Send a Runner: A Navajo Honors the Long Walk

by Edison Eskeets, Jim Kristofic

2022 Southwest Books of the Year

The Navajo tribe, the Diné, are the largest tribe in the United States and live across the American Southwest. But over a century ago, they were nearly wiped out by the Long Walk, a forced removal of most of the Diné people to a military-controlled reservation in New Mexico. The summer of 2018 marked the 150th anniversary of the Navajos' return to their homelands. One Navajo family and their community decided to honor that return. Edison Eskeets and his family organized a ceremonial run from Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, to Santa Fé, New Mexico, in order to deliver a message and to honor the survivors of the Long Walk.

Both exhilarating and punishing, Send a Runner tells the story of a Navajo family using the power of running to honor their ancestors and the power of history to explain why the Long Walk happened. From these forces, they might also seek the vision of how the Diné--their people--will have a future.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Indigenous, Memoir

200 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2021

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a runner and writer whose favorite genre to read is the travel memoir, I was primed to adore this book. In trying to figure out why I don't, I think it's because I wanted to hear more from Edison Eskeets, the runner at the heart of this story. He ran 330 miles from Spider Rock, Arizona, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to commemorate the Navajo Long Walk. The book tells the story of that run. But Edison says very little in these pages. I guess he lets his feet do the talking, and when I think of it as a kind of performance art, it makes sense. But how do you make a book with someone who chooses to make his point nonverbally? Author Jim Kristofic himself says he expected something different; a statement from Eskeets, who would end his run at the seat of the New Mexican government by speaking to those in power about his people's history and the importance of their continued existence. When the journey didn't end that way, I can imagine Kristofic asking himself, "Now how do I make a book out of this?" The answer was to interview Eskeets's friends and family about him, which was interesting, and to detail the run itself, day by day, which was well done. But the other answer was to write about the brutal history of Navajo interaction with other cultures, starting in the 1600s. Every chapter includes both Edison's run and some pieces of Navajo history, inevitably involving murders, broken promises, and other forms of brutality. Strangely, there's very little about the actual Long Walk. Most of the historical pieces rely on one source, a book by Raymond Friday Locke called "The Book of the Navajo." I learned a lot about Navajo history from this book, and it's a sad tale, one that weighs on the heart. I learned a bit about Eskeets and his run. I would have liked the book more if the balance had been the other way.

[Bethia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rather slim volume is divided into 15 chapters for the 15 days it took Navajo ultra-runner Edison Eskeets to run 330 miles, a ceremonial re-enactment of the Navajo Long Walk. Each chapter also provides historical insight into the grim history of the Navajo people under the punishment of the Spaniards, the U.S. government, the U.S. Army, U.S. settlers, and the Mexicans who were given free reign to enslave the Navajo. As with Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, it is illuminating to learn that while the country was concentrating on the Civil War, the westward expansion was claiming land by slaughtering game and live stock to starve out Nations' people, felling the trees they needed to survive, and forcing them onto to barren, arid land. Edison Eskeets runs a long hard road to honor his ancestors. The least we could do is honor them by acknowledging their suffering, and the great loss which can never be undone.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history of the Navajo templated onto a runner’s biography. This is a good short accompaniment to Andres Resendez’s book, “The Other Slavery.” The history of New Mexico is the history of slavery. The book relates much more than the Navajo Long Walk. It’s also the runner, Edison Eskeets’ last ultra and a homage to his people, past and present. He runs from Spider Rock in Arizona to Santa Fe, a distance of 330 miles, roughly a marathon a day for 15 consecutive days. No need to run to Fort Sumner, a place of darkness, as far as the Navajo are concerned.

[Laurie Parsons Cantillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m fascinated by both the Native American story and ultra running, and this book checks both boxes. It’s a beautiful story of Edison Eskeets, a 59-year-old Dine member who ran a mind-bending 330 miles to honor the survivors of the Long Walk. While I expected it to be mostly about Eskeets’ endurance and spiritual journey, the run is a tale of Dine resilience, interspersed with stories of the violence, betrayals, and injustices inflicted by new Americans in the name of “progress.” Send a Runner raises questions about who really is the more evolved; we may think the West was “won,” but it came at the price of our humanity, our acceptance of others, and our respect for Mother Earth.

[Trudie Barreras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Edison Eskeets is the runner and the author of the entire endeavor of running from Spider Rock at Canyon de Chelly to the Plaza of Santa Fe, NM, to honor the Long Walk, Jim Kristofic is the actual narrator of both the events of that 330 mile run, and the historical background. This history is indeed masterfully woven into the locations and experiences of the run itself, in an intriguing stream of consciousness fashion.

Eskeets is an experienced long-distance runner within the rich heritage of runners not only from the Navajo but also the Hopi and Apache tribes who also inhabit the Arizona and New Mexico areas from which those who made the Long Walk originated. This book presents an ongoing discussion of the way in which runners were sent during the periods of Spanish, Mexican and American invasion and colonization to carry the messages of threat and to mobilize the people for either fight or flight, as circumstances warranted. It is an extremely clear and balanced explication of the conflicts between these successive groups of invaders, the Indian tribes themselves, and the various alliances, treaties and betrayals involved. Although I was previously aware of the broad outlines of this history, I was thoroughly enlightened by the factual material presented. I was even more deeply moved, though, by the spiritual insights and authenticity of Eskeets’ endeavor.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edison Eskeets ran 330 miles over 15 days as a way to honor the 150th anniversary of the Navajos return to their lands following the Long Walk and imprisonment at Bosque Redondo. Author Jim Kristofic went along with the support crew and together they produced this book. The story of the run is interspersed with stories of Navajo history, mostly grim, going back way before the Long Walk. I liked that they are honoring and calling attention to the injustices the Navajos have suffered, but I did not find it to be compelling reading.

[Shannon Lobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I decided to read it because I am moving to New Mexico and didn’t really know anything about the history of the state or the culture. The main thing I gathered from this is that history is WAY more complicated than just the Navajos vs the colonial powers. I really appreciated how the book jumped between three different time lines: the “present day” aka the run, Edison’s life growing up and stories from other Navajo people in the more recent history, and a chronology of major historical events for the Navajo people.

[Winton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating weaving of history, memory, present day and life before & after this life. At times, I found the history confusing. I quickly realized that the history of what we call New Mexico is just that- confusing. And brutal. And deeply sad.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound and powerful

[Eva P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good to read but at the same time it wasn't. I had some mixed emotions reading this book and the history was a bit confusing. The book it self was about Edison Eskeets a runner who ran 330 miles from Spider Rock, Arizona to Santa Fe, New Mexico to honor the survivors of the Long Walk. It tells the story/journey on his way to Santa Fe. There are chapters where it tells about Edison and the history of the Long walk/Navajo history. I liked how the author included history about the navajos into this book as a way to let people know more about them. I disliked how it would change from Edison to the history since I was getting confused and mixed up. But overall it was a great book to read and I would recommend it to those who like history and biographies.

[AJ Stoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anybody actually gave a s*** about real history, they might discover this book. Of course, MAGA would not read it but immediately want to ban it because it's very uncomfortable truth. I had no idea New Mexico made slaves out of half of the Navajo. It's not really a spoiler alert but I will describe one image that stands out just to give you a sample of the new atrocities you will discover about America's genocide of the first peoples: Navajo children picking the undigested corn out of the soldier's feces and then eating it to survive.

The history is woven into the modern man's running of the long walk. It makes it a little hard to follow as an audiobook, but it definitely has a rhythm, or should I say, a rattle?

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had wanted to enjoy this. I had wanted to read about Edison and his family. I had wanted to read about the experiences along the route and the people they met. Instead, most of this was a history of the Navajo nation and the conflicts and persecutions they faced. I'm not saying that the history isn't important. I suppose if you're trying to show how the run honored the past you have to explain the past. But perhaps a chapter summarizing it before focusing on the run. This went too far the other way in my opinion.

[Meeka Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You find it by running. The run is the prayer. Your feet drum to Mother Earth. Your breath changes to Father Sky. But it has nothing to do with running.”

The history of the Long Walk for Navajos and the significance of running and was very insightful and moving. I recommend this book if you want to learn more about the Navajos historically and spiritually and are seeking inspiration as a current or aspiring runner.

Navajo term:

Jádí, jau’di’- one who uses legs or The Runner, pronounced “Jow-Deh”

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, especially learning about Navajo history and culture. I applaud the author for doing this run and would love to love to meet him someday. I have people on both sides of the conflict of this terrible chapter in the history of this country. One of my ancestors was part of the Oñate expedition and another was a Navajo woman forced to endure the Long Walk; she ended up being adopted/enslaved by a Spanish rancher. She is my great, great grandmother, Isabel de Herrera, although that obviously is not her given name. I wish I knew it.

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had not previously read other books about the Navajo Long Walk, I would have been lost reading this one. However, with that background, I admire Edison Eskeets as he honored his ancestors with a grueling, modern-day, 330-mile run at age 59. During his 15-day run he relives in his mind many of the conflicts that occurred among the Native American groups, the Spanish, the Americans, and the blend of cultures creating the New Mexicans. New Mexico state history is filled with these clashes and the blending of diverse cultures.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book. An incredible journey of Edison Eskeets to honor those lost in the history of conflict of the Diné with the Spanish, Mexican, and the US. This book is one of the great reminders that native people are modern people, that they are still here. Edison's discussion of his own modern and traditional philosophy was enlightening.

And a well-written account of Navajo contact with European cultures from the Navajo perspective.

Just a phenomenal book.

[Linda Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had previously read Jim Kristofic's book "Navajos Wear Nikes" so it was richer knowing the background of the author. He weaves mostly Navajo history from before and during the Bosque Redondo failure to explain why Edison Eskeets is running 330 miles to honor the survivors of the Long Walk. The juxtaposition is necessary to explain why Edison is running.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the past and present history of the Najavo/Dine people at the hands of the white man’s interference and dominance. This documentation of a commemorative run recalling the 300+ mile Long Walk in the 19th century was a good vehicle for the historical review. Well written, emotionally engaging, I hav recommended it to multiple readers.

[Karen Nevotti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t finish this book. When it took me a month to read 35 pages, I finally decided to move on. Mr. Eskeets’ tribute to his ancestors and The Long Walk is admirable, but the play-by-play didn’t hold my interest.

[Matt Heavner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several threads that are a bit amorphous - but this book weaves them together into a fantastic tapestry illuminating the past, present (and future?). A great documentation of an ultra-run to commemorate and reflect on the Long Walk and the horrific and complicated history of New Mexico.

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

This audiobook - I listened to about half. Plot is weak and hard to follow although the locations are familiar. Since the author is the reader, the Dine' language is well spoken. Not my kinda book. Not gonna do this author again. DNF

[Tim Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He asks me why Edison is doing the run.
"I say that the run is a kind of prayer that you can't make with words. So you make the prayer with your body because the prayer goes beyond what words can say."

[Bill Glose · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of what happened to the Navajo before and during "The Long Walk" is an incredible and painful history. I wanted to like this book more - heck, I wanted to love it - but the writing was too elliptical and spare for me to get into it.

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative about the history of the Navajo.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye-opening story about the Long Walk of the Navajo interwoven with one man’s modern 330 mile run to bring awareness to those historical events and tragedies against the Navajo people.

[Cody]

The story of a run, the story of a people. "It is all so simple that it takes your whole life to understand."

[Lori Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent book, considering I am not as much of a non-fiction reader as I should be.

[Joe Hauglie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Great insight into some of the cultural distinctives of Navajo, and the impact of the years of oppression they have faced.

[Carrie Brown-Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history alongside the incredible running journey is important and tragic.