A Navajo Legacy – The Life and Teachings of John Holiday (The Civilisation of the American Indian Series, Vol. #251)

For almost ninety years, Navajo medicine man John Holiday has watched the sun rise over the rock formations of his home in Monument Valley. Author and scholar Robert S. McPherson interviewed Holiday extensively and in A Navajo Legacy records his full and fascinating life.In the first part of this book, Holiday describes how, at an early age, he began an apprenticeship with his grandfather to learn the Blessingway ceremony. As a youth, Holiday traveled over the desert with family members to find forage for the animals and plants for healing practices. He experienced the invasion of Monument Valley by whites and later participated in the early filmmaking industry. Holiday was employed in the 1930s with the Civilian Conservation Corps and then served a brief stint in the military. During the 1950s he mined in one of the two largest uranium deposits on the Navajo Reservation. He also worked on the railroad in Utah. But he always returned to eke out a living with his livestock and agriculture.In the second part of the book, Holiday details family and tribal teachings. All of Holiday’s experiences and teachings reflect the thoughts of a traditional practitioner who has found in life both beauty and lessons for future generations. A vivid portrait of the life of a traditional twentieth-century Navajo medicine man For more than ninety years, Navajo medicine man John Holiday has watched the sun rise over the rock formations of his home in Monument Valley. At an early age, Holiday began an apprenticeship with his grandfather to learn the Blessingway ceremony, and as a youth, he performed rainmaking ceremonies and practiced healing. Holiday experienced the invasion of Monument Valley by whites and later participated in the early filmmaking industry, working with director John Ford and actor John Wayne. Life in the desert was rooted in the livestock industry and sometimes provided only a hand-to-mouth existence. Holiday was employed in the 1930s with the Civilian Conservation Corps, served a brief stint in the military, mined uranium on the Navajo Reservation in the 1950s, and worked on the railroad. Robert S. McPherson interviewed Holiday extensively to record his full and fascinating life. Holiday tells his grandparents stories of the Long Walk era, discusses attitudes about the land, relates Navajo religious stories, and recounts his training as a medicine man. A Navajo Legacy reflects the thoughts of a traditional practitioner who has found in life both beauty and lessons for future generations. A Navajo Medicine Man Tells His Life Story, Including His Apprenticeship With His Grandfather To Learn The Blessingway Ceremony, His Travels Over The Desert To Find Forage For The Animals And Plants For Healing Practices, His Memories Of The Invasion Of Monument Valley By Whites, His Experiences In The Early Filmmaking Industry, His Time In The Civilian Conservation Corps And The Military, And His Work Mining One Of The Two Largest Uranium Deposits On The Navajo Reservation. The Book's Second Part Details The Family And Tribal Teachings Holiday Has Acquired Over A Long Life. I: John's Life And Experiences -- Dawn -- Living With Grandmother -- Grandfather Teaches The Way -- The World Of Work -- Work In The Later Years -- Ii: Teachings From The Past And Present -- Teachings From The Fearing Time -- John Teaches Of The Land -- A Changing World -- Teachings Of Life -- The Making Of A Medicine Man. John Holiday And Robert S. Mcpherson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.