God Bless the Dine (Navajo) Nation. I Didn't write this but was so touched by it I had to share it. I pray the author doesn't mind. ----->First, we must acknowledge our noble heritage; where we come from and who WE descent from. During the 1600's, a Spanish Priest had stated his own impression of the Navajo people: "They are very vigorous and warlike people and very brave in war; even in a manner of speaking they stand apart from the other nations; because they speak quietly and slowly,...They dress in buckskin made of deer hides, very nicely tanned and elegant in their style; and the women are smartly and modesty dressed...They are very obedient to their elders for whom they show great respect; they teach and punish their children, unlike the other nations, who use no punishment whatsoever; and they take great pride in speaking the truth; holding in dishonor anyone caught in a lie." As Navajos, we must move away from the "Native" idea. In the past, it had helped open many eyes to the conditions of all the tribes. But to stop the dilution of our own heritage, we must start accepting the "Navajo" Idea. We must unite as a people and stand as a people. In this new age, we are facing many distractions that are taking us away from our heritage and dealing with racism and hatred from those who don't know the suffering and heartache of our people. We must NOT let our ancestors at Hweeldi be forgotten or let their prayers and suffering go in vain. As Barboncito said, "It is a long trail from here to our home, my people. We must watch our steps carefully from this point on. Otherwise, we could lose the trail, and never see our homes again." A powerful statement made by our chief. On that note, we need to "watch our steps" and make those steps towards "SOVEREIGNTY†Our ancestors suffered much for their future posterity, in hopes for a better life. Since then, many have stepped up as Barboncito did (on that day in 1868). But eventually, they allowed their pride, greed, hatred, and glory destroy their valiant rise to power and leaving their people to suffer and lose hope. Now, we are a vast nation with talented Navajos exploring the world. We even grew up among "the very people" who had once imprisoned our ancestors and even adapted to some of their ways and ideas. Many of us have explored the world for work, for school, or for our country. From those travels, we made new friends; friends that could stand as supporters for our cause of "FREEDOM" for our Nation. Over the years, we have grown in strength and in power from the knowledge we had attained. With that knowledge we could bring about good changes and mend old wounds. That all depends on the steps we take. So tell me what you think being a Navajo (Dine') means to you?Our ancestors were given directions in which our people are to follow. We have been given the four sacred mountains in our surrounding areas on the Navajo Nation. We were born with an identity which identifies us by our clan. Our traditions can not dwindle. Remember we are the Navajo people; we can make changes in our government. We are survivors of survivors. Our ancestors stood their ground when they were expected to lose ground. Imagine the strength and courage they felt while they were on their way back to their homeland after suffering from Hweel’di’. They made it back. Let’s make it back to our own culture. Lets start a new government.(NavajoButterfly)