Navajo woman makes children’s books to preserve her people’s language
By Mythili Gubbi
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KSTU) — A Navajo woman is trying to protect languages and bring families together. She is using her own “busy books” for little ones to make a big difference.
“I am a breath coach, Navajo medicine woman, foundation training instructor, indigenous doula,” said Letia Perry.
“They call me the headset lady,” she explained, as she does most of her teaching wearing a headset — which includes immersing babies into the Navajo language as a childcare provider.
She created busy books in Navajo out of necessity.
“The Navajo books I have weren’t holding their attention,” she said.
She decided to hand-make her own busy book for little kids called “Saad Baa Hózhó,” which means “language that makes you happy.”
Perry’s goal is to give families a tool for kids to learn their native languages.
“There’s just so many things that you can’t translate to English and that has a lot of meaning. And without it, those feelings are lost, that feeling of being home is lost,” Perry added.
The books are interactive, and the pages are filled with basic Navajo words, including months of the year, body parts, colors, fruits, the alphabet, clan structures, and more. They also have little puzzles and games to help develop kids’ motor skills and teach them important lessons like how to tie their shoes.
“We in Salt Lake City are not on the reservations. We are in an urban area, we are so far from our home and the traditional speaking, that it’s important for us to have this here,” said Perry.
“We’re on thin ice right now as Native Americans, and we need to stand up and teach our children,” said Quinton Kyle Kien. As a Navajo traditional practitioner, he understands the value of language. “It is important that education resources bring out the importance of cultural heritage and sovereignty within our youth and our elders.”
Perry started making her books over the summer to bridge that gap. She has sold about 300 so far, goes to events and has been selling to other teaching programs too.
And it’s not just in Navajo either.
“It morphed into other indigenous languages, so I have orders from several indigenous tribes,” she said.
She works with members of tribes who are fluent in other languages to create books for them too.
Hoping to save more native languages before it’s too late.
“I help them prevent language extinction with these busy books,” she said.
If you would like to order one of these books, you can contact Letia by email at saadbaahozho@gmail.com or on Instagram: @the_navajo_breathcoach.
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