Sanders, Jenny

Jenny Sanders 

T'aadii k'ǫǫ hwiinii dłǫǫh 

16x20 

Acrylic Paint 

NFS 

Bio: My name is Jenny Sanders. I am part of the Navajo Nation Tribe. My clans are Dzil t'áadi nishłį́, Deeshchii'nii bá shíshchíín, Tsé deeshgiizhnii dashicheí, ʼÁshįįhí dashinálí. This is my self-identity and self-image. I grew up on the Navajo reservation until the 8th grade when I moved to the valley for High School. 

Artist Statement: The meaning of my surrealistic artwork “T'aadii k'ǫǫ hwiinii dłǫǫh” (through adversity we are still resilient)  is the history of my people who have suffered from colonization. I chose to paint this piece because I want people to know more about our history, as it is not well known. The painting shows my people walking in the direction that is supposed to be east, following a giant Coyote wearing a mailman uniform. This represents the ceremony that took place four days before returning home. All of the medicine men performed a coyote ceremony, in which a coyote walked passed, toward the east - telling them to go home. Coyotes are known to be messengers in Navajo culture. That same day, the American government passed a law where they were able to return home. The top right shows Kit Carson the person who led the whole migration and genocide of our people. He is seen to be crying the blood of the ones who died on the journey. The top shows horses also leaving toward the east back home. Then, on the bottom left, it shows an old woman who has no facial features due to what she and her people endured. The painting takes place at Mt. Taylor, New Mexico -  where the Diné makes it back home to what would then be “the reservation”. To know more about my people and this event, go to Google and search “The Navajo Long Walk”.