Blackhorse Mitchell's Beauty of Navajoland: Bivalency, Dooajinída, and the work of contemporary Navajo poetry

Abstract

Why do some Navajo poets write poetry that describes "ugliness" on the Navajo Nation and what do they believe they are doing by writing that poetry? I examine those questions by focusing on Blackhorse Mitchell's poem "Beauty of Navajoland." I first discuss a performance of this poem to a Navajo and non-Navajo audience at Swarthmore College. I turn to discussions I had with Mitchell about his poetry and this poem. Contrary to an injunction on the Navajo Nation to dooajinída "don't talk about it," Mitchell and other Navajo poets argue that it is only by talking about it that the "ugliness" can be restored to "beauty." We need to understand these terms as bivalent terms -the iconicity of linguistic forms across languages -that reside in two linguistic systems.

“Everything Got Kinda Strange after a While:” Some Reflections on Translating Navajo Poetry that Should not be Translated

“…There is, of course, another stereotype of indigenous peoples, and this is, as Muehlmann (:164) describes it, the “violent and obscene substance abuser.” Linguists and linguistic anthropologists—among others—have had to negotiate such stereotypes. Navajo poets, like Jim and Mitchell, are keenly aware of both the romanticized and negative stereotypes (see Webster , ).…”

“…One, for example, influenced by Christian beliefs (see Young and Morgan :295), is ch' įdiitahgóó díníyá (go to hell) ( ch' įdii [ghost] + ‐ tah [among] + ‐ góó [toward, to] and díníyá [you are on your way to, you are going to go]) . I have been told by Navajos that this is a particularly egregious statement because it has the potential to cause such a thing to happen and should not be used (see Webster ). However, none of the examples given by the Franciscan Fathers concerns the use of the verb stem –k'eed .…”

“…He has traveled the U.S. and is an astute observer of American popular culture. In addition to being the author of Miracle Hill : The Story of a Navaho Boy (Mitchell ; reissued ), his own writings have dealt with a variety of topics including tourist expectations of Navajos and the Navajo Nation (see Webster , ). His use of fuck in the translation seems likely an attempt to call attention to the ugliness ( hochxǫ' ) evoked in the poem by Jim.…”

“…His use of fuck in the translation seems likely an attempt to call attention to the ugliness ( hochxǫ' ) evoked in the poem by Jim. He does at times want to shock Navajo and white sensibilities (see Webster ).…”

“…As with other poems in saad , Jim presents an image of a world as hochxǫ' (ugly, disorderly, out of control). For some Navajo poets—like Jim and Blackhorse Mitchell—it is important, as Mitchell told me, to “really describe the ugliness” that is happening (see Webster ). In so describing, poetry as hane' (story, narrative) can and should inspire reflection or, as Jim (:vi) writes in the introduction to saad , “ adaa tsínízhdookos ” (“you will remember who you are”).…”