Diné Cultural Artisan Holistic Well-Being Self Reflection

Christine Ami

Grant Manager, Navajo Cultural Arts Program

Cheesy photo with one of my weavings in the background

Yá'át'ééh! It's Christine again! As we start to bring this series to a close, we wanted to address how artisans can assess their own holistic well-being approach to their own cultural art. As a weaver and the wife of a silversmith, I have found that the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual components of Diné holistic well-being that Crystal introduced 

in her blog "Leading with Fire" have always been inherently found in the practice of the cultural arts. Personally, weaving has helped to make me a stronger individual, and I would go as far as to say a tougher Diné woman. It was a treatment plan for my bouts with insomnia, depression, and writing blocks. Weaving also held the responsibilities of a teacher, showing me how to engage my cultural belief system and fortify my critical inquiry skills and self-esteem.

Throughout my time as the NCAP grant manager I have learned that cultural arts holistic well-being is an area that many of our Emerging Artisans are trying to not only fully comprehend but also to embrace. "Where do we start?" many ask as they entered the Navajo Cultural Arts Certificate Program. My response is always the same - Just do it - Work with raw materials, talk with the plants, put your scraps away properly,  make mistakes and learn from them. I tell them to take care of those teachings and the many others that they will learn along the way because, as cliché as it sounds - if you take care of them, they will take care of you. With those inquisitive artisans in mind, I thought I would take a minute to address the NCAP's take on Holistic Well-Being, specifically focusing in on how artisans can start to reflect upon their work from a holistic perspective.

While there have been several pieces about holistic well-being published, one article in particular stood out to our NCAP team: "The Wellness Wheel: An Aboriginal Contribution to Social Work" by Dr. Margot Loiselle and Lauretta McKenzie. What we specifically liked about this article was 1) its adaptability to indigenous paradigms; 2) its dialogue with Diné holistic well-being;  3) its encouragement to self-assess; and 4)  its proposed wellness program through an analysis of four aspects: Physical/Material Aspects, Emotional/Social/Relational Aspects,  Mental/Intellectual/Cognitive Aspects, and Spiritual/Ethical/Cultural Aspects.  Loiselle and McKenzie created a list of guiding questions that could be used to assess an individual's well-being. NCAP critically analyzed those guiding questions to understanding how they could be adapted to further inquire into the Navajo cultural arts holistic well-being.

The following are guiding questions that artisans can utilize to self-assess where they are in terms of their own cultural arts holistic well-being journey.

 Physical / Material Aspects:

1. What are the basic tools and materials necessary to do this cultural art?
2. What level is my cultural arts skills and techniques now?
3. How does creating cultural arts contribute to my physical health?
4. What positive activities can I do to enhance my cultural art products?
   (areas of example: nutrition, sleep, personal hygiene, exercise, appearance,
   posture, rest & relaxation, clothing, home tidiness, financial situation)
5. What harmful things must I avoid in order to improve my work? (examples: various
   dependencies).
6. How much do my cultural arts products contribute to my economic stability?
7. What are my goals? How do I see myself in two years from now as a cultural artisan?
   
   

Emotional / Social / Relational Aspects:

1. How am I able to express my feelings through my cultural arts?
2. How does my emotional health impact the quality of my work?
3. How does creating art impact my self-esteem and sense of self-worth?
4. How do the cultural arts help me to maintain healthy relationships? (Examples: with my family, relatives, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc...)
5. What positive things can I do to enhance both my emotional and cultural arts well-being? (areas of example: yoga, journaling, self-assessments, socialization, therapies)
6. Am I satisfied with the kind of work I am doing?
7. What are my feelings about my future in the cultural arts?

Mental / Intellectual / Cognitive Aspects:

1. When I am creating cultural art products, what is my self-talk like? (examples: affirmative, positive, optimistic, self-deprecating or generally negative?)
   
2. How does my mental health impact the quality of my work?
3. How does making cultural arts products contribute to my  mental stimulation?
4. How do I continue to foster my creative abilities?
5. What positive things can I do to enhance both my mental and cultural arts well-being? (areas of example: mediation, physical activities, socialization, puzzle activities, etc.)
6. Does my time management help or harm my cultural art practices?
7. What is my strategic plan to attaining success in my future with the cultural arts?

Spiritual / Ethical / Cultural Aspects:

1. What is the meaning and purpose of the cultural arts in my life?
2. Do my cultural art practices coincide with my principles, beliefs and values?
3. Do I take time out for prayer, fasting, meditation, and other cultural steps to my creation processes?
4. Do I know the songs, stories, and prayers associated with the cultural arts I practice?
5. What positive activities can I do to nurture my spiritual life and my cultural arts practices? (areas of example: do I make to develop moral principles and/or ethical values and behaviors while working with the cultural arts?)
6. Am I honest, loving, caring, sharing, respectful, trustworthy, humble and helpful?
7. Do I feel a sense of connectedness to and pride for the values of my culture?
   

These are in no means an ends to Navajo cultural arts holistic well-being; however, they have been a starting point of discussion as we worked with several Navajo cultural artisans throughout this blog series. In call a  particular we would love to give a tremendous shout out and thanks to Kurtis Smith, Shayne Ray Watson, Sharonna Rae Yazzie, Sam Slater, Leonard Gene, Waycee Harvey, Troy Uentillie and Jess Williams, for helping us to gather a little further insight into the holistic well-being of Diné cultural artisans. Ahee'hee!

And for artisans who wish to create what Loiselle and McKenzie call a "self-care plan", these guiding questions may be able to help set positive goals, identify negative behaviors, and look toward creating a more holistic approach to their cultural art well-being.

Stop by next week for our final blog of the series, which will include an analysis of the series' findings as well as an announcement by Miss Navajo, Crystal Littleben detailing  our Summer Weekend Workshop Series!