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Tó Nizhóní Ání

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SCIENCE MOAB: This is Science Moab, a show exploring the science happening in Southeast Utah and the Colorado Plateau. We’re very excited to partner with the nonprofit Tó Nizhóní Ání, or, Sacred Water Speaks, a Diné-led 501(c)3 nonprofit from the Black Mesa region on the Navajo Nation to bring you today’s episode.

Today’s show is from Tó Nizhóní Ání’s new Voices podcast, which dives deep into the voices and stories of the Black Mesa region. We’re airing a clip from the first episode featuring guest Daisy Kiyaani, a matriarch, and an advocate of land and water restoration from the Black Mesa Chapter community.

You can find the full episode and future episodes @tonizhoniani.org.

Listen as Daisy shares her story in Diné or Navajo with Tó Nizhóní Ání’s media organizer Adrian Herder, who also provides English translation.

ADRIAN HERDER: [Introduces himself in Diné] 

Hello everyone. My name is Adrian Herder and I’m from the community of Hard Rock, located within the Black Mesa region of the Navajo Nation. Thank you all for tuning into our first ever voices from Black Mesa Podcast. I’m your podcast host and I’m also the media organizer with the Diné led nonprofit organization called,  Tó Nizhóní Ání, which we translate as Sacred Water Speaks.

Tó Nizhóní Ání was formed in 2001 and originates from the big mountain community on the Navajo Nation. Our organization mobilized in spirit of the Diné elders who fought to protect Black Mesa in 2005,  Tó Nizhóní Ání efforts to end the industrial use of the Navajo aquifer, Black Mesa’s only source of potable water from Peabody Coal Company.

Today our organization remains rooted in protecting our water, working to bring power back to our Diné communities impacted by coal, while also leading community transition away from fossil fuels. Our voices from Black Mesa Media Campaign works to amplify the unique stories, resiliency and beauty, coming from individuals doing amazing work within each of the seven Navajo chapter communities that make up the  Dził Yíjiin region.

Often we get people who know nothing about the Black Mesa region or Dził Yíjiin in the Navajo language and assume no one lives up here. We are here to inform and inspire others about one of the last remaining remote communities and regions left on the Navajo nation. These are our stories.

Before we jump into the interview with Daisy, I wanted to go over some information on how this interview will go. For those of you who are not aware, our language, Diné Bizaad, the Navajo language, is still heavily spoken and preferred amongst our people on  Dził Yíjiin. So for this interview, our guest,  Daisy Kiyaani, has preferred to speak in Diné.

Therefore, we will summarize her comments after each of these answers. So that way for those of you who are still learning our native language, our Navajo language, we’re gonna summarize at the end of her comment. So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you all to  Daisy Kiyaani.

Daisy, can you please introduce yourself for our listeners out there?

DAISY KIYAANI: [Introduces herself in Diné] 

HERDER: Thank you Daisy, for introducing yourself to our audience out there. So again, for those that didn’t understand what Daisy said,  Daisy Kiyaani, is Yucca Fruit Strand clan, born for Red House clan. Her maternal grandfather is Near the Water clan and her paternal grandfather’s clan is Bitter Water clan. Daisy lives within the Black Mesa/Kits’iilí community with her husband Lee Kiyaani.

For those that are not from the region, the greater Black Mesa region is called  Dził Yíjiin and within Black Mesa, there are seven Navajo chapter communities and one of those seven chapter communities is Black Mesa community. And so there’s a name for Black Mesa within Black Mesa, and that’s where Daisy comes from.

And so, to clarify if there’s any confusion out there, we’re gonna be utilizing the traditional Navajo names for these places. For the Black Mesa region is Dził Yíjiin, and for the Black Mesa Chapter community, they call themselves Kits’iilí. So you’re gonna hear me say Black Mesa/Kits’iilí here and there. Before we move on, um, to the next part of this interview, Daisy wanted to share some information regarding the area and also her late maternal grandfather, also known as  Cheii [name].

KIYAANI: [Speaks in Diné] 

HERDER: Daisy shared with us the various place names and the family stories behind them, and. These are very important to this work when we do this community work, it’s important to know these names, to utilize our language. So again, shout out to those of you who are still utilizing those traditional names in your communities and also eager to learn about these places.

So thank you Daisy, for sharing that important information about your maternal grandfather,  Cheii,  Cheii, . Yeah. I wanted to move into this next question of, earlier Nicole talked about watershed and watershed restoration and also how we came upon your area, your family in regards to this watershed restoration work.

So I guess the second part of that discussion would be what made you want to do watershed work in your area and why is this work important to you?

KIYAANI: [Speaks in Diné] 

HERDER: Daisy just shared with us, a little bit about her understanding of watershed and her basic understanding and also the benefits of it, and how people should also be considering it. Because again, we were taught growing up. That we need to take care of our land base because it’ll take care of us going forward, as we continue to live our lives out in these remote places.

For those that aren’t familiar, again with the Black Mesa region, the community of Kits’iilí is one of three. One of the three Navajo chapters on the Black Mesa region that doesn’t have a direct paved road to their chapter house. And. I wanted to ask Daisy, why do you continue, why do you continue to live out here?

We’re noticing a large number of our young people move into urban areas on and off the reservation. And so the question is, what’s keeping you here?

KIYAANI: [Speaks in Diné] 

HERDER: Daisy expressed her love for her homeland, which is why she continues to live out here. She grew up being outdoors with family. Like many Navajos from her generation, our traditional livelihood meant being outdoors and working. With that, she developed an appreciation for her backyard. She chooses the quiet and peacefulness of living in a rural area as compared to the crowded and busy urban area.

As we kicked off our watershed restoration efforts within the Black Mesa/Kits’iilí community at Daisy’s place, we asked her what she hopes to get out of these watershed restoration efforts in her area, and this was her response.

KIYAANI: [Speaks in Diné] 

HERDER: Daisy talked about the need for moisture to be brought back to the land. Right now she’s noticing that with each passing rainstorm, more and more rain, water is cutting through her lens and flowing downstream. She hopes that with this watershed project, more moisture is trapped in the soil so that she can one day grow her own foods like they used to do when she was young.

Speaking of good old days, what was it like in this area growing up?

KIYAANI: [Speaks in Diné] 

HERDER: As Daisy reminisced about the good old days, she talked about how much it used to rain back then, before the washes were deep. The rain runoff would seep into the ground quicker, but now it’s not like that anymore. Back in the day, Daisy and her family lived the traditional life moving with the seasons, growing their own foods, processing their own meats.

And she recalls when they used to have their summer and winter camps in various places where they used to get potable water and even a place where they used to wash their clothes.

KIYAANI: [Speaks in Diné] 

HERDER: Throughout this conversation, you might have heard the word tó. Daisy just got done talking about how, again, they used to grow their own foods, butcher their own livestock for meat, and also places where they used to collect water. And water is very important to our communities here on the Navajo Nation.

In fact, a lot of Navajo place names derive from water. My next question is, are there any seeps and springs that used to exist or still exist in the area of the Black Mesa/Kits’iilí community?

KIYAANI: [Speaks in Diné] 

HERDER: What you just heard there was Daisy referred to various seeps and springs that once existed and some that are still existing within her area. For example, she talked about, uh, one spring that was Bitter Springs and also an Aspen Spring. So these are just a few of the names of the original water sources found in her area.

She mentioned that a lot of these sleeps and springs no longer function, and a lot of them were once found in the cliffs and valleys of this area.

As we continue to do this work of watershed restoration, we are hopeful that more of our people consider creating and building erosion control structures in their backyards. With these structures, they’re able to hold back sediment, prevent further erosion, and also bringing that moisture back to the land.

Daisy is a great example of someone who wishes to see the return of seeps and springs to her area, and has been a watershed champion by allowing us to work with her and her area, and hopes that it brings water back to her community. This concludes our first Ever Voices podcast as we highlight Daisy Kiyaani, of the [Diné placename] area located within the Black Mesa/Kits’iilí community. I’d like to thank Daisy for allowing us to interview her by telling a small fragment of her story and the beautiful place she calls home. I’d like to also thank our team. For helping to create this podcast. The interview with Daisy would not have been possible without the help of our summer 2025 media intern, Titus Burt.

If you’re interested in future podcast recordings, you can visit our website at. www.tonizhoniani.org/podcast. You can also find our podcast on SoundCloud at www.soundcloud.com/to-nizhoni-ani/. Lastly, be sure to follow our organization on most social media platforms at T-O-N-I-Z-H-O-N-I-A-N-I, and subscribe to our monthly newsletter found on our website or LinkTree to stay informed.

SCIENCE MOAB: To hear more from the Voices podcast and to learn more about Tó Nizhóní Ání visit tonizhoniani.org, that’s T-O-N-I-Z-H-O-N-I-A-N-I.org. There, you can also sign up for their newsletter, follow their social media accounts, and donate to support their work.

In the weeks to come. Science Moab will speak with Nicole Horseherder, co-founder of  Tó Nizhóní Ání about her story and her work protecting the water of Black Mesa. These are powerful, important stories. Stay tuned.

To learn more or to listen to other science Moab podcasts, visit science moab.org or anywhere you get your podcasts. Our theme music is by Jeremy Spalding, and the show is produced by the Science Moab team and KZMU.

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