Mr. Navaho: Balancing being native American and queer
Dublin Core
Title
Mr. Navaho: Balancing being native American and queer
Subject
Mr. Navaho (Zachariah George) is a 25 year old culture keeper. He strives to maintain the old Navaho ways, knows the language, sings the songs, and assumes an educative and ritual role in his community. He knows his value, and yet he capitulates. He suppresses the feminine expression of himself that feels natural to be acceptable to his community.
Perhaps Mr. Navaho's role as a performer and soloist opens up an avenue that compensates him for suppressing a more feminine persona he seems more inclined to adopt and project.
Mr. Navaho understands the loss of the middle gender that formerly existed in his society. At one point in the film, he spells out on paper the old Diné word, Nádłeehé. He tells the viewer, "This word is very powerful. It identifies me and maybe other people."
According to Nowness, a Navajo professor recognizes this word as coming from creation stories and referring to a third gender. Mr. Navajo identifies with this role; he knows that such a person was seen as a good omen, and as he explains: "If you have a gay person in your life, that's in your family, that means your family will never, never fall apart. Ever since Christianity came into our lives, it really changed a lot, not just Native Americans, but a lot of people's lives. That's just sad, you know what I mean?" But is he comfortable performing in his life the role of a gay man?
Perhaps Mr. Navaho's role as a performer and soloist opens up an avenue that compensates him for suppressing a more feminine persona he seems more inclined to adopt and project.
Mr. Navaho understands the loss of the middle gender that formerly existed in his society. At one point in the film, he spells out on paper the old Diné word, Nádłeehé. He tells the viewer, "This word is very powerful. It identifies me and maybe other people."
According to Nowness, a Navajo professor recognizes this word as coming from creation stories and referring to a third gender. Mr. Navajo identifies with this role; he knows that such a person was seen as a good omen, and as he explains: "If you have a gay person in your life, that's in your family, that means your family will never, never fall apart. Ever since Christianity came into our lives, it really changed a lot, not just Native Americans, but a lot of people's lives. That's just sad, you know what I mean?" But is he comfortable performing in his life the role of a gay man?
Description
Mr. Navaho is accepted by family members and especially his grandparents who say that one's sexual orientation should not matter. His mother observed his girlish ways early in life but warned him not to venture into the feminine gender expression that draws him. He longs for the feminine to the point where he envies the girls' long hair he used to have. In this regard, Mr. Navaho walks the tightrope between the effeminate man he is allowed to be and the female person he is inside that he must keep hidden away.
Source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObfFAokGlps
Contributor
Poster Design by Samya Arif
Nowness
https://www.nowness.com/series/they-call-me/mr-navajo-saila-huusko-jasper-rischen?_branch_match_id=1121012003463969804&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXzzdLN9dLLCjQy8nMy9Y3KHIxcjJMiko0BQAJsykGIAAAAA%3D%3D
Nowness
https://www.nowness.com/series/they-call-me/mr-navajo-saila-huusko-jasper-rischen?_branch_match_id=1121012003463969804&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXzzdLN9dLLCjQy8nMy9Y3KHIxcjJMiko0BQAJsykGIAAAAA%3D%3D
YouTube Video Item Type Metadata
YouTube ID
ObfFAokGlps
Citation
“Mr. Navaho: Balancing being native American and queer”, The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-Spiritual Leadership, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed December 27, 2024, https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/exhibits/show/bipoc-trans-spiritual/item/1942.