The Diné Hero Project is a cultural and community-based program aimed at facilitating profound transformational experiences in hopes of initiating a new generation of Diné youth into an experience of a caring, supportive, healthy and sustainable culture here on the Navajo Nation and in the world.
In every culture there is the story of the hero/ine. The hero/ine’s journey is an outward adventure that is symbolic of the inward quest we all must take in a lifetime. We all must learn to see our lives as a story with different plots, characters, settings and themes. In the end, we transform ourselves in order to transform our world. We learn to re-write the endings to our own life stories.
Through various physical and mental rites of passage programs, the program offers new community ceremonies that brings all cultures and people together in a spirit of love, harmony and stewardship of the planet.
The epic legends of Monster Slayer and Born for Water still have many great teachings to share with us if we only take the time to look. The twins were willing to sacrifice for and to defend their people against monsters of the day. They endured many challenges and even journeyed to the house of the sun. Ultimately, they came to realize their mission in life to free the world of the terrible monsters that were destroying the clans.
The Dine’ Hero Project re-creates these epic adventures so that we may place our feet in these archetypical footsteps. Students learn to see the”monsters of today,” such as bullying, violence, drugs and alcohol and suicide among their peers. They learn how they can fight these monsters in their communities by becoming mentors and role models. By doing so, they come to realize their heroes within, their passions and the rapture of being alive!
