Yazzie & Salt Cultural Center

Native Language & Cultural Program

Yazzie & Salt Cultural Center Library

Upcoming Committee Meetings and Announcements

Please do check in randomly for updates

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2868142374?pwd=UnJib0hacndKY3RPUGpieG1RbU45Zz09
Meeting ID: 286 814 2374
Passcode: kusd

Cultural Center

The Yazzie & Salt Cultural Center Library is open. There are over ten thousand books, videos, DVDs, and other materials revolving around Native American culture. These materials are typically open to check out by students, teachers, and staff and for community-use within the center. Come over and visit or check out our library. You may never know what you will find that will interest you.

The Johnson O'Malley Program Educational Plan is monitored by the Indian Education Committee (IEC) who solely works with the JOM Coordinator. The IEC are made up of parents of current students here at KUSD, one from each chapter of our school district: Kayenta, Shonto, Chilchinbeto, and Oljato.

Hooghan Bii’ Hozo
(“Hogan of Beauty”)
Enhancing, Perpetuating, and Celebrating
Diné Language and Culture

Our Vision

To save the Diné language and the Diné way of life.

Our Mission

The mission of Hozho Hooghan is to provide support and resources to students, parents, faculty, and staff in Kayenta and its surrounding communities for the enhancement, perpetuation, and celebration of the Diné language and the Diné way of life.

Our Philosophy

Hozho is the beating heart of the Diné people. Just as the sun is the center of our solar system, hozho lies at the center of our Diné way of life.

Our language, Diné bizaad, is a sacred gift from the Holy People. It is the life-blood of our culture and must be nurtured and protected.

In today’s world, many of our young people feel lost and confused. Too many find themselves wandering aimlessly between two worlds—the world of the Diné and the world of the bilagaana—uncertain of where they belong. Many of them ask, “What makes me Diné, and why is that so important?”

At Hozho Hooghan, we help our young people find answers to these vital questions. We do this by creating and supporting programs to safeguard the Diné language.

We do this by providing activities, classes, and workshops to teach them about Diné history and the Diné way of life. We teach them about Diné values and the powerful clan system that unites us all as family. We teach them about the power and importance of hozho.

With hozho, our children will be able to walk in beauty in both worlds. With hozho in their hearts and in their minds and in their spirits, they will live in peace, beauty, and harmony. They will be able to succeed wherever they go at whatever they do.

Like the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, they will be able to travel beyond the mesas and the Four Sacred Mountains and use our Diné language and our Diné way of life for personal protection and for the benefit of all.

Hozho is our anchor. Hozho is our heart. Hozho is our home. Hozho is life

Quotes

Our Goals

  • To enhance and expand programs to revitalize the Diné language

  • To provide direct academic and cultural assistance to students.

  • To provide support and resources to teachers and staff.

  • To improve the physical, mental, and spiritual health and well-being of parents, families, and communities throughout the district.

Our Services

Enhance and Expand Dine Language Programs

  • Diné language program design, promotion, and implementation

  • Diné language curriculum development

  • Diné language assessment design

  • Diné language program evaluation

Support for

  • Diné language enrichment programs

  • Diné/English dual language programs

  • Diné immersion programs

Provide Direct Academic and Cultural Assistance to Students 

  • SAT/ACT test preparation

  • College readiness workshops

  • Academic support

  • Counseling services

  • Educational field trips

  • Youth conferences and youth summit

  • Recognition and incentives for academic achievement and school attendance

  • Assistance with scholarship applications

  • Student cultural showcase

  • Academic and cultural presentations (i.e., STEM, winter stories, etc.)

  • Student Cultural Advisory Committee

  • Traditional dress-up days

  • Native American Week

  • Special pageants and performances

Provide Support to New Teachers and Staff

  • New teacher orientation

  • Diné language teacher training

  • Chapter House visits/presentations

  • Curriculum development workshops

  • Conferences

Improve the physical, mental, spiritual health, and well-being of children, parents, families, and communities

  • School supplies

  • Eyeglasses

  • Graduation caps and gowns

  • Parent summit

  • Cultural presentations

  • Quarterly newsletter

  • Parent Advisory Committee

  • Indian Education Committee (IEC)

  • Partnerships with Diné Youth, Indian Health Services, chapter houses, Kayenta Township, and other schools

Native Language and Cultural Program Staff

Francine Little
Native Language & Cultural Prog. Coordinator
(928) 697–2036

Letresia Todecheene
Cultural Youth Development Specialist (928) 697-2054

Ashley Stanley
Parent Community Cultural Resource Support
(928) 697–2068

Toni L. Cly
Administrative Assistant
(928) 697–2037

Indian Education Committee (IEC)

Vacant
Member
School Representation

Vacant
Member
School Representation

Vacant
Member
School Representation

Vacant
Member
School Representation

Vacant
Member
School Representation