Join us as Lupita McClanahan, a Navajo elder from Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly, a cultural historian, and a seasoned storyteller, speaks on the power of water to create and sustain life.

About Lupita McClanahan

Lupita McClanahan is from a world that doesn’t exist any more. She grew up in Canyon de Chelly in Northeastern Arizona in the 1950’s, and was raised in secrecy by the last generation of traditional Diné elders on the Navajo Nation. She may be one of the last Indigenous women who was raised traditionally, and still lives on her ancestral land. A master storyteller, Lupita is able to speak on a variety of topics including her relationship with the land in Canyon de Chelly, Navajo history, Indian boarding school, overcoming trauma, water scarcity, and working on the front lines of Climate Change in the desert Southwest.

Lupita lives her life guided by the deepest of the Diné teachings, which is called “Hozho” or the Beauty Way. She said, “My purpose in being here is to build bridges between cultures; to foster kinship, closeness, and respect for one another, and for Mother Earth.”