The Clan of Near the Mountain People

By Lorraine D. Yazzie

The driving force that compelled me to write this book, I would say is my love for my late grandmother, Kezbah Yazzie. I had promised her that I would keep her story alive, and since I could not memorize thirteen chapters by rote like she did; the only other way to preserve it was to write it into a book. Writing this book has positively broadened my mind. It took effort and determination. I learned that how smart you are is not a factor for self-esteem. I encourage anyone who has a dream to pursue it. Use the negative experiences in your life to help others. It will definitely charge up a positive life for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 5, 2009
• ISBN: 9781465329776

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Copyright © 2009 by Lorraine Yazzie.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

Kezbah

CHAPTER 2

Madam Tooth –Asdz Woo’

CHAPTER 3

Life with Little Pueblo

CHAPTER 4

The First Capture

CHAPTER 5

Marriage to Callus

CHAPTER 6

The Banishing

CHAPTER 7

The Second Capture

CHAPTER 8

Meeting Yanabah

CHAPTER 9

Early Morning Screamer’s Presage

CHAPTER 10

The Massacre

CHAPTER 11

Cheating Death

CHAPTER 12

Reunion with Pablo

CHAPTER 13

The Death of White Hair

CHAPTER 14

The Long Walk

CHAPTER 15

The Foundlings

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHRONOLOGICAL DATES AND BIRTHS AND EVENTS

I am dedicating this book to Kezbah Yazzie

and to the clan of ‘Near the Mountain People.’

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to say a very special thank you to my dear friend, Alta Stingle, of Ashtabula, Ohio, for her gift of motivation and for instilling confidence in me to write about my late grandmother’s oral history into a book, which this book is based on.

And to my late aunt, Grace Davis, for sharing her recollection of Old Tall Lady (her great grandmother) and whom is the keystone character in this book.

And to my mother, Olive Kee Joe, for sharing with me Old Tall Lady’s sacred prayers and songs that she chanted during the times she was in dire straits, which was taught to her by her mother, Kesbah.

I want to express my sincere appreciation to Anglo historians and photographers who made an effort to preserve historical books and pictures.

And to my brother-in-law, Dickie Bain, who drew the picture for the cover page, and to his wife, Florence Bain, whom is also my sister for standing beside me and encouraging me to keep on going and not to give up on my book.

I want to thank my late Step-dad, Harry Kee Joe for sharing his story with me about the death of a notorious Navajo slayer, Whitehair (Tsigai) the Ute. I commemorate my gratitude to all of his relatives, since he is no longer with us.

I want to thank my cousin, Dorothy Denny, who provided most of the photographs from 1930-50’s of our relatives in this book along with their names.

I want to thank my relatives from Greymountain, Arizona for sharing what they remember about Kezbah and Old Tall Lady, and to all those who made it possible to get this book published.

Most of all, I am grateful to my grandmother, Kezbah Yazzie, for sharing with me the story of our ancestors. And to my nephew Stanson Joe who did the illustrations. I want to thank him for his excellent work.

And Lastly, I want to express my appreciation to Xlibris Publishing Company for publishing my book.

PREFACE

Next to the Lord Jesus Christ, the most beloved person in my life was my grandmother, Kezbah Yazzie, because she raised, loved, and mentored me. She lived to be 94 years old when she went home to be with the Lord. She loved to tell stories of her nomadic pass, of her life’s experiences, and most of all, her grandmother’s stories.

Kezbah lived as a young lady with her mother, Red Lady, and her grandmother, Old Tall Lady. She had a peculiar family; her grandmother was tall and looked more White than native and her mother, Red Lady ( ) had inherited her father’s Irish traits; she was by far a White lady with a Navajo dialect.

Red Lady had one older brother, Bear, who had darker complexion. She didn’t grow up with him, but she had a chance to see him once; he was middle aged when he came home for a brief visit.

Tall Lady crossed over time into the twentieth century with her daughter, Red Lady, several years after the People were released from Fort Sumner’s hellish duress. After overcoming culture shock she was introduced to its modern government reforms, but she chose to hang onto Din cultural ways. Tall Lady, Red Lady, and the clan were as stern as the life they lived, which was also instilled into Kezbah.

Whenever Kezbah asked me to do something and if I responded with, I don’t know how to do it, she would correct me by saying, Stop that. You can accomplish any task that you want to do, but if you give in to suppression, it will thwart your ideas and hinder you from accomplishing, ignore them and you will succeed. I don’t know how to do it? That is a phrase for a moron.

This adage prompted me to write a book about our ancestors, no matter how hard, how bizarre, and how many years it would take me to publish it. Just to publish the story is not the motive for writing it, but a way to find our roots and to help our clan to know their origin and genealogy.

When I was a little girl, I was full of questions. One day I asked my grandmother, Grandma, where did we come from? Did we always live here? And where did people come from? I ask her because; the school teacher said that all mankind originated from apes.

My grandmother was appalled, she did not even give any consideration to the evolution theory, she said, "You ask me questions I can not answer right now. Origination stories are told only during the winter. I don’t know about where other people originated from, but we, certainly did not come from apes. We, that is, us, we are human beings from the clan of Against the Side of the Mountain People (Dzi T’áádni Din), or Near the Mountain clan. We are not supposed to tell anyone who we are, it is a secret. I am certain that we did not originate from monkeys. Our ancestors were a group of people all by themselves. They were a peculiar people adopted by the Towering House clan (Kinyaa’ni), and Din during that era killed anyone who threatened them, so they did not dare rile them up by telling them that they were aliens. I will tell you more when the time is right. Now go and tend to your chores."

In 1973 I was converted to Christianity, so I was doing what Christians do; I was witnessing to Kezbah one day about my conversion to Christianity, when she was awestruck by the things I was telling her from the Bible.

She said, I have been to church many times, I even became a member at one time, but I never realize the cultural similarity between our ancestors and the people of the Bible.

I commented jestingly, They don’t believe in the monkey theory either grandma.

I listened attentively as she told me about our ancestors in a short story version. She named people and location sites in Navajo, which was hard to note without proper phonetics. At that time I wrote down notes in Navalish as she told the story, just for the record; due to the fact that I was not thinking about writing it into a book. Secondly, I was too busy raising a family. Thirdly, English was my second language, and it needed remedial or collegiate touch up.

It was 1976 and I was now an adult, so I asked her again, "Grandma, you mentioned that our ancestors were a peculiar people all by themselves, and that it is a secret, what did you meant by that? I want to know. You tell us that we are of the Towering House clan, and then you say we are not. Since you told me a little about our ancestors, maybe, you should tell me the rest."

Kezbah was adamant to tell me the story at first. I hearten her by telling her, "You should not feel threaten to tell the story anymore, because we are Din now. The blood of our ancestors is practically flush out and only the memories of their existence live in our minds. It is only obvious, because our people were found by a group of bellicose Towering House clan; they had to keep their identity hidden, lest they be kill. Contrary to that, Din had adopted and accepted all tribes since the turn of the century, even foreigners, and even some Din clans were found after the adopted tribal names: Bear clan, and Zuni clan, just to name a couple."

After reassuring Kezbah that revealing who our people were would not be our demise, she laughed about the secrecy. Thereafter, she was more open and less threatened to tell the story.

She looked at me straight in the eyes smiling for a few seconds and said, Do you just want to hear the story, or do you want to know the story?

I said, I want to know the story, so our children can pass it on.

She laughed with joy and said, "Well, (hágol) I was beginning to think that I was going to die with the story. I told the story in parts as an incentive for the one who would carry on the legend. So, you want the story? Well then, hold onto it with all your mind and integrity. Someday you will be thankful for asking. The story has its own reward."

She was appreciative and shared with me just the highlights, by saying, "I will tell you the migration story today (nid), thereafter, I will continue in intervals when time permits."

And this is how the book came to be, from a curious question.

Her facial expressions seem to change and her eyes fixed with a faraway gaze and said, "This is the story of my beloved grandmother, Old Tall Lady (Asdz Nz Sn ); it was passed down to her from her mother, and so forth from seven generation pass to the time my grandmother lived. Our people like I said before were golden, tall, and peculiar. We are not just anybody (doo t’ bhlnhg nidlidajin ). They lived holy lives, therefore we are holy too. Our people were resourceful. They lived on a big Island in the middle of the West Ocean/Pacific Ocean. There was no winter there, a place of unimaginable beauty. The Island was mountainous and full of green vegetation; and trees like no other that you see here, and many genres of shrubs. The bushes and plants yielded all kinds of aromatic flowers of many colors. Rain was plentiful and mist and fog drenched the foliage with dew.

They raised sheep and goats and used the mohair and wool to make fine tweed cloths to make clothes. The land mended up what vegetations that were consumed by the animals in just a few days before it was even missed.

They had a mother queen and she was our mother, we are her biological children. She was known as, White Shell Lady () by our people and by the coastal tribes; she was a holy woman full of love and compassion. She lived in a White Palace () ornate with white shells and precious stones. At the center of the palace was an aviary atrium with an altar; it was a holy place. They lived on a remote tropical island in the middle of the West Ocean. They were tall and fair skinned people () who practiced holy living. They were not like any other tribes of the American mainland and they were our ancestors.

On the Island were giant birds that resembled bold eagles (), some of them were pets and used for transportation and they perched on top of the palace. They might have been thunderbirds. They soared to great heights during high winds amongst thunderheads; otherwise they bordered the Island perimeter. Only the men fed and handled them, and controlled their population. Untamed ones were feared and disposed off.

The Island was big and mountainous with valleys and high coastal mountains that were covered with trees, none like the ones you see on the mainland. There were many genres of trees, some small and some tall; some form a canopy over the land, some trees had spiny leaves that produced fruits. There were shrubs and plants that yielded all types of aromatic flowers of many colors. It was a place of unimaginable beauty void of winter.

Rain was plentiful and waterfalls cascaded from the high slopes into the canopy of trees below where small brooks ran into lagoons and the streams flowed back into the ocean where all sorts of colored fishes played along the shorelines.

The Island was full of sweet aroma from the foliage and flowers, intermixed with ocean scent. Multitude of birds, streams, rustling leaves, and the waves hitting the beaches made the wonderful Island sounds. The Island was humid and hot like midsummer, which gave the Islanders a beautiful gold tone. Most everyone wore clothes that were loose to keep cool.

There were many species of animals and insects, some were poisonous, but no wild animals to fear, only occasional feral giant birds. The Island had several species of monkeys in the dense jungle and they squawked almost continuously. If someone was bitten by a poisonous insect or fish and if there was no cure, then death was accepted as a reunion with the Almighty into eternity, with an exception, to have lived a life of holiness and reverence to the Almighty.

There were twelve holy men that were leaders of the Island, and whom were crowned with white shell hats (yoogai ch’ah) as a token of ecclesiastical excellence. They were also endowed with white shell totem canes, with records of their lineage and wonderings written on them. When they face walled-in situations, the holy men called upon the name of the Almighty Creator (Tsi’ Naagh Bik’e Hzhn) for deliverance and He heeded their request readily: sometimes other natives attack them from the sea, but they ran into the supernatural prayer walls that defended them. When White Shell Lady and the Twelve Holy Men spoke, things happen according to what they said; most of the Islanders possessed this special gift, so one had to be careful on what they said.

The Island people believed in God the Creator. The principles they lived by and their belief system were likened to Biblical beliefs; they were peaceful and did not believe in killing. They lived in harmony and joy through their reverence and obedience to their God. They were kind, gentle, compassionate, sensible, and loving people. These good qualities they said would never be taken away from them; it had become innate after living it for generations.

Occasional seafarers came to trade with them and most likely they put on a feast of song and dance. The Island people loved to sing songs of praises to their God as well as folk singing, or just to sing songs of events. While the men sang, the girls and ladies danced arrayed in jingle dresses that were ornate with jingling seashells on the bodice, skirt and fringes. This was also a holy dance of healing.

They grew white and yellow corn which was their main staple. The Island also blessed them with sweet tubers, and many different kinds of fruits and berries and edible flowers and herbs. They ate a variety of sea food, and mutton from sheep and goats. Vegetables were plentiful on the Island, some natural, and some cultivated. They enjoyed fruit juices, goat milk, coconut milk, and pristine Island water. Without fresh water, they would not survive, water was life.

The women gleefully, made jewelries in their homes or by the seashore. They made beautiful necklaces, hair ornaments, brooches, and pendants. They made heshes, which are sequin like flat beads used as spacers for fetish necklaces. They carved miniature sea and land animals from different colors of seashells (yootsa’), corals (yooh’), and black stones (b zhini); animals such as birds, dolphins, fishes, sheep, goats, thunderbirds and whales and which they beaded with heshe spacers and made them into several strands of colorful necklaces.

The women were always busy making black or white dresses, and coloration of clothing that they ornate with variety of shells and beads. They either wore woven sashes or white shell belts with jingle fringes of shells.

The men passed their time in hammocks, when they were on time off from making rattan hammocks, seines, and rattan and wooden furniture; carving, masonry work, boat building, canoe making, shoe making, and tool craft. Like I said they were resourceful.

They had lived on the Island peacefully for many centuries when the shoreline gradually began to shrink. Slowly, the sea started to swallow up the beaches. There was nothing they could do to stop it. The Island was sinking.

The twelve holy leaders convene into prayer and fasting for guidance. A revelation was revealed to them; only a few were chosen to be saved, White Shell Lady was to put her biological children into one of the boats with one of the twelve holy men to go with them towards the East. They had no choice, but to abandon the Island. Holy Grandfather was picked to go with them as a seer. And White Shell Lady would go with her children three-fourths of the way. All any of them could do was just hug one another when they were told that the Mother Queen’s children were to go first and then as many as could be saved thereafter as long as the Island was holding up.

Everyone was distraught and there was crying of fear for the first time in many years. They were not always Islanders; they had come from one of the main continents many generations ago.

Everyone wanted to be saved, but they were obedient to their holy leaders and listened to their advices. There was not enough time to get everyone off the Island. It was going down fast. Just prior to this, there were huge tidal waves that had hit the Island unaware and had reshaped the coastlines. They were happy that the rumbling and clashing of the sea against the rock walls was over, but they had no idea that they would face catastrophic annihilation of the beautiful "Island of White Shell Lady."

The time had come to depart. Only her children, their spouses and betroths and the children were to leave this day with Holy Grandfather. They boarded one of the larger vessels and waved goodbye to everyone. The ones left behind shouted and waved goodbye back and prayed for traveling mercies for them. They sailed East with White Shell Lady and her entourage for several days.

She made a special prayer to the Almighty to send help for her children, because she had to return to the Island. They didn’t know where to go when they reach Eastern mainland. She had many encounters with the mainland inhabitants and had helped them throughout their afflictions, and responded to their distresses and ailments. She had visited them and communicated with them, she was confident that they would help them at this crucial time.

She had received an answer that a special rainbow would be sent to them as a guide.

Remember, they were holy people and things happen when they spoke. Miraculously, a rainbow formed within the stratus clouds almost immediately; it would be their divine transportation and the Spirit Rainbow landed on the boat over them.

She said to them, It is time for us to depart my children. My beloved children, my love will always be with you. Be wise and do not follow after foolishness. On the mainland there are many strange religions with many gods; do not follow after them. Never forget that we are holy people. Throughout all your generations there will always be one or two in your lineage that will carry on the gene and will pop up from time to time to remind you of our people. We are not like any tribes of the mainland. The rainbow is special and is a promise of good. Your abode and my heart will be connected by the rainbow, because it is everywhere.

She pointed to the rainbow and said, Go inside it; it will take you safely to the shores of the mainland. Don’t ask me how, just do it. From there continue to follow the rainbow eastward always atop mountain ranges for safety from belligerent natives until it leaves you. You will know when it is leaving you; it will bring you to a tribe of people with a similar culture and belief systems as our own, and they will be your people. You will know when you meet them. I am going back to our Island home to perish with the others. My spirit will be upon this great sea of peace; for this reason you will feel my presence whenever you come to the western shore. Have courage my children, for He, the Creator is with you. Through your dreams you will know the future. And one out or every family will be a leader in all generations. Be strong and fearless with these words. You must do this, in order for our kind to survive. Tearfully, she hugged them and let them go, and backed away.

They stepped inside the (Nts’lid hondl jin) rainbow and it picked them up and they watched the boat turn around from up above. White Shell Lady went back to the Island to perish with her people. They stood inside the rainbow with no sound from outside. They talked, and saw, and time seemed to have shrunk, for they had arrived there in no time.

It took them safely to the mainland shore. Maybe, others from the Island were also saved besides them. The only indigenous animal they brought with them was a baby big snake; actually it was a horned stubby reptile with a rattler, which is extinct now and which the children had as a pet, and which called, big snake (t).

On the day of their arrival, some people from a docile and peaceful tribe were on the shore mending fishing nets when the children of White Shell Lady descended. They were stunned with fear and awe and gazed at the rainbow as it landed on the shore. They did not understand how this could be. They were fearful and struck with awe at seeing golden people coming from the rainbow. The rainbow retracted and disappeared. They thought for sure that they were gods sent to them, and fell on their knees with their heads touching the ground, but they were informed not to.

The new people invited the rainbow travelers to stay with them and were very kind and helpful to them. After finding out that they were flesh and blood, the new people accepted them and gladly showed them their ways and culture, such as what was good to eat and what was not, and which tribes were not to be trusted and belligerent. They were shown how to make huts, how to make reed canoes, and taught them how to skin animals for their hides to make clothes. And in return they shared with them their talents, skills, healing arts, and told them about their God of love, peace, and joy. And they proselytize many of them merely by the holiness they practice.

Holy Grandfather had a vision the first week of landing, and he said, "The Island sank. The name of our mother queen was White Shell Lady. Her spirit is upon the great sea of the West now. She took us close to the shore and went back to her Island home to perish with her people. Her spirit is upon the sea now, for this reason we will feel her spirit whenever we come to the western shore." This was the first oracle.

From there the rainbow took them to a place of giant pine groves, (possibly Sequoia National Park area, or close to San Francisco, CA) where they settled for a time. The Amerinds there named them, the Pine Tree People, because of their height. They found an orphan brown bear cub there and raised it. They named the bear, ; it means big bear. He obeyed them and understood them when they talked to him and he became their friend and protector.

They moved again, there the people named them, the Corn People; because they were fair like the yellow corn that they grew. The cloudless rainbow sometimes left them for a season before it reappeared to carry them to a new location, always eastward atop mountain ranges.

When they got homesick, they talked about their homeland and sang in unison, singing, There the holy men guided us, and our mother queen was gentle and loving. She sought us to this strange land and came with us part of the way and returned to our Island home to perish with the others. There is a possibility that others were saved too.

After singing they would say in unison, We have a good God who is the creator of everything. If we should ever encounter a cornered situation, all we have to do is call upon his name and He will deliver us. Holy Grandfather reminded them, Remember what your mother said to us before she left. She said, ‘have courage my children, for He, the Creator is with you. Through your dreams you will know the future. One out of every family will be a leader in all generations. Be strong and fearless with these words.’ She sent us to this strange land, so that our kind would survive. We are the last of our people and we are chosen to carry on the genealogy of our kind.

The mother queen had given them the ancestral calumet before she left them at sea, it represented piety. It was used only to clear the mind. It was to be passed down from generation to generation. It is said, the one who will possess it next will be endowed with inner strength, wisdom, prophetic dreams and a vision for the family.

As they moved along they collected different species of plants, tree leaves, stones and bird feathers as markers of their migration. And as they moved deeper into the mainland, the people became more pugnacious, such as this new tribe they had settle next to. They had moved into Din country. Once more they were renamed by Din to the People against the Side of the Mountain clan (Dzi T’áádni Dine’).

The rainbow took them to Din country via Mount Blanca and left them. Before they came to Mount Blanca the children found a baby porcupine and brought it home, but they had to return the baby porcupine back to its tree; after three days it was still in the same tree, and deemed an orphan, the children raised it as a pet.

By now they had only three boys and one girl. There were seven men; young and old, and two women, eleven altogether. Many of them had died before they arrived in

Just like the mother queen had said; the people here had similar culture, religion, tradition, and ethnic principles. They had their own version of who White Shell Lady was. They too had sheep and goats, and corn, but their corn was blue. They also had woven textiles similar to theirs.

Holy Grandfather perceived that the rainbow had left them for good. These people were the people, which would be their people. What they did not understand was, why chosen as, the chosen ones, since they were uncivilized? They were nothing like them. Diné were afraid of them, because of their fair skin, different dialect and culture, and about the strange pets they own. Big snake had grown to full maturity. The pets served them as friends and protectors."

Ever since grandmother told me this story,—I had a fire within me to find out where our ancestors came from. In1974 I took a three months course in Navajo reading and writing, I did not know at that time, that I would use it to translate Kezbah’s story. Ten years later I took college English courses to whet my writing skills. It was not until 1994 that I decided to write it into a book, before that time, I just contemplated on it and juggled self-esteem and confidence back and forth.

First of all, I realized that writing oral history would take a lot of research to verify names and dates of events, so I did expansive amount of research to substantiate the story. I read many historical books to get the sequence of events in order.

Then I went around to my relatives in several regions to collect data, and pictures from them. And in order to get a better understanding of what the land looked like, I traveled to the eastern Navajo reservation beyond the Lokaijigai Range several times. I was able to locate one historical site from the story. I also traveled to Southern Colorado; to Cortez and up to Silverton, Colorado.

Lastly, I went to southern California for its topography, customs and beliefs, and hopefully to meet descendants of the people that might have come in contact with our ancestors, and to learn from them of a possible migration path, but I did not know where to start. Hopefully, I will have better luck from writing this book. At the same time I was working full time as a single mother of five, which took most of my time.

To this day, the year 2008, all that I have are compiled theories of where our ancestors might have originated from.

I have studied the Pacific archipelagos, and the ocean currents for a possible migration path.

I have seen many documentaries and books on sunken Islands and lost civilizations.

I have read many books on early explorers. Some correlative information and data that I have found through folklores and research that have some significance are:

1)   Nova Science Incorporated did a documentary on some fair-skinned navigators that had landed on the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean around the time when the Spanish conquistadors first started exploring. These people had a written language on stone tablets that no one understood. They were said to have been genteel, light skin and hair, and civilized, as remembered by the Spaniards and the people of the Canary Islands. They had made indications that they came from an Island that sank.

2)   From the book, "Ishi, the Last of His Tribe" about a sole survivor from the once populace Yahi tribe of California. Ishi mentioned in his book about an Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean inhabited by a holy queen by the name of White Shell Lady, and who was very compassionate. When the coastal natives summoned her for help, she would come to their aide. She sensed their summoning by telepathy and visions.

3)   Din also has a legend about a mystical lady who lives in the middle of the West Ocean, whom they also called, White Shell Lady. To them, she is eternal.

4)   A Native American tribe from Washington State also has a legend about a holy woman who lived in the West Ocean, and whose name was White Shell Lady. She was summoned on one occasion for a cure after a child became gravely ill. White Shell Lady gave them instructions to make a jingle dress ornate with shells for the sick girl and to let her dance in the jingle dress, and she would be heal; the dance became the Jingle Dress Dance, and the girl was cured after she danced. The woman in these legends befits White Shell Lady.

5)   Nova Science Incorporated put out a documentary film in 1998 titled, Mysterious Mummies of China, about the mummified remains of Caucasoid bodies in the deserts of China, whom the archaeologists presume to have been ancient Celtics. The archaeologists, from the studies, believe that they were direct descendants of Noah from the Holy Bible. They obtained this information from the Gaelic society. They say that the ancient Celtic people had left stories and written accounts on records affirming that they had branched out into three groups after descending off the Noah’s ark. Two groups went into the present day Europe, one group went east that were never found. Is it a coincidence that the people of the paradisiacal Island had the same beliefs as the ancient Hebrews? They beseech the Almighty Creator with impossible situations and miracles happened. They were able to build large sailing vessels like the one they used to sail the ocean.

6)   Another contingent story is from the book, "The Island of California, a History of the Myth." In this book there was an Island between China and California that is no longer on the present day maps, whereas it was on historical Spanish maps. The Spaniards avow that they had seen the Island. However, they did not find it on their next expedition.

7)   As of 2006, I have seen on the History Channel that there were giant birds called Moa that was discovered by the ancient Polynesians when they first settled in New Zealand. The second type of bird that was found by the Polynesians looked like bald eagles that were big enough to pick up a human being and eat them. On White Shell Lady’s Island there were also giant birds that were pets and used for transportation.

8)   I also found on the www.Ask Jeeves.com website about a pueblo folklore concerning the children of White Shell Lady,