7th Annual Navajo Education Conference Set for June 9

photo taken at the 4th Annual Navajo Education Conference

Navajo education leaders and scholar-practitioners are coming together this June. 

The 7th Annual Navajo Education Conference is slated for June 9, 2023, at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. This conference is a joint effort between Fielding Graduate University, the Navajo Nation, the Navajo Nation Department of Diné Education, the Office of Navajo Scholarship and Financial Assistance (ONNSFA), and Navajo Nation Teacher Education Consortium. 

“We are proud that Fielding Graduate University is partnering with the Navajo Nation to provide an opportunity for Navajo educators and leaders to earn an advanced degree without uprooting them from their communities where they live, work and serve,” said Barbara Mink, Ed.D., Dean of the School of Leadership Studies. 

This year’s topics include: 

• Living Holistically: Practicing the Navajo Principles of Hozho and K’e with Dr. Miranda Haskie 
• Enjoyability is Essential to Learning: Nitsáhákees, Nahat’á, Iina, and Siihasin with Dr. Telletha Valenski 
• Cultivating Grit, Growth Mindset, and Self-Efficacy in Pre-Adolescent Navajo Students with Dr. Viola Hoskie 
• Using the Indigenous Concept of Taa Who Aji T’eego T’eiya, Ya’at eehgo Ji Nahleh in Financial Literacy Curriculum Design for Navajo Students with Dr. Maxine Sloan 
• Advancing Academic and Social Inclusion for Students with Disabilities with Dr. Amanda Jackson 
• Broadband Adoption, Tribal College Research and Education Network with Mr. Jason Arviso 

Each session will provide evidence-based research and outcomes specific to the Navajo Nation. In addition, Dr. Buu Nygren, President of the Navajo Nation, and Richelle Montoya, Vice President of the Navajo Nation, will provide opening remarks. Rose Graham, Director of the Office of Navajo Nation and Financial Assistance, will round out the conference with closing remarks. 

“The educational philosophy of the Navajo people, Sa’ah Naaghai Bik’eh Hozhoo, is grounded in Navajo cultural traditions,” said Rose Graham, Director of the Office of Navajo Nation and Final Assistance. “The agenda at this 7th Annual Navajo Education Conference focuses on scholarly research that fosters social responsibility and community service in accordance with the educational philosophy of the Navajo.” 

On June 10 at 10 a.m., doctoral scholar-practitioners in the Ed.D. in the Educational Leadership and Change program will take the stage at a commencement ceremony. 

Learn more about The Future of Navajo Education by Fielding University Press

Learn more about the 2022 conference

Learn more about our Indigenous Partnerships  

Learn more about the Navajo Nation and Fielding partnership in the Jan. 2023 issue of FOCUS Magazine