Afterword

Finally, in concluding my research, I returned to say hello to John Sandoval. Swooping crows were silhouetted against the sky as we arrived, gliding silently as they hunted for food among the sagebrush. Consistent with the Navajo notion of reciprocity and the kind of hospitality that existed in my culture in the South when I grew up, I brought John some food—bacon, coffee, and sugar. But, as we had arrived just after John had received his government check, he had been to the store the day before, and his refrigerator and kitchen shelves were quite full. We talked briefly. John was watching a movie, a Western, when we arrived. Looking around, I noticed two new John Wayne pictures on his wall. I asked him about them and he said they were a present from his son.

John told us that he had performed some ceremonies over the last couple of days. They were addressed to some men who were facing court hearings, one of John’s specialties. John told me that he had to quit doing the divining activity—hand trembling—because as he aged it was becoming too hard on his heart. Just then we heard a honk. A van from the Navajo Nation was coming up the dusty drive to pick John up to take him to the senior center for some activities with his friends. John got up quickly to meet the van. He was very happy to go. As we walked out and said our good-byes, John looked at me and said softly in English, “I love you.”