e drove across the reservation, to the Gap/Bodaway Chapter. We went there to discuss cultural issues with Hataalii (medicinemen). I work as an archaeolosist for the tribe. That is my title, but my boss is a traditional singer-chanter. So I travel and learn about the land and the culture from him. The chapter sits at the base of the Echo Cliffs.
Hataalii from all over the reservation’s 25,000 sq. mile area were there. Felt hats, turquoise, and silver adorned the weather-beaten men. Women wore jewelry covering their velvet blouses and pleated skirts. The heavy turquoise bracelets showed the supernaturals that the wearer was a chanter. Faces full of character from a life of having participated in an ancient knowledge about the land, their history, and the discipline of the healing mystery. A perspective that is as foreign to the dominant society as the land itself looks to an Iowa corn farmer. We sat in a circle so that all present were equal and all were in view of each other. One hour of introductions followed. Each person stood up and stated their clans, their concerns, the ways, or chants that they had been given. An invocation prayer began the meeting.
On the agenda was a zoologist. The Zoologist talked of the condor’s release, its 9 1/2-foot wingspan, its 22 lbs., and its carrion appetite. Its history, biological status and why the Vermillion Cliffs was chosen. He spoke of the condors 50 mile cruising radius, which would bring them through the sky above this very meeting.
The Hataalii began talking about the status of these big birds, and where they must fit into the balance of life. “If they eat the dead, then they must be a part of that community along with the raven, coyote, and others who roam the land as scavengers. We have stories and prayers about all of those.”

The Navajo name for condor, or more accurately, vulture, is jeshoo, which means those who are passing judgement, or those who are holding court (the name for lawyer means “the one who argues”).

Questions were directed to the Zoologist. Concerns of stock being eaten. Since these birds are so big will they attack a person? Will the Hopi seek them out and kill them for their feathers, like they do eagles (vulture feathers are used in the Snake Dance, I don’t know what else)? Navajos are against the annual “gathering” of eaglets. Some are gathered from the very cliffs that tower behind us. What will happen to a person who kills one?
All this was being asked through a translator. The condor’s protected status was emphasized by the Zoologist.
A woman stood up with a very concerned look on her face and asked... “What about the glonies?” There was a chuckle through the room. A Gloney is a drunk. She was afraid that the condors would eat them while they were sleeping off a binge. I laughed, but was then reminded of the baby that was left bundled in its cradle board while the mother went to tend sheep. The baby had its eye pecked out by a raven.
An old man stood up and asked, “If the condor was being reintroduced, what about the other birds that were once found throughout the reservation, but now are only found in traditional song... can they be brought back and released as well?”
Since no one knows the history of this bird, and what potential problems that it might create, the Hataalii, as a group would not give their approval to the release. They didn’t want to be later singled out as being a responsible party, for an unknown creature.

Roger Henderson