The celebration includes a parade, fair, rodeo, arts & crafts, Pow Wow, and traditional song and dance at the Fairgrounds in Shiprock, NM. In 2023, the Four Corners region celebrated the 110th Northern Navajo Nation Fair, from October 5-8, 2023.
The theme for the 2023 Northern Navajo Nation Fair (Shiprock Fair) is “Dine’ Bidzill Navajo Strong”.
Back in the day, the Navajo Nation Fair began as a small gathering. Unbeknownst to many, the very first Navajo Nation Fair was the brainchild of a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employee, according to Historian Martin Link.
“The Assistant to the BIA General Superintendent John McPhee came up with the idea of a Navajo Fair as an opportunity for Navajos to gather together for a couple of days to socialize, compare each other’s harvest, have something positive and enjoyable to do rather than just dealing with the Depression, stock reduction, unemployment and having their kids hauled off to boarding school,” Link explained.
The Navajo Nation Fair was held under the supervision of the BIA in 1937-1941. Some abandoned buildings from a former Crystal CCC camp were disassembled to build exhibit halls, offices and living quarters at the fairgrounds.
The very first Navajo Fair did not have many funds, but organizers did have such events as a chicken pull, Indian rodeo, horse racing and foot races. The grandstand, which still stands today, was built in 1938. The very first Miss Navajo contest was held in 1957 – the first queen was Emmo Louise Anderson.
The week-long colorful event showcases the legacy and hallmark of the Navajo people. It is a fashionable ensemble of Navajo authenticity accentuated with a little chic. See a visual symphony of elegant art, sizzling indigenous Navajo cuisine, traditional Navajo attire, perfectly poised beautiful Navajo queens, mesmerizing Navajo entertainers, soul-soothing music, a traditional Navajo song and dance and top caliber Indian rodeo competition.
According to farmingtonnm.org. Source of photos:internet
