; staying silent assumes you’re fine.
We are living in a house owned by my ex in laws, and there’ve repeated threats to evict us. I’d love to move, but that’s impossible without money. I badly want to get us into a place where neither my ex nor his family have power over us.
In about early May 2017, my daughter revealed to me that her father molested her, while we were still married., when she was about three or four. I reported this to CPS and the police., but ultimately nothing came of it, because by that time no physical evidence remained.
I’m trying to keep my family safe, and well. It’s a constant and continuing struggle. We currently have an old but good working car; in the past few months, though, we’ve had tires blow out, and our car repossessed. The house has issues; every time I think we’ve tackled the last plumbing issue, a new one comes up. (Right now that’s the bathroom sink.). Getting them fixed means dealing with my ex mother in law or ex father in law. They like to use such things as excuses to interfere in our lives. The house’s poor electrical setup regularly kills our lightbulbs.
Remember, YouCaring will be fully merged with GoFundMe by July 31st 2018, so there’s not much longer to use it if it’s your preferred donating platform.
June is Dessie and Max’s birthday month! They turn ten this year.
They curate their own lists for the most part, and have some expensive desires, I know. Don’t feel obliged at all; I’m just putting this out there in case someone wants to know. If you do want to get Dessie something, though, please also try to get Max something, however small. Currently her favorite color is teal (but blue will do), and his is red. Luggage is in both lists because we hope to go to Give Kids the World this year, after Thanksgiving, through Make-A-Wish.
I’m hoping that this June that we avoid disaster and overdrafts, but it tends to keep happening because there is more month than money.
Here is the information for possible kidney donors: Donors need to between 21-45, in reasonably good health, and O+ blood type. If this is something you’re interested, please contact the University of Washington’s living donor program at 206-598-3627, and mention you’re interested in donating to Dessie McAdams. I am not sure what constitutes “reasonably good health” in this case, though I think most people with chronic illnesses don’t qualify and anyone immmuno-compromised. Best to contact UW and ask.
We do have a possible living donor right now, and are waiting on the process, which may take months. I am hoping, however, that one way or the other Dessie will receive a new kidney in the next 12 months.
Please help us get out of this living situation.
If it helps, I have other options:
PayPal.me/kerryren
Venmo@KerryRen
CashApp $KerryRen
Circle kerryren@yahoo.com
June looks likes it’s going to be a particularly hard month, and worse from here on out, financially, when it was already pretty bad.
Cheloneuniverse 