The Earth Memory Compass: Diné Landscapes and Education in the Twentieth Century

by Farina King

The Diné, or Navajo, have their own ways of knowing and being in the world, a cultural identity linked to their homelands through ancestral memory. The Earth Memory Compass traces this tradition as it is imparted from generation to generation, and as it has been transformed, and often obscured, by modern modes of education. An autoethnography of sorts, the book follows Farina King’s search for her own Diné identity as she investigates the interconnections among Navajo students, their people, and Diné Bikéyah—or Navajo lands—across the twentieth century.

In her exploration of how historical changes in education have reshaped Diné identity and community, King draws on the insights of ethnohistory, cultural history, and Navajo language. At the center of her study is the Diné idea of the Four Directions, in which each of the cardinal directions takes its meaning from a sacred mountain and its accompanying East, for instance, is Sis Naajiní (Blanca Peak) and white shell; West, Dook’o’oosłííd (San Francisco Peaks) and abalone; North, Dibé Nitsaa (Hesperus Peak) and black jet; South, Tsoodził (Mount Taylor) and turquoise. King elaborates on the meanings and teachings of the mountains and directions throughout her book to illuminate how Navajos have embedded memories in landmarks to serve as a compass for their people—a compass threatened by the dislocation and disconnection of Diné students from their land, communities, and Navajo ways of learning.

Critical to this story is how inextricably Indigenous education and experience is intertwined with American dynamics of power and history. As environmental catastrophes and struggles over resources sever the connections among peoplehood, land, and water, King's book holds out hope that the teachings, guidance, and knowledge of an earth memory compass still have the power to bring the people and the earth together.

264 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2018

Reviews

[Sierra Luce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant brilliant brilliant!!

King wrote an incredible ethnography of Diné education. Really interesting ideas, amazing research (especially the interviews), great writing.

[teyanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING SHOW STOPPING BEAUTIFUL !! I loved everything about this !! It was so inspiring to read a history book that incorporated dine bizaad, farina king… wow

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farina King views educational experiences through an indigenous lens. Her approach is unique. She connects Navajo boarding school experiences and distant education in relation to their upbringing and early childhood indigenous experiences. Pratt believed that Native American children were blank slates, or empty vessels to be filled. King challenges this notion by introducing an Earth Memory Compass, a term that she invented to describe the embedded-ness of culture that connects their identity to the land and exists in children prior to their education. This collective identity affected their educational experiences as they left home. This is a phenomenal contribution to the fields of education and Native American History, it is a must-read.

[Marilee C-R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farina King did a beautiful job of organizing this book around the four Diné directions. As an educator on the Navajo nation many years ago, I connected to the astounding struggle for sovereignty in indigenous education. At the time, my principal wanted to start a bilingual school but there was so much resistance from the San Juan School District. Through sharing personal stories and personal accounts of DIné people’s struggle, she offers hope at the end for locally controlled schools.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for a college class, and it is interesting. King did a very good job on this and I cannot wait to read more of her work! Her writing style seemed very personal and it pulled me into what she was trying to teach.

[Kholan ᎪᎳᏄ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing work of scholarship for Indigenous Education and History