Shimasani doo Shima’ Nashide’neztah
(Lessons Learned from My Grandmother and Mother)
by Tashina Etter

In Diné or Navajo ways, before sharing information about oneself, a person speaks of their family. Yá'át'ééh Tashina Etter yinishyé. Tódích'íi'nii nishlí. Bilighana bashishchiin. Haltsooí Dine'é dóó Kiis’aani dashicheii. Bilighana dashinálí.

My name is Tashina Etter and I am of the Bitter Water people. My father is of German and Scottish descent. My maternal grandfather is of the Meadow People and the Zia Pueblo people. My paternal grandfather is of German descent. I grew up in the eastern part of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and my grandmother’s land is in Little Water. I was the only child in my family born in Arizona and I lived in Black Mesa when I was born, so my great-grandmother called me Ashdza Diizl Giin, Woman of Black Mesa.

My grandmother's traditional home, a hogan.

When my mother was a little girl, the road to her home was unpaved and her family did not have running water and electricity. Attending school was difficult during the winter, but my grandmother was diligent, and each morning she would sit her four children and her three nieces and nephews on an old refrigerator door which she tied to a horse. She would guide the horse through the snow, pulling the children behind. When they reached the road, she would build a fire to keep the children warm until the bus arrived. If the roads were too muddy that day and the bus did not arrive, she would turn the horse around and return home.

During this time, Mormon missionaries came to my grandmother’s home on horseback. They spoke Navajo and they told her family of a program where my mother could live in Salt Lake City with a Mormon family, attend school and return home to the reservation during the summertime. My grandmother had limited schooling but believed that education was important. She knew that it would be difficult for her children to receive an education on the reservation and so she made a painful sacrifice to send my mother to live in Salt Lake City.

Through my grandmother’s first sacrifice and the many other sacrifices that my own mother would make for education, I have come to believe in the words of Chief Manuelito, who said, “My grandchild, education is the ladder. Tell our children to take it.” My mother took that advice and, as a single mother, she packed my younger sister and me up in our Ford Bronco and moved us from the reservation to Salt Lake so she could earn her college degree. Times were tough. I was in second grade and, after school each day, I would pick up my five-year-old sister from day care and cross the street to our apartment where we would lock the door and wait for my mother to return home from school. I remember many nights falling asleep to the sound of her type writer.

My grandmother and me preparing corn to make traditional kneel-down-bread


There were other sacrifices that my mother made for her education as well. The times she would go without to buy books and leaving our family and home again to move my sister and me to Boston so she could earn her master’s degree at Harvard. We showed up in Cambridge with three suitcases apiece and spent the first night in our apartment on sleeping bags. We cried because we had never been in a big city before and things were so fast-paced. We prayed a lot, and our family at home prayed for us as well. I was so proud of my mother at her graduation. My entire family made the three-day trek from the reservation to watch her receive her diploma.

In my own experiences in higher education, I have learned from my grandmother, who has a fourth-grade education, and my mother, who was the first in her family to graduate from college. They have taught me to value education and that through working hard in school, I can strengthen my people. There are other Native American people like me who have a desire to serve our people.

I am inspired by the passion of those I meet who are working hard to obtain an education and are furthering their careers. I know that we are not alone and if we take the ladder Chief Manuelito spoke of, we will see an increase in the number of Native American doctors, educators, spiritual leaders and business professionals, working together for a bright future for Indian country.

I became interested in business and financial education because I know how difficult life can be in reservation communities when families have to travel long distances to purchase groceries or find employment. In my current position as a grant writer for the American Indian College Fund, I read personal statements from Native American students and one woman’s essay was particularly touching. She is an older student, living on her reservation, who dreams of owning a mini-mart and laundromat because these facilities are not available in her hometown. I would like to one day provide financial education services to Native people who desire to own businesses that improve the quality of life in our communities.

I believe that Native American teachings and philosophies could greatly benefit the business world. One summer I wove a traditional Navajo rug with my grandmother. We were climbing the mesa behind her home, looking for plants to dye the wool. After great effort, we finally found some of the natural carrot we were looking for and, not wanting to have to climb the mesa again, I said, “Grandma, let’s take some more in case we run out.” My grandmother said, “Shi yazhi (my little one), only take what you need.”

I was humbled and, as I thought about what my grandmother told me, I began to notice other ways in which my grandmother conducted herself. When we butchered a lamb for eating, we saved every part and none went to waste. She is careful to conserve the water we use in our desert climate and she respects nahasdzáán shimá (Mother Earth). If individuals working in the business world began to think a little bit more like my grandmother, we would conserve more of our resources for future generations and be more aware of how our actions today affect the future.

I also believe that as the business world is becoming more diverse, we need more Native American representation. There is a great need for Native people with MBAs who can work to strengthen reservation economies while being respectful of our mother earth, rich culture, traditions and spirituality. Together, we can help our families and relatives at home, asserting our sovereignty and strengthening the economies of our nations so our people may have access to the resources they need.

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