Description

"Navajo Latter-day Saints are Din d G amalii," writes Farina King, in this deeply personal collective biography. "We are Din who decided to walk a Latter-day Saint pathway, although not always consistently or without reappraising that decision."

Din d G amalii is a history of twentieth-century Navajos, including author Farina King and her family, who have converted and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), becoming Din d G amalii--both Din and LDS. Drawing on Din stories from the LDS Native American Oral History Project, King illuminates the mutual entanglement of Indigenous identity and religious affiliation, showing how their Din identity made them outsiders to the LDS Church and, conversely, how belonging to the LDS community made them outsiders to their Native community. The story that King tells shows the complex ways that Din people engaged with church institutions in the context of settler colonial power structures. The lived experiences of Din in church programs sometimes diverged from the intentions and expectations of those who designed them.

In this empathetic and richly researched study, King explores the impacts of Navajo Latter-day Saints who seek to bridge different traditions, peoples, and communities. She sheds light on the challenges and joys they face in following both the Din teachings of Si'ąh Naagh Bik'eh H zhǫ́--"live to old age in beauty"--and the teachings of the church.