Inheritance

Friends –

There are a small number of people in this world that I have met who have so many abilities and accomplishments – and dare I say it – powers, that they seem to be supernatural.  Davina Smith is one. 

This powerful woman is a member of the Diné (Navajo) tribe, raised helping her family herd sheep in Monument Valley, Utah. From her I learned that she belongs to the Ta’chii’ nii (Red Running into the Water) clan and is born to the Ta’ baa ha’ (Edgewater) clan.  I gather that her beginnings could be called ‘simple’, but rather I think that they were not simple at all. Instead, her early (and current) years were infused with learning to connect with the spiritual and to rely on earth’s instructions to give her the most important lessons.  Lessons also came from her family and she gives particular credit to her grandmother, Katherine Smith, who is represented in this painting that I am calling “Inheritance.”

There was a monstrous time when the U.S. government was ‘Relocating’ native tribes in ways that were cruel, inhumane, and merciless.  Beginning in 1864, many Navajo and other tribes were forced into the Long Walk’ from which few survived. This continued through the decades, but when it came to her grandmother -- Katherine Smith -- refused to go. She stood at her front door with her rifle and fired a shot into the air to make sure that they knew she was not leaving her home in the sacred mountains -- that place that nurtured her spirit and held her mother’s spirit. People took notice and she managed to stay.

That fire is the power of conviction that Davina inherited from her grandmother, and she constantly demonstrates it.

I assume that the combination of Katherine’s fiery strength and stories of the forced march decades before were a big part of what passed through Davina’s mind as she completed her “Prayer Run” in 2019.  Davina’s “Prayer Run” consisted of a 360-mile run through the Utah deserts which started at Bears Ears National Monument. Its purpose was to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, family separations at the border, the Mauna Kea conflict and environmental racism. Completing that ultra long distance was the Katherine Smith ‘fire of conviction’ at work, I have no doubt.

That fire that Davina inherited has also helped her serve many valuable roles including Director of Operations for Utah Diné Bikeyah, Representative for the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition,  American Indican Coordinator for Salt Lake School District, Program Director for the American Indian Teacher Training Program (Utah and Arizona), and Board Member of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, Love is King (Portland, OR) and CEO of Haseya Native Initiative, LLC.

And now, Davina’s strengths and intelligence have led her to a position with the National Parks Conservation Association as the Organizer/Tribal Coordinator. She is helping protect Cultural Landscapes of Southeastern Utah referred to as the “Lands Between” which connect Hovenweep, Canyons of the Ancients, and Bears Ears National Monuments. 

There is probably much more if I knew enough to tell you. But after reading even this short summary, you might forgive me for considering Davina Smith to be a woman with super powers.  I am grateful to know her.

margie lopez read