UC Riverside

Most Indigenous peoples in the United States live in cities, meaning a large portion of Diné (Navajo) people live in urban areas. As urban dwellers, Diné peoples must make their way amidst an environment where Indigenous peoples and epistemologies are not readily represented or affirmed. What complicates urban Native existence is having to contend with harmful stereotypes. Urban Indigenous peoples are discounted as inauthentic and disconnected by both non-Indigenous and Indigenous societies. These stereotypes can have powerful implications for Diné self-concept and well-being and can compound the effects of preexisting intergenerational and historical trauma. Negative self-image can contribute to an overall negative state of mental health, and, in extreme cases, it can lead to harmful health outcomes like substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Using a Diné feminist and weavers’ methodology, this paper theorizes ways to affirm urban Indigenous and Diné peoples. Using Diné teachings of hózhǫ́ (beauty, harmony, confidence, and peace) and k’é (kinship and relationality) as a foundation for understanding wellness, this dissertation uses a hózhǫ́ǫ́ji or Beautyway analytic to see beyond urban stigmatization, assimilation, and Indigenous erasure. By applying a radical practice of k’é (kinship and relationality) and hózhǫ́ǫ́ji meaning making, it is theorized that Diné people can navigate their urban environment in ways that affirm and validate their Diné identity and personhood. I argue that regardless of the level of cultural knowledge, the perspectives of Diné people have value in the realization of vibrant Diné futurities. Hózhǫ́ǫ́ji meaning making is a tool that can help individuals see beyond powerful theoretical constructs like death-worlds, instead positioning individuals for a turn toward life in all ways. This turning toward life can help Diné peoples make peace with the traumatic and genocidal histories of the Long Walk and internment at Bosque Redondo. It also can help in reconceptualizing present conditions of life in urban areas for Indigenous peoples. In reconceptualizing the urban area, urban spaces become places replete with possibility for innovation and futurity. The result of applying a hózhǫ́ǫ́ji analytic is a more positive outlook on life and self, which is a prerequisite for wellness within Diné and Indigenous communities.