Hozho Speaks

In this week's episode, Clayton talks about the 4 sacred colors of the Navajo people, White, Turquoise, Black and Yellow. Each coming from a different direction/ White Shell represents the East, or the dawn, Turquoise represents the South , or the Day, Abalone Shell represents the West, or the evening, and finally, Jet Black represents the North, or the night. Clayton talks about how each of...

In this week's episode, Clayton talks about Navajo Core Values: Peace, Love, Joy and Harmony, he expands this way of thinking through 4 different stories. Each of these values can help us in our daily lives, with our school, our careers, and our families. Our people have endured a lot of adversity  from Monsters rooming across the land to being relocated away from our homeland, and fighting i...

In this week's episode, Clayton interviews Latoya Benally, who is a Manufacturing Engineer with the Boeing Company, based out of Mesa, AZ where she helps to build AH-64 Apache Helicopters that are used to protect and help our military personal here and abroad. Benally talks about her journey and how she decided to become an Engineer and what it took to get where she is today. She hopes to ser...

In this week's episode, Clayton talks to College Student Amari Pierce of Stanford University , originally from San Juan County, UT, who is currently working on a Keyboard software to help better utilize the Navajo language and making it easier to anyone to use on computers, and other devices. Amari talks about how she come up with the idea as well as some future plans to help the Navajo Langu...

In this episode, Clayton talks about Ghąąjį’ (which is also the name of the month of October) but is also celebrated in Diné Culture, as the beginning of a New Year, at the end of harvest and how we can take this time to think about how our lives are going and what kind of plans do we want to make for the next story. Clayton talks a little about a community group who used goal making to help chang...

In this week's episode, we interviewed Charlotta Lacy, who is currently a Navajo Language Teacher and Translation Specialist, she has worked for most of her life teaching and learning the Navajo Language, she discusses why its important to learn our language to preserve it. And shares her thoughts on some important Navajo words, that help connect us with each other, creating Ke' (Kinship...

Westwater is Diné community that resides outside of Blanding, UT in San Juan County. And for many years, this community lived without running water or electricity which is a current issue for many Native Americans across the US. Today we interviewed Albert Cly who has lived here for most of his life. He tells us a little about himself, and how he came to live in Westwater, and some of struggles an...

In this week's episode, Clayton interviews Aaron Yazzie, a Mechanical Engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where he designs mechanical systems for robotic space missions. He recently helped NASA work in collaboration with the Navajo Nation, to help designate some rocks and samples on Mars, based on the Navajo Language. Aaron tells us a little more about himself a...

In this week’s episode, Clayton talks more about Hózhó and how it can leads us in our lives in different ways, he talks about how Hózhó can help us become a better person and in turn how we can help our communities. Clayton focuses on different aspects of Hózhó through 4 different stories which he tells. One about Prayers, one about Leadership, one about Personal Motivation and another about K’e (...

This week we interviewed Reagan, who is the Extension Professor at USU helping different communities and tribes with agriculture projects and helping to teach science and nature to kids. Reagan is also one of the board members for our non-profit, Dine Nizhoni Incorporated. Reagan talks about some of her projects, and how she started on this journey to helping her people learn and grow. What keeps...

Welcome to our new season of Hózhó Speaks! Today we've interviewed a local man who has worked with our communities in different ways, one way is that he has worked with Navajo Nation Judicial Branch and Navajo Police as a Peacemaker Liaison for the past 13 years, he talks about how it is a different approach to dealing with conflict in the community or within the family. Stanley shares a litt...

In this final episode for this season, Clayton talks a little bit more about Sih Hasin (Self-Actualization), what it means to us, our people and our community, and Clayton talks primarily to those who are graduating, this new generation who can uses two tools to help them achieve their goals and achieve Sih Hasin: Traditions and Technology.  Support the show Follow Us on Facebook and Instagram at...

This week, Clayton interviews Shaina Sagg and Racheal Holiday, from the Utah Navajo Health System's Hozho'go Iina 365 program, as Community Health Specialists working with people across San Juan County to help achieve their wellness goals whether its being more active and eating healthier. We learn a little bit more about Shaina and Racheal's background and education. They talked ab...

In this episode, Clayton talks about Ázhi’ or Names, names that people have had in the past like warrior names and from our legends, things in nature and animals, and why it is important to us as Diné to recognize this, because all things in the world have a special name. They are living beings like us and that we have something in common , and that we have a connection to them and that we should...

In this episode, Clayton interviews Kristina Begay, a local Elementary School Teacher, who was awarded Teacher of the Year for 2021 in San Juan County, UT. Kristina is also our host Clayton's daughter, and they discuss about her childhood and her experiences about what drove her towards becoming a teacher, and some lessons that she's learned from following in Clayton's steps in teac...

In this episode, Clayton interviews Arielle Platero, a recent graduate from Fort Lewis College with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering and Minor in Mathematics, She's currently has an internship with Los Alamos National Laboratory and plans to purse graduate school to further her career and to help further inspire other Native American women and students that we achieve our goals and dre...

In this episode, Clayton discusses some of the Hardships that the Diné (Navajo People) have endured and that we are a resilient people, he tells a story of Naayéé Neizghání (Monster Slayer) and how he survived the difficulties of fighting different monsters across the land. In more recent history, Hwéeldi- the Navajo Long Walk, the Navajo people were relocated into concentration camps by the US Go...

 In this episode, Clayton interviews Pete Sands, a Navajo Musician and Mabel Martin, a local Navajo Language Teacher about their new project - Navajo Highways. A Navajo Puppet show for the young and old alike to learn more about Diné Culture and to be more engaged to speak it starting at a younger age, which is very important. If you want to support their endeavor, please visit their GoFundMe page...

In this episode, Clayton interviews a local Medicine Man and Native Pottery artist Curtis Yanito, who also owns Yanito Baahozho Gallery in Bluff, UT. Curtis talks about a story of some local ruins and about how these places are sacred and should be respected. That we need to do more to protect these sites for the future generations to enjoy and remember. Support the show Follow Us on Facebook and...

In this episode, Clayton talks about how the Diné (Navajo People) didn’t have clans originally after the emergence, and talks about Changing Woman and how she gifted her family different gifts to 4 Original Clans - Kinyaa'áanii (The Towering House clan), Honágháahnii (One-walks-around clan), Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water clan) and Hashtł'ishnii (Mud clan). Kinnyaa’ánii have the g...

In this episode, Clayton expands on the ideas of the 4 Directions and why its important to Diné culture, talking about different aspects of our lives that can help guide us into living more along Hózhó. He talks about how he envisions each of the directions (East, South, West, North) is symbolized with key aspects of our lives, Ntsá Hákees (Thinking), Nahat’á (Planning), Iiná (Life) and Sih Hasin...

Yá’á’teeh! Welcome to Hózhó Speaks. A New Podcast ,hosted by Clayton Long, a life long Diné teacher from Southeastern Utah, his clans are Lók’aa’ Diné (Reed People), Áshįįhi (Salt People), Tł’ízí Łání (Many Goats) and Tábąąhá (Water’s Edge). Hear a brief history and some of our goals here on Hózhó Speaks, produced by Diné Nízhoní Incorporated. www.dinenizhoni.org/hozhospeaks Support the show Follo...