Diné designer Amy Denet Deal brings indigenous fashion to Santa Fe

What brought you to Santa Fe? Were you born on nearby Diné land?

I was born in ‘64. The Indian Child Welfare Act was [enacted] after I was born, so I was adopted out. During Indian relocation in the 60s, my mom was relocated to Ohio, which was a very common way that the government spread out the Native youth to break up the uprisings.

She got pregnant with me out in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest, and I got snatched up by Catholic Charities and adopted out with no connection to my birth family and was raised by non-natives in the Midwest.

I had a great childhood, but no connection to culture — not for lack of love, just for lack of education and lack of protocol by the government. It’s a little bit different now: I'm very supportive of the Indian Child Welfare Act because it protects our children from what I've been through.

In hindsight, I learned amazing things in the outside world that I'm able to bring back. My reintegration— coming home — was in 2019. My daughter graduated high school, so in my empty nest phase, I was like, I'm going to learn what it means to become a Dinemic matriarch. I came home.

KEEP READING:

https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/profiles-strategies/2025/08/amy-denet-deal.html 

ntsáhákees | nahat’á | iiná | sih hasin | Diné Action Plan

Nygren asks state child welfare experts to adopt traditional Navajo teachings

Who Are the Navajo People? - WorldAtlas  worldatlas.com

By Navajo Times | Sep 21, 2023 | News |

WINDOW ROCK – Child welfare services provided to by Arizona, New Mexico and Utah may soon be improved through the adoption of traditional Navajo teachings and knowledge if incorporated into their programs.

Officials with these states’ child welfare agencies were in Window Rock recently to discuss ways to expand the capacity of their existing partnership with the Navajo Nation.

The meeting sought ways to strengthen agreements between the Navajo Nation Division of Social Services and states to enhance services for Navajo children and families.

“My administration wants to encourage collaboration between child welfare agencies and to use the Diné Action Plan to help combat the challenges our Diné families and children face,” President Buu Nygren told state officials.

The Diné Action Plan is considered a living document that expresses Diné teachings. It was adopted by the 24th Navajo Nation Council in 2021. The plan was introduced in April 2018 as a blueprint to improve the quality of life throughout the Navajo Nation.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing inter-generational cycles that occur when a child is removed from his or her home,” said Thomas Cody, executive director of the Navajo Division of Social Services. “The increase of substance use, decrease of healthy parenting, and a decrease in teachings at home causes a decrease in spiritual connection.”

According to Cody, some Navajo services aid and provide services that focus on alleviating those generational challenges and traumas.

“Unfortunately, more is needed to combat these issues. This is why these collaborative partnerships are so important,” Cody said.

Although the Nation has the resources to treat those in need, it needed a plan to reflect Navajo values and principles of ntsáhákees (thinking), nahat’á, (planning), iiná (action) and sih hasin (reflection) that Navajos are familiar with through their traditional teaching.

The DAP was the result. It was designed to address public safety, violence, substance use disorder, suicide and missing and murdered Diné relatives on the Navajo Nation, said Cody.

According to the DAP, which references traditional Navajo teachings, in contemporary society Navajos face the “monsters” of the modern world.

“These include substance abuse, suicide and the various forms of violence that has come onto our people. With substance abuse, our people are attacked by the monster of addiction and lose their lives to chemicals that draw them into a trap of irresistible cravings where they are poisoned and die.

“With suicide, our Diné face the evil of hopelessness which results in the taking of one’s own life,” Cody said. “With violence, there are monsters of frustration and pain causing them to lash out on others. Finally, there are monsters outside Navajoland and within (which) take our people away from our families.”

The DAP states that the teachings of the Navajo deities, known to Navajos as the Holy People, “are embedded in our culture and traditions and the teachings provide us with the tools we need to defeat our modern monsters. The teachings have been given to us by our Diyin Dine’é (the Holy People).”

According to Navajo teachings, the seven monsters that have preyed upon the Navajo people from time immemorial are laziness, sleepiness, jealousy, hunger, poverty, lice and old age.

The DAP was established to maintain spiritual connection as the foundational component to self-identify and to our culture, said the president.

Nygren said the Diné Action Plan should be part of each state’s mental health programs because most Navajos would be familiar and comfortable with its concepts, and that would lead to better outcomes.

He said there is a need for a state-tribal cooperative approach because so many Navajos live off the Navajo Nation and use mental health care provided through neighboring state services.

“Mental health and wellness are so important, especially for our young people and elders,” he said. “By working together with our state partners, we can help ensure Navajos have access to culturally appropriate services no matter where they live.”

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted longstanding mental health challenges on the Navajo Nation. These include high rates of depression, substance abuse and suicide.
Isolation during lockdowns exacerbated these issues for many Navajos.

The agreements will aim to address barriers of lack of transportation, shortage of Navajo-speaking providers, and the high cost of care.

Specific programs being discussed include the development of a mobile crisis unit, school-based telehealth services and funding for traditional healing.

Letter to anyone willing to help by adoptee Leland P. Morrill (Navajo)

http://www.facebook.com/notes/adopted-native-american-citizenship-affected-by-the-real-id-act-of-2005/letter-to-foundations-companies-politicians-national-leaders-private-trusts-medi/165747200141739

By Leland P. Morrill, Adopted Native American Citizenship Affected by The REAL ID Act of 2005
[on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 6:41pm]


To: Those willing to help provide resources:
Thank you. Please read and reply. I invite you to read my Facebook information, my notes and blog entries. Hopefully this Facebook Page will begin the process of Change for Native Americans Affected by THE REAL ID ACT of 2005.
I, Leland P. Morrill e-mailed Representative F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) sometime in early 2010 with the express concern that H.R. 419 The Real ID ACT of 2005 is affecting me and asuming, many other Adopted Native Americans or Native Americans who will apply or renew their State issued Identification or State issued Drivers License and will no longer qualify for lack of documentation. Rep. Sensenbrenner or his office did not reply by letter or e-mail.

REAL ID ACT link: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-109hr418rfs/pdf/BILLS-109hr418rfs.pdf

REAL ID ACT of 2005 passages affecting me and possibly other Native Americans:
(pg 42) TITLE II—IMPROVED SECURITY FOR DRIVERS’ LICENSES AND PERSONAL
IDENTIFICATION CARDS
(pg 43) Minimum document requirements:
(pg 44) (2) The person’s date of birth.
(pg 45) (B) Documentation showing the person’s date of birth
(pg 46) (C) TEMPORARY DRIVERS’ LICENSES AND17 IDENTIFICATION CARDS
(i) IN GENERAL.—If a person presents evidence under any of clauses (v) through (ix) of subparagraph (B), the State may only issue a temporary driver’s license or temporary identification card to the person. (ii) EXPIRATION DATE.—A temporary driver’s license or temporary identification card issued pursuant to this subparagraph shall be valid only during the period of time of the applicant’s authorized stay in the United States or, if there is no definite end to the period of authorized stay, a period of one year.
There will be undocument Native Americans who will find through their respective state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) they no longer have the eligible documentation to maintain or be issued an Identification Card or Drivers License. Some will be issued a temporary "paper" 1 to 6 month extension, up to one year, as per The Real ID ACT of 2005. Others will not. Once the State issued temporary extension, Identification, Drivers License expires, these Native Americans (me included) will become undocumented, thus illegal with no papers.
One of the main reasons for me setting up this Facebook page is because I never received correspondence from Representative Sensenbrenner. In addition, through 22 years of research, my own research has resulted in obtaining a State of Arizona Certificate of No Birth, keep in mind the Navajo Nation adopted me out in Chinle, Arizona.
My State of Arizona "Certificate of No Birth," was issued December 21, 2010, the result of my continuous research since September 07, 1989.
So far, with the help of my close friends, and people willing to help, my own financing, tens of thousands of USdollars later, I now have a State of Arizona Certificate of No Birth and a second State issued 6 month temporary paper Drivers License expiring July 13, 2011. My United States of America CITIZENSHIP expires on that date, again JULY 13, 2011. By virtue of the REAL ID ACT of 2005, States may only issue temporary Drivers Licenses and Identification for those who currently have one for an additional year. I am one of those cases. Representative Sensenbrenner's Real ID ACT of 2005 will make me an ILLEGAL ALIEN who cannot work, and cannot access medical care, obtain a credit card, bank account, vote, and any right that is afforded a United States Citizen because of not having a current State issued Identification Card or Drivers License. My citizenship expires July 13, 2011 after my second 6month temporary State issued Drivers License does.

SPECIAL NOTE: The Navajo Nation adopted me, a Navajo Orphan, out of the tribe on July 15, 1971 throught their Trial Court of the Navajo Tribe, Judicial District of Chinle Arizona without a Birth Certificate, Navajo Census Number or Navajo Certificate of Indian Blood.
My adopted parents Stan and Gwena Morrill attempted to obtain a Birth Certificate but the Navajo Court system never granted one through reasons of their own. (this is an update because of a February 25, 2011 8:00am conversation with Alisia at the Window Rock Navajo Nation Vital Statistics Office and me verifying this with my adopted mother, Gwena Morrill)

There will be others who will follow behind me, who may or may not have been adopted out of their respective Native Nations within the boundaries of the United States of America. Myself and all who follow need the help, financial resources, and a path to secure United States of America Citizenship. This is an expensive and lengthy process. What I am proposing is to set up some type of agency, be it non-profit or what-ever because the path to maintain citizenship will be very costly and time consuming without one. There are legal fees, postage fees, Notary Fees, and in some cases livelihood, such as employment will be affected. Some Native Americans who do not have access to their respective Nations services will become homeless, jobless, and unable to access any services such as unemployment, social security, health, etc simply because they no longer have a current State issued Identification Card or Drivers License.
WE NEED TO HELP...I can't accomplish this on my own. I need help.
I need to obtain my own State Issued Birth Certificate, Certificate of Indian Blood, or Census Number so I can maintain my US Citizenship requirements through The REAL ID ACT of 2005.
I need to raise funding to create awareness, become politically active, stand in front of U.S. Congress, talk to State and and U.S. Representatives, Tribal/Nation Leaders/Presidents, State DMV Directors and their staff. This takes immense amount of resources: Money, Talent, Time are among them.
I am willing to be the National Face of Native Americans who are affected by The REAL ID ACT of 2005. I am willing to testify, provide public comment in front of political decision makers, presidents of native nations, foundations or those who are willing to provide funding, keeping in mind it takes more than my own funds to accomplish this.
PLEASE read my Facebook Page Information, notes and my blog entries for my story, then ask yourself: AM I WILLING TO HELP?  WHO IS WILLING TO HELP?
My contact information is: Leland P. Morill, email: lelandpmorrill@gmail.com
Please use the subject line: Adoption: Leland Kirk

[note from Trace: I emailed Leland today and offered my book and my help. Please email him a letter of support. He is correct. He is not the only adoptee this will affect. Visit and share his Facebook page.]