Upper School Students Reflect on Unforgettable Trip to Navajo Mountain

Experiential learning, cultural competency and a call to serve all came together for 13 members of the St. Margaret’s community earlier this month, on a unique spring break trip to Navajo Mountain near the Utah-Arizona border. The trip was organized by a St. Margaret’s family, the Huestons, which includes Upper School students Kinsale and Shea, along with Upper School Director of Community Life Lora Allison.

The seven-day trip turned out to be an unforgettable experience for the Tartans who went, and their enthusiasm when reflecting on the trip was evident even weeks later. The students recounted that the scenery of the area was stunning, the immersion into Navajo culture was life-changing, and as they traveled back to Orange County at the end of the week, the brainstorming had already begun on how to deepen the relationship with the community going forward.

“There’s so much I don’t understand from all over the world. One thing close to my heart is trying to grasp some of that,” junior Eleanor Jones said of her reason for going on the trip. “It’s knowing that you don’t know everything, and taking that and trying to do something about it.”

Navajo Mountain is the highest point of the Navajo Nation territory, a swath of beautiful land spanning 27,000 square miles in parts of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Mabelle Hueston, Kinsale and Shea’s mother, grew up in the Navajo Mountain community and still has relatives living at the family homestead there. Kinsale and Shea have visited frequently throughout their lives.

Yet for the rest of the St. Margaret’s community, the Navajo culture isn’t as familiar. When Mrs. Allison and Kinsale met at the beginning of the year to discuss the Native American Culture Club that Kinsale leads, the idea for students to visit the Navajo Nation territory was born. The Hueston family fully embraced the idea, and began working with the school to make it happen.

To prepare the students for the experience, Mrs. Hueston presented in several meetings at St. Margaret’s to teach the students about history, culture, expectations and even etiquette unique to the Navajo people.

“Mrs. Hueston was instrumental in helping us with the cultural pieces we needed to be educated for this experience,” said Mrs. Allison.

The group immediately felt welcome by the local community upon arriving. The Tartans began learning about the history of the land and the Navajo people, discovering an up-close perspective on the tribe’s ties to the region and its present-day experiences and challenges in the U.S.

“I’ve been going there since I was little,” said Kinsale, a junior. “What really stuck with me is we brought this group from Southern California who had no idea what it’d be like there, and it blew me away how open and willing my classmates were to be involved. Everyone was so excited to do whatever we were doing, and that really meant a lot to me.”

The students could talk for hours about the highlights of the trip. Rainbow Bridge stood out to several attendees. It is a scenic wonder of southern Utah and one of the largest natural bridges in the world. It is also deeply sacred to the Navajo people, and Mrs. Allison said learning its rich history before making the walk to the bridge made the visit more powerful.

Other highlights included a trip to Page High School to experience a Navajo pow wow. It is a traditional celebration cherished by Native Americans as a way to connect with their culture. It includes dancing, singing, drums, food and friendship.

“The second it started, it was a sea of color and everyone is dancing and there were so many different kinds of dresses,” said Eleanor. “Watching the dancing and hearing the music, it was such a loud sensory overload of color and drums and the smell of Navajo tacos…it was amazing.”

Importantly, there was also the relationships developed with people during their stay. Students spent each day serving the Navajo Mountain community in projects they designed. Some students spent time at the Head Start preschool at Navajo Mountain, working with students and helping the staff conduct activities. Other Tartans worked with students at Navajo Mountain High School, the 36-student school known as one of the most remote high schools in the continental U.S. Two teams of Tartans shared activities that are important parts of the St. Margaret’s community, including virtual reality and lacrosse.

The Tartans also helped local community members, hauling away garbage in areas that have inconsistent trash service, treating dogs with mange and helping prepare land for the spring growing season.

“That was great because kids from all these nearby families came out and gardened with us,” Kinsale said. “It was neat to have part of the community there with us--a good experience of what it is really like there.”

At the end of each day, the group went back to their house and took time to reflect as a group about their experiences. That, Mrs. Allison said, is where the magnitude of the trip among the students became clear.

“Our reflections got significantly deeper as the week went on,” Mrs. Allison said. “It was great to see what the students took away from the experience. It went from being fairly observational the first night to deep, meaningful impacts later on.

“What was especially impactful for all of us was the people we met. They matched the beauty of the landscape. We are now thinking, how can that partnership exist between Navajo Mountain and St. Margaret’s going forward? How can other students have a connection to this special place that 13 of us now hold so dear?”

Kinsale, who has written several award-winning works about present-day challenges in the Navajo culture, is grateful that several of her classmates now have a deeper understanding. She hopes it’s just the start.

 “I want to establish a strong relationship with this community, so we can continue to educate ourselves and help out this place that has been so impacted by our history,” she said.

“There’s no way this trip could have happened without the Hueston family’s support,” Mrs. Allison said. “Their investment in time, effort and being the conduit of authentic relationships helped build a trust between us and the Navajo community. We are so grateful to them.”