{"id":13922,"date":"2026-01-16T19:54:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T02:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/san-juan-college-to-host-navajo-shoe-game\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:42:34","slug":"san-juan-college-to-host-navajo-shoe-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/san-juan-college-to-host-navajo-shoe-game\/","title":{"rendered":"San Juan College to host Navajo shoe game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=7dc49628-c779-5dd0-af5c-6b09d28f7740&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"The day team cleans out the shoes after being declared the winners of the evening. (Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The day team cleans out the shoes after being declared the winners of the evening. (Alx Lee\/Tri-City Record)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Alx Lee<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>The San Juan College Native American Center invites students, families and community members to gather for two evenings dedicated to a Navajo practice.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Jan. 28, the center will host a Navajo Shoe Game learning session, followed by the full Navajo Shoe Game on Thursday, Jan. 29, both from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Suns Lounge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe origin stories tell us that K\u00e9shj\u00e9\u00e9 began long ago, in a time when day and night animals competed to decide whether the world would remain in darkness or in light,\u201d the college said in a news release. \u201cThrough guessing, strategizing, joking and singing, the Shoe Game taught lessons about balance, cooperation and the importance of community. Today, that same spirit continues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the learning session, guests will explore the rules and strategies of the game and the meaning woven into its songs, stories and playful misdirection.<\/p>\n<p>The session will feature a workshop led by Kevin Belin, a member of the Din\u00e9 tribe and a Navajo language teacher at Navajo Preparatory School.<\/p>\n<p>Belin is known for bringing cultural teachings to life and regularly shares his knowledge through presentations, training sessions and workshops for students and educators.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday evening, participants will come together for the game itself. Teams will gather around rows of moccasins and shoes as players try to uncover the hidden ball while distracting opponents with creativity and humor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHosting the Navajo Shoe Game each year allows us to reconnect with a tradition that brings people together in a very special way,\u201d said Brandon Ashley, director of the SJC Native American Center. \u201cIt\u2019s a chance to learn, to share stories and to experience a wintertime celebration that has carried our communities through generations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both events are free and open to all, whether participants wish to play, learn or simply enjoy the atmosphere. Food and drinks will be provided.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, contact the Native American Center at (505) 566-3311 or visit SJC\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>practice teaches cooperation through song and stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1240,1222,155,799,28,1241,29,994],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-aztec","tag-bloomfield","tag-education","tag-farmington","tag-headlines","tag-kirtland","tag-newsletter","tag-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13922"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20897,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13922\/revisions\/20897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13922"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}