Long Walk re-enactors recall centennial

Dianne Livingston was 15 when she participated in the Long Walk reenactment in the summer of 1968.

Livingston, now 56 and living in Church Rock, N.M., was one of the many re-enactors who attended a reunion Saturday at the Window Rock Sports Complex during the Treaty Days Celebration.

Approximately 300 Navajos from throughout the reservation participated as re-enactors, camp crew, horse wranglers, cooking crew and security staff.

On June 29, 1968, the group re-enacted the signing of the 1868 Treaty of Peace at Fort Sumner, N.M., then participated in parades in Fort Sumner, Santa Rosa, Albuquerque, Grants, Gallup and Window Rock over the following week.

Livingston remembers marching in those parades and riding the bus from Window Rock to Fort Sumner.

"It was a good experience, learning about Navajo history," she said.

Among the older participants were Morris Denetdale of Fort Defiance; Tulley Mitchell of St. Michaels, Ariz.; Sonny Tsinniginnie of Tonalea, Ariz.; and Yanabah Winker of Ganado, Ariz.

There were black and white photos displayed on one side of the sports center, which offered the opportunity for family members to see portraits of their relatives, some for the first time.

For LaViena Rajan, 33, of North Brunswick, N.J., seeing photographs of her great-grandfather Holtsoi Yazzie and her uncle Jay Sherman, both of Twin Lakes, N.M., was a first. Both died before Rajan was born.

"I never met my great-grandfather and my uncle so it was nice to see their photo," she said.

Dakota Bitsui knew his father, Benson Bitsui, was 12 when he participated in the enactment along with five other family members, but Dakota had never seen a picture of his father as a child growing up in Piñon, Ariz.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal but it's impressive," Dakota said as he looked around at the crowd.

Benson, now 54, said he joined the reenactment because of the $75 each person was paid at the end of the event.

"The main reason I went was to buy a bike," Benson said. "By the time I came back, I had to buy clothes for school."

Lunch was served to the participants and their families. The food was a pre-Fort Sumner meal, meaning there was no fry bread or coffee. Instead there was food like blue corn mush, beans, corn, squash and Navajo tea to drink.

Standing in line for their meal was Felipita Quinones, her mother Lillie Y. Pete and her aunt Dorothy Yazzie.

Quinones was 6 and Yazzie was 8 when they took part in the enactment. They traveled with Quinones' grandparents, Pete and Alice Bedoni of Low Mountain, Ariz.

It was the photograph of 6-year-old Quinones that graced the cover of the fair tabloid, much to her amazement.

"I was pretty surprised," said Quinones, now 47. She now lives in Fayetteville, N.C., and was unaware of the honor until a friend texted the image to her cell phone.

Quinones remembers "bits and pieces" about the event but Yazzie, now 50, remembered camping and her father telling stories that he heard about the Long Walk.

"We slept in no motels," Yazzie said. "We had bedrolls and no one complained."

Julia Mose, of Crystal, N.M., came to the reunion to honor her mother, Ruth Moore, who participated in the reenactment, as well as eight other relatives.

"All she said was this was going to happen and that several of them were going to participate," Mose said about her mother, who died in 2001.

Helen Moore, Mose's cousin, was 27 in 1968 and her mother, Frances Mose of Crystal, also joined the reenactment.

"I remembered that she was going to volunteer," Moore said as she paused while looking at a photograph of her mother.

Moore, now 68, said her mother told her about riding the bus from Window Rock to Fort Sumner and camping in the evening.

"I wanted to see the pictures and to see what they did over there and back," she said.

Eugene Arthur, also from Crystal, was 11 when he was part of the reenactment.

"It was fun," Arthur recalled. "It was an adventure."

Despite his youth, Arthur, now 53, knew the history of the Long Walk because his grandmother had told him stories.

"I feel proud, privileged and happy to be part of this and able to share this with my children and family," Arthur said.

One of Arthur's fond memories of the reenactment was marching into Window Rock during the July 4 parade during a drizzle then seeing a rainbow as the group reached the fair grounds.

"We were being looked upon like this was special," Arthur said.

At one point during the reunion, Norma Bowman, fair manager for special events, said organizing the reunion gave her the opportunity to learn about the Long Walk.

"Think about the focus - the history," she said to the audience.

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