The day begins at the break of dawn for Tiyarra Roanhorse, a sophomore studying exercise and sports science from the Navajo Nation in Northeast Arizona. She gets up and puts corn pollen on her head and some in her mouth to be connected with God.
A recent convert to the Church, she embraces both her Latter-day Saint beliefs and Native American beliefs. One of these beliefs is that, if she is out of Native American land, she must perform this ritual so God is aware and recognizes her in a new land, such as Hawaii.
Roanhorse said the Navajo Nation is more modern than most people would think. “People think we still wear feathers. Their concepts are different,” she said with a smile. She also said some people think Native Americans still live in teepees and deerskins. “I explain to them the different tribes. I tell them about the languages. ... I tell them Native Americans are protective of land because that’s what they believe is most sacred.”
Roanhorse said she came to Hawaii through the Native American Scholar Program. Before she came, she had a lot of questions of whether she should go on a mission, but then the scholar program was introduced. After applying to come to BYU–Hawaii, she was afraid she would not be accepted because she was a recent convert and had not gone to Seminary or Institute.
After receiving an acceptance letter, Roanhorse said, “That was an answer to all my prayers and all my questions.”
Roanhorse’s roommate, Whitney Holley, a freshman from Utah studying chemistry education, said Roanhorse seemed quiet at first. “She was nice, polite. It took a few days to get to know her. She’s like a big older sister that we know and love. She is joking and always there.”
Raised by strict parents, Roanhorse said she was taught to observe traditional Navajo rituals, such as waking up before dawn. Anybody who woke up after dawn was considered a lazy person, according to Roanhorse. After she got up, she would feed the animals first because it was important to take care of them before herself.
She said she grew up close to her grandfather, who encouraged her to pursue an education and taught her to value her culture. She said she learned more about Heavenly Father through him, though she had not been converted at the time.
Roanhorse said she was deeply affected when her grandfather passed away in 2011. “To me, it was really hard. He was a father figure in my life,” she said.
Not long after, she and her mother were in a car accident. Roanhorse said she walked away while her mother was placed in the Intensive Care Unit. In the hospital, some elder missionaries stopped by to give her mother a blessing. “After that blessing she was able to walk, though they said she would be paralyzed. She was able to say a couple words even though they said she won’t be able to talk again,” Roanhorse said.
This helped her prepare to hear the sister missionaries when they came to her door at Utah State University-Eastern in Blanding, Utah. She was baptized in March 2014.
Roanhorse said she wanted to come to BYUH because she had been told Hawaii was a place you had to visit at least once in your lifetime. She also heard the people were kind. She said her people believe they are related to Hawaiians, like distant cousins.
“One of the old stories was that our Mother created us and helped Heavenly Father create the Earth. Her name was White Shell Woman. When she was done creating the land and the people and making our Navajo tribe, they believe she descended here to Hawaii and settled on the Hawaiian island, and here she remained,” said Roanhorse.
Roanhorse won’t go into the ocean out of respect. “In my culture, we believe in the big water. We say the big water doesn’t know you, and it's not your place to have fun in it,” she said.
Roanhorse said since it's the Hawaiian’s land and their ocean, there is no problem with them having fun in it.
Ty Saganey, a senior studying social science from the Navajo Nation, said about Roanhorse, “She’s adding the chance for other cultures to know a culture, a minority of the minority.”
Saganey helped Roanhorse learn about the opportunities at BYUH and to apply to come here.
Roanhorse said she carries corn pollen everywhere she goes so she stays connected to her land. The Navajo land is marked by the four sacred mountains: Mount Blanca, Mount Taylor, San Francisco Peaks, and Mount Hesperus.