Introduction

“IN THE FIFTH WORLD: PORTRAIT OF THE NAVJO NATION” is a body of photographs depicting the broad spectrum of contemporary Navajo life. This exhibit consists of the work of two photographers, both of whom spent their formative years living and working among the Navajo people: Kenji Kawano as a photographer with The Navajo Times and as the Navajo tribe’s official photographer, and Adriel Heisey as a pilot for the Navajo tribal government.

As a supporter of this project, Peterson Zah, former Chairman and President of the Navajo (Diné) Nation wrote:

“Kenji Kawano and Adriel Heisey have not flinched in their resolve to show us their view of the Diné world, no matter how complex and incongruous its parts may seem. I have known these men professionally and personally for many years, and attest to their efforts with special conviction.

“I also see a fascinating dynamic in the juxtaposition of their work. Kenji Kawano’s portraits permit us to look into the eyes and lives of his subjects., and are informal and revealing. Adriel Heisey, on the other hand, transports us to an exalted vantage point and empowers us to see the larger landscape that both inspires and is marked by Diné lifeways. Both men bring us beauty, humility, and appreciation of People and Land.”

This exhibit was produced in conjunction with a book of the same title, published by Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, Arizona, and is on tour with Arizona Commission on the Arts Traveling Exhibition Program.

Emergence into the Fifth World

THE NAVAJO NATION—the Diné—began their great mythic journey as Insect People in the First World. When a few of these Insect People committed indiscretions that angered the Gods of the First World, all Insect People were told to “Go elsewhere, and keep on going!”
Chased skyward by angry floodwaters of the First World, the people scratched at the heavens until they broke through into the Second World.

In the Second World, they encountered another group of flying creatures—the Swallow People—who agreed to ally with the Insect People to form one tribe. But in a matter of weeks, another dark incident involving an Insect Being and the wife of the Swallow People’s chief again sent the Insect People into exile. As before, they punctured a hole in the sky and emerged into another world.

This Third World was the domain of the Grasshopper People. Once more, the exiles convinced their hosts to bring them in as kin. Twenty-four days later, they were again expelled for the same old transgressions. This time, Red Wind showed them the only way out, a passage through a hole it had made in the western sky.

Scouts dispatched into the bleak expanses of the Fourth World found it to be devoid of life, except for some strange creatures who irrigated fields and raised plants to eat. These beings opened their homes to the Insect Beings, and sustained them with their food. The Insect People held council and decided to mend their ways and settle into a good life in this new place. To purify themselves in preparation for becoming fully human, the Insect People spent several days performing ablutions, or ceremonial baths. Then, one bright morning, the Holy People formed First Man and First Woman from two ears of corn.

By intermarrying with the numerous children of First Man and First Woman, the Insect People were transformed into human beings. But then came Coyote, the old Trickster, who enraged the Water God of the Fourth World and precipitated another flood. This deluge swept The People and all Animal Beings skyward. Barely escaping with their lives, they all emerged in the center of a small island in a vast lake.

With the help of Black Wind, these Earth-Surface People managed to dry out a path from the island to the shore. And thus, from this tenuous foothold, the ancestors of those who would become the Navajo Nation began their ultimate journey in the Fifth World.

This prologue is excerpted from the book In the Fifth World: Portrait of the Navajo Nation, by Adriel Heisey and Kenji Kawano, published by Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, Arizona.


Artists’ Statements

Kenji Kawano
I wanted to document the Navajo people of today and their varied lifestyles. There are those who opt to assimilate the two cultures equally: the Navajo tradition and mainstream American. There are those who are trying to keep their tradition, yet other influences come into play.

The portraits are of Navajo men, women, and children who are paired by relationships. In the Navajo tradition, relationships are very important. As one greets another, hands are shaken and most often one states his or her clans, then words are exchanged. In this way, relationships begin, become established, and are maintained. The pairs, who may be husband and wife, father and son, mother and daughter, sisters, brothers, or friends, also give a lot of information on resemblance, respect, interaction, and connection between the two people photographed.

I photographed “the Navajo” in modern and traditional settings. It may be at home or an event outside the home.

I photographed the people by two means. One way was by appointment, after having established a relationship with the pair. Sometimes, while driving around, I would spot a pair who interested me and photographed them immediately.

Kenji Kawano
P.O. Box 1922
Window Rock, AZ 86515
(928) 871-5777
kenji_foto@hotmail.com

Adriel Heisey
While flying as an executive pilot for the Navajo government, I became increasingly drawn to make photographs of the landscape as I saw it from the air. In 1990 and 1991, I built a plane of my own to use just for this purpose. Since that time, I have used a camera to explore and understand the extraordinary experience of flying low and slow above the Earth. Navajo land is particularly fascinating to see this way because of its vast size, bold landforms, and importance in Navajo culture.

The color photographs in this exhibit were made in flight. I am most creative when I can do both the flying and the shooting. Fortunately, my airplane is simple and stable enough to allow me to control it with my leg (except for take off and landing!). This frees both my hands for holding the camera, which is necessary because of its weight and size. The photographs are composed with the camera’s viewfinder at my eye.

Adriel Heisey
(888) 323-7435
adrielh@earthlink.net