University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository American Studies ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 10-6-2016 CONTESTING LIBERALISM, REFUSING DEATH: A BIOPOLITICAL CRITIQUE OF NAVAJO HISTORY Melanie Yazzie University of New Mexico - Main Campus Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/amst_etds Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Indigenous Studies Commons Recommended Citation Yazzie, Melanie. "CONTESTING LIBERALISM, REFUSING DEATH: A BIOPOLITICAL CRITIQUE OF NAVAJO HISTORY." (2016). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/amst_etds/52 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Studies ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Melanie K. Yazzie Candidate American Studies Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Jennifer Nez Denetdale, Chairperson Dr. Jodi Byrd Dr. Alex Lubin Dr. Joanne Barker CONTESTING LIBERALISM, REFUSING DEATH: A BIOPOLITICAL CRITIQUE OF NAVAJO HISTORY By Melanie K. Yazzie B.A., Political Science, Grinnell College, 2004 M.A., American Studies, Yale University, 2009 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy American Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December, 2016 iii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to shik’éí, past, present, and future. iv Acknowledgements It is difficult to know where and how to begin when the appreciation and gratitude is as monumental as mine. In many ways, this project is about the resilience and resistance of my people, the Diné, and of Native people everywhere. It is about the brilliant and vibrant intellectual and political traditions that we have developed out of a deep love for life, and for each other. As a Diné woman, scholar, and revolutionary in the twenty-first century, I pick up the torch of these traditions and move them forward. Whenever I take my proverbial pen to the paper, I carry my people and their histories in my heart. This project is a labor of this kind. As Dakota scholar Elizabeth Cook-Lynn says, it keeps the plot moving. I am indebted to all those who have come before me; who have used their gifts to fight, protect, write, think, critique, and speak on behalf of all life. I am equally indebted to all those who refuse extermination. Who practice ways of life that guide us on a path that does not require the destruction of others. Who refuse to back down. And, above all, who refuse to stop being undeniably, fundamentally Indigenous. We will be here for forever. Of this I am sure. I hope this project contributes to this spirit of strength and history. This project is also about the land, the water, our non-human relatives, and the spirit of resistance that glimmers wherever freedom has never been forgotten and where the will to thrive is strong. These relatives, who I claim and who claim me, continue to teach me much about perseverance, humility, faith, and strength. This project is for them. v I owe countless thanks to my mentor and Indigenous feminist extraordinaire, Dr. Jennifer Nez Denetdale, who sheparded me through this process (especially at moments—of which there were many—when I felt like a lost sheep on the mesa) and who I count as a dear, fierce friend and colleague. This project quite literally could not have happened without her distinct and brilliant contributions to Diné studies. She is a true pathbreaker and a hero, and I aspire at all turns to mirror her tenacity and love for our people. I owe the American Studies department at the University of New Mexico (UNM) equal thanks. Our chair, Dr. Alex Lubin, showed me unwavering support from the moment I entered the PhD program. He has been instrumental in helping me secure the opportunities for growth and professionalization that have made this a successful journey. For his unwavering commitment to fostering my potential and always encouraging me to expand my intellect, politics, and expectations, I am deeply indebted. I am also indebted to countless others within UNM’s American Studies community. Alyosha Goldstein, Amy Brandzel, and David Correia have challenged me in different and important ways to think with more precision about the problems I address in this project. The numerous conversations, writing sessions, and dance parties I shared with graduate colleagues throughout the years, including Rachel Levitt, Liza Minno Bloom, Jakob Schiller, David Maile, Gina Diaz, Farah Nousheen, Eileen Shaughnessy, Christina Juhasz-Wood, Fizz Percolator, Anzia Bennett, Summer Speaker, and Sam Markwell, were instrumental to my intellectual development and overall well-being. And I never vi would have finished had not our amazing department administrator, Sandy Rodrigue, worked her magic and made sure I progressed through the program without a hitch. Special thanks to Dr. Joanne Barker and Dr. Jodi Byrd who, despite their extremely demanding schedules, offered generous support and criticism as committee members. This project, both in its present form and as a future book, is stronger because of their input. And I will always return to their invaluable contributions to Native studies to guide my own thinking about matters of power, ethics, and methodology. I owe thanks to senior colleagues in the Native American Studies department at UNM, especially Dr. Lloyd L. Lee, who showed me unwavering support and opportunities for growth throughout my seven years at UNM. The many conversations and collaborations we have had about Diné studies, as well as his deep commitments to the field and to my success as a fellow Diné scholar, have significantly shaped my intellectual trajectory. Many thanks to my other Navajo Studies Conference, Inc. colleagues, especially Tiffany Lee and Larry Emerson, whose own leadership within the field helped to crystallize my commitments to Diné studies. I extend deep gratitude to other graduate colleagues (many of whom are now doctors), including Chris Nelson, Khalil Johnson, Andrew Curley, K-Sue Park, Sophia Azeb, Miye Tom, Bryan Turo, Teresa Montoya, Estela Vasquez, Maurice Crandall, and Jennifer Crawford who all spent many hours helping me (or rather, listening to me!) work through many of this project’s central ideas. vii Their support in moments of intense self-doubt and uncertainty renewed my determination to persevere and finish. I also thank Megan Asaka and Talya Zemach-Bersen who provided support and friendship during my year as a Master’s student at Yale University, a time when the seeds that eventually blossomed into this dissertation were planted. I am honored to be among this interdisciplinary cohort of emerging scholars. Many thanks to Alyssa Mt. Pleasant and Alicia Schmidt Camacho for serving as readers for my Master’s thesis at Yale all those years ago. Their support set the foundation for my path through the PhD. I also extend gratitude to Yale’s Native community, especially those who were affiliated with the Native American Cultural Center, for their friendship and support throughout my entire time in graduate school. To Shelly Lowe, Skawenniio Barnes, Vera Eastman, Michael Eagleman Honhongva, Seanna Peiper Jordan, and Wade Campbell—I will always remember and treasure our year together at Yale. This project would not have been possible without generous support from a number of funders. The Navajo Nation Graduate Fund, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, American Indian Graduate Center Graduate Fellowship, and Grace Leemhuis Memorial Scholarship for Native American Doctoral Students afforded me time early on to formulate my dissertation prospectus and consult archives. An Andrew W. Mellon Foundation dissertation fellowship freed me up to concentrate on research and writing in the last two years of my degree. Special thanks to Adriana Ramirez de Arellano for keeping me on track throughout my Mellon fellowship. Special thanks, also, to the whole UNM-Mellon viii team for requiring me to participate in writing groups and boot camps. These obligations helped me cross the finish line. A number of other UNM-based institutes and collaborations have had a profound impact on this dissertation. The Institute for American Indian Research and the Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies both assisted in shaping the research, trajectory, and thinking that contributed to this project. A special, additional thanks to the friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable archivists at Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University Labriola National American Indian Data Center, University of Arizona, and UNM Center for Southwest Research who guided me through the difficult and heuristic process of archival research. I have also had the profound honor of getting to know remarkable and inspiring freedom fighters through my political activism with The Red Nation. Their friendship, wisdom, strength, and dedication to Native people has changed my life and, in the process, changed this project. I am indebted to Jennifer Marley, Cheyenne Antonio, Melissa Tso, Sharidynn Denetchiley, Brandon Benallie, Radmilla Cody, Stella Martin, Kodee Artis, Demetrius Johnson, Chris Banks, Paige Murphy, Sam Gardipe, Leoyla Cowboy, Hope Alvarado, and Jaden Cowboy. The Red Nation was born two years ago out of a cross-over between academic and political commitments, and it has matured alongside this dissertation. I am a wholly different scholar because of The Red Nation. May my intellectual production always contribute to the liberation of our people! ix There are countless others who have shaped this project along the way by either challenging my assumptions, or by offering support and care—sometimes both, sometimes indirectly, but always in a spirit of generosity. Although this list is far too long to include here, I am eternally grateful for the whole community of people who helped me survive this process.