WEBVTT

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Thank you.

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[SPEAKING IN NAVAJO]
Good evening.

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Thank you for joining
us this evening.

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I'm very honored to
introduce Rex Lee Jim.

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Rex was born in the small Diné,
or Navajo community of Rock

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Point, Arizona.

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He lives there today and teaches
Diné philosophy and culture

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at the main campus of Dine
Community College at Tsaile.

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Rex has accomplished a
major goal of Navajo life

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by having returned to
his home at Rock Point

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after receiving
degrees from Princeton

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and the Bread Loaf School of
English at Middlebury College.

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There is a Diné phrase that
describes a person like Rex Lee

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Jim, and that phrase is
[SPEAKING IN NAVAJO],,

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meaning that person speaks
in the way of beauty.

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It's a compliment, of course, on
how one uses words or expresses

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himself.

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But more than that, it's
a way of acknowledging

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the important roles that
family, parents, grandparents,

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and great-grandparents play
in the life of a person.

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In Navajo, to say
that one speaks

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beautifully is to say that
this person was cared for,

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and that he was
taught carefully,

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that he was given thoughtful
advice and guidance,

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and that he is very much
loved by those who raised him.

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Thus, the way one speaks
reflects the values and beliefs

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of his or her family.

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To speak well is a much
admired personal trait in all

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communities, but tonight, you'll
experience the various poetic

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and rhythmic dimensions
of Diné expression.

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Rex Lee Jim is the author
of a collection of essays

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called "Dancing Voices--

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Wisdom of the American Indian,"
and Dúchas Táá Kóó Diné,

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a trilingual poetry collection
in Navajo, Gaelic Irish,

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and English.

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He has traveled extensively and
lectured throughout the United

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States and Ireland.

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Please help me welcome
[SPEAKING IN NAVAJO] Rex Lee

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Jim.

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