“Passing the Fire”: Diné C.A.R.E. Founding Member Interviews

Project Lead:

Robyn Jackson - Executive Director, Diné C.A.R.E.

Affiliations:

Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment (Diné C.A.R.E.), UNM (Cameron Zarrabzadeh, PhD student SCALA, project volunteer/assistant)

Project Description: 

Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment (Diné C.A.R.E.) is an all-Navajo nonprofit environmental justice organization comprised of grassroots community members active on Navajo Nation lands in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Since 1988, we have advocated for Diné traditional teachings by protecting and providing a voice for all life within and beyond the Four Sacred Mountains. Diné C.A.R.E. promotes regenerative and sustainable uses of natural resources consistent with the Diné philosophy of life. We empower local and traditional people to organize, advocate, and determine their own destinies, in ways that protect the health of their communities and way of life. After more than 32 years of dedicated volunteerism by its founding members, many of these founders have retired, and the organization is in a phase of succession and transition The organization describes its succession and transition of members and leadership as “Passing the Fire.” This term encapsulates the handing off or passing of the torch to the next generation that will carry on what is regarded as sacred work. The Diné C.A.R.E. Ortiz Center funded project is to record and document group and individual interviews with its founding members. These interviews will invite founders to reflect on the organization’s history, its leading values, and its impact and influence on community, culture, and Indigenous environmental justice in the Southwest. We hope this will inform and inspire future activists, leaders, and communities, and set the tone for future members of Diné C.A.R.E. Portions of this interview will be featured in future organizational documents and projects.