Featured Contributor
Owee Rae
About Owee
Owee is a 100% proud progressive Native American woman and mother. A fruit and reflection of the elders before her. Using her mobility to navigate through Mother Earth’s terrains while unlearning and relearning the ways of the old traditions to the creating new traditions through her art forms. She is an Actress and Creative Producer for a feature film called “The Shepherd” — fully in the Diné language, set in the late 1800’s on the Navajo Reservation.
4KINSHIP Diné Skate Garden Project
Join 4KINSHIP and Grammy Award Nominated Singer/Songwriter and activist Jewel, her Inspiring Children Foundation along with Wonders Around the World (WAW) in building a transformative space for Diné youth and their families on Navajo Nation. Our goal is to support an indigenous community, by providing a safe and inclusive public skatepark to empower strength and resilience after the hardships faced during this pandemic.
“Growing up here in the community all my life we never had something like this. This project sends the message to our youth that you are not alone. This is your home and there are people in the community and world who want to help. “
~ Kerby Johnson, Two Grey Hills/ Toadlena | Chapter President
The Diné Skate Garden is a project of love for the community of Toadlena or rather “Tóhaaliní” (Where the Water flows Out) located in the Two Grey Hills chapter of the Navajo Nation. This is a remote community nestled in the Chuska Mountains between Shiprock and Gallup, that has no outdoor sport recreational facilities.
With your help, this fall*, the dream of building a skate park begins and will honor and respect Diné culture, the land, and the community. Toadlena/Two Grey Hills Chapter Officials and community members will work alongside a build team guided by the expertise of internationally renowned Wonders around the World construction team. Afterwards, the community will plant seeds of the future and expand the space with a community garden practicing traditional agriculture and harvesting which promotes food sovereignty and reintroduces ancestral crops in a healing gathering space for the community. The landscape architecture will reflect the rich heritage this community has, as the most celebrated area of Navajo Weaving.
