The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Flag of My Country. Shikéyah Bidah Na'at'a'í, by Cecil S. King This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Flag of My Country. Shikéyah Bidah Na'at'a'í Navajo New World Readers 2 Author: Cecil S. King Illustrator: Henry Bahe Translator: Marian Nez Release Date: November 9, 2007 [EBook #23424] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FLAG OF MY COUNTRY. *** Produced by David Starner, Jana Srna and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net NAVAJO NEW WORLD READERS · 2 The Flag of My Country SHIKÉYAH BIDAH NA'AT'A'Í KING — NEZ — BAHE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS … DIVISION OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Stewart L. Udall, Secretary BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner DIVISION OF EDUCATION Charles N. Zellers, Assistant Commissioner This story was written by CECIL S. KING Leader, Special Navajo Program The Navajo was written by MARIAN NEZ Teacher-Interpreter The illustrations were made by HENRY BAHE Fourth year Student all of the Carson Indian School Single Copy Price 30 cents Second edition 5,000 copies—February 1956 INTERIOR. HASKELL PRESS. 5-58-100-3M NAVAJO NEW WORLD READERS · 2 The Flag of My Country SHIKÉYAH BIDAH NA'AT'A'Í KING — NEZ — BAHE NAVAJO NEW WORLD READERS At this writing (1951) there are approximately 26,000 children of school age on the Navajo reservation. About 40 percent of these are between the ages of 12 and 18. The great majority have never been inside a school, and do not speak English. Recently the government has provided space for more than 4,000 of these non-English-speaking adolescents in ten of its off-reservation boarding schools. A five-year intensive educational program is provided designed to teach these children to speak, read, write, and think in English; to do simple arithmetic, to know the facts of American history, world geography, civics and health; and to provide the basic skills which will enable them to obtain and hold a permanent job away from the reservation. The reservation resources will support only about half the present population. We have learned how to teach these non-English-speaking Navajos to speak and read English very rapidly. However, there isn't much material for them to read. They are maturing adolescents with adolescent interests. Primers and first readers prepared for use by six-year-old school children don't have much interest for them. Because most non- Indians learn to read when they are young, very few books are published in which the ideas are mature, but the vocabularies simple enough for beginning readers. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, therefore, has undertaken the preparation and printing of booklets written by the leaders who are working directly with these children. Because the children are entering a new culture, and their success will depend upon the degree to which they make the basic ideas of this culture their own, these new books will rely on the material of this new culture for their content. They will present to these young people a new and different world from that through which they have grown during their early years on the reservation. Willard W. Beatty Chief, Branch of Education I am a Navajo boy. Naabeehó 'ashkii nishł�́. This is my home. Díí shighan 'át'é. [1] [2] My home is in Arizona. Arizona bii' shighan. Arizona is in the United States. [3] [4] Arizona 'éí kéyah dízdiin dóó ba'aan tseebíí sinilígíí bii'. The United States is my country. Kéyah dízdiin dóó ba'aan tseebíí sinilígíí shikéyah 'át'é. This is the flag of the United States. This is the flag of my country. This is my flag. Dii dah na'at'a'í Kéyah dízdiin dóó ba'aan tseebíí sinilígíí bá 'át'é. Dii dah na'at'a'í shikéyah bá 'át'é. Dii shi dah na'at'a'í. I look at my flag. Shi dah na'at'a'í nísh'�́. [5] [6] [7] I think of my home. I think of my mother. I think of my baby brother. Shighan baa nitséskees. Shimá baa nitséskees. 'Awéé' sitsilí baa nitséskees. I think of my father. I help my father. [8] [9] Shizhé'é baa nitséskees. Shizhé'é bíká 'anáshwo'. I think of the sheep. I take care of the sheep. I can herd the sheep. Dibé baa nitséskees. Dibé baa 'áháshyą́. Shí na'nishkaad yiishch�́�́h. I think of the lambs. I take care of the lambs. The lambs can run. I run and play with the lambs. Shidibé yázhí baa nitséskees. Shidibé yázhí baa 'áháshyą́. [10] [11] Dibé yázhí naanáájah dayiichįįh. Dibé yázhí bił naanááshjahgo bił nidaashnée łeh. I think of the corn. I can plant corn. I like to plant corn. Shinaadą́ą́' baa nitséskees łeh. Shinaadą́ą́' k'éédíshdlééh. Naadą́ą́' k'éédíshdléehgo shił yá'át'ééh. [12] [13] I think of the sun. I can play in the sun. The sun is warm. I am happy in the sun. Shí jóhonaa'éí baa nitséskees. Shą́ą́'góó naashnée łeh. Jóhonaa'éí bits'áníłdoi. Shą́ą'jį' shił hózhǫ́. I think of my horse. I like to ride my horse in the wind. Shił�́�́' baa nitséskees. Níyol bii' shil�́�́' nashiyéego shił yá'át'ééh. [14] I think of the deer. I think of the birds. Shí bįįh baa nitséskees łeh. Shí tsídii baa nitséskees łeh. [15] I look at my flag. I think of my school. Shi dah na'at'a'í nísh'�́. Shí 'ólta' baa nitséskees łeh. [16] I think of my big sister. My big sister and I go to school. Shádí baa nitséskees. Shádi dóó shí 'ííníilta'. I can go to school. I go to school every day. I like my school. [17] [18] 'Ííníshta'go bee haz'ą́. T'áá 'ákwííj�́ 'ííníshta'. 'Ííníshta'ígíí shił yá'átééh. My school is far from my home. My school is off the reservation. I will go to school five years. I will learn. I will learn many things. 'Ííníshta'dóó 'éí shighan doo deeghání da. Naabeehó bikéyah bits'ą́ą́di 'ííníshta'. 'Ííníshta'go 'ashdla' nídoohhah. 'Íhwiideesh'ááł. Lą'ígóó 'íhwiideesh'ááł. I may learn to be a carpenter. A carpenter uses a saw. A carpenter builds houses. Tsin nehech'iishgo t'áadoo le'é bee 'ádaal'�́�́j�́ daats'í 'íhwiideesh'ááł. Kin 'ííł�́�́nii tsin bee nihech'iishí choyooł'�́. Tsin niyiich'iishii kin 'ádeile'. [19] [20] A painter uses a brush. A painter paints houses. I may learn to be a painter. Da'adleeshígíí 'éí bee da'adleeshí chodayooł'�́. Da'adleeshígíí kin deidleesh łeh. Kin deidleeshígíí daats'í nishł�́į dooleeł. A farmer lives on a farm. A farmer lives in the country. I may learn to be a farmer. K'ee'dídléhí dá'ák'ehgi bighan. K'ee'dídléhí kéyah bii' kééhat'�́. K'éé'dílghééjí daats'í 'íhwiideesh'ááł. [21] [22]