Good morning Nataani's, staff and students,

I am honored to work with our children again in this new school year 2023-24. At TILC, we have respect for our Dine history, language, and culture, which the staff implement along with western academics. We work with the Arizona State Standards, an assessment tool that all schools in Arizona are required to use. The standards are used to help us monitor student growth, learning and performance.

It is only appropriate for me to introduce myself through the clan system. My first clan is Naashgali Dine'e which is affiliated with the Mescalero Apache bloodline or clan. My second clan is Tabaahi. In English, this translates to Near the Water People. My maternal grandfather's clan is To’ahheedlinii and my paternal grandfather's clan is Ma’ii Deeshgiizhnii. My parents were both born in and grew up in Canyon Del Muerto.

I think the most fascinating part of my clan is hearing the oral stories about my great, great, great, grandmother's Mescalero Apache heritage. Naashgali Dine'e would become known among the Dine as one of their new clans, an adopted clan. I am sure that for my great, great, great-grandmother this was not at all a pleasant experience because she was brought here by Navajo warriors who stole her from her tribe. Regardless, she built her life at Shush Bitoo’. Most likely, this did not sit easily with the matriarchs of the area at the time. Stories tell us that the main matriarch once tried to scold the man who married her and aggressively said to him "take her back to wherever she came from. If she stays, someday she will claim land." The clan would become accepted and eventually adopted by the Dine Tribe. The Mescalero Woman did inherit land from the Navajo man she married at a place we call Bear Springs in between Canyon Del Muerto and Canyon De Chelly. Today, my late mother's brothers, sisters and their children have made homes there at Shush Bitoo.

I attended kindergarten school through 12th grade at Chinle Schools. After high school graduation, I got accepted to The Institute of American Indian Arts in the early 90's earning an Associates of Fine Arts. After finishing school at I.A.I.A., I went on to Fort Lewis College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. With that degree, I taught Fine Arts in the Navajo Nation for 15 years and finally decided to go back to school. I earned a masters' degree in Art Therapy and Counseling in 2019.

I grew up with many challenges on the rez. I grew up in a single-parent home, which can be heartbreaking and tough. I cried a lot, because my dad was not in my life during my teen years. Many of you are facing the same challenges, but you know what? If I can get through this hardship, so can you. My father did not even really come into my life until after college. I would work for him at his horse tour business to make an income during the summer months off from college. My parents did not live together but always had respect for one another. My mother was always in support of my education after high school. Besides mom's support, I was lucky that those few teachers who believed in me encouraged me to continue on to college. Those few teachers continued to taunt me about college, so I went each time I was given an acceptance letter. I want to encourage each of you to move into college after high school. This is why it is so important for you to stay in school. I hope you make the choice to come to school each day because the staff here want a better life for you after you graduate. Our children here at Window Rock Public Schools are the future. There will come a time when we will become the elders and look up to your leadership within our tribe. 

Sincerely,

Victoria Begay, TILC/TDB School Art Therapist/Counselor