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Show Cross Currents 6 November 20, 1998 For storytellers, stories aren't anything until you give them away Written by Amy Maestas Photographed by Nancy Richmond tories are universal. They heal pain, set us free from despair, identify cultures, define our nature and describe the landscape. They explain history, tell us where we came from and where we are going. And sometimes more importantly why we - - are here. Stories also are more than words. They connect people who might not have a reason for connection. If you meet a person from a different country, who practices a different religion and has different daily routines, a story even a variation of it has the power to bond. And everyone has a story. Only some people can paint, only some can write, and only some can build or invest money. But everyone has a story. Stories also change over time and they will continue to change. They will stop changing only when they stop being told, which is what any - professional storyteller doesnt want to happen. Stories are the most wonderful treasures we have, says Will Tsosie. Tsosie, a Navajo, is one of the tribes master storytellers. He uses stories to teach his own people and people who come to the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona to learn about the Native American culture. In a darkened hogan at Din College near Canyon de Chelley, Tsosie n people to learn for the next five days about prepares a stories from different perspectives. Tsosie shares stories from a Native American perspective and entwines them in lessons about the tribe, its history and its people. Jim Garry, who comes from Gillette, Wyo., indulges the group with stories of the American West from a cowboy perspective. Sari Ross, a former teacher and master storyteller from Durango, shares stories from the Anglo perspective and those told around the world. Tsosie is a traditional Navajo with a wealth of knowledge about Native Americans, who speaks the native tongue, and who lives a conventional Navajo life. But he also fits perfeedy into the mainstream Anglo society. He has a degree in computer science and worked for IBM after college, traveling the world as a computer executive. He also worked 12 years as the director of computer services for Chinle Unified Schools in Chinle, Ariz. He now owns Coyote Pass Hospitality, a cultural guide service that teaches outsiders the Navajo way of life and tribal customs. The service isnt fancy. Guests, like the group this particular week in late October, dwelling with earthen floors and a wood stay in a hogan, a single-roostove. They eat Navajo food, with fry bread accompanying almost every meal. Tsosie also guides them on backcountry tours in Canyon de Chelley, Canyon del Muerto or the high Chuska Mountains. The group, which is taking this storytelling workshop through the Four Corners Outdoor School, based in Monticello, Utah, packs into the hogan on the cold nights. The wood-burnistove warms the inside of the fire If is alive the the hogan. kept night, the hogan is comfortably during warm. If the fire goes out, the octagon-shape- d building gets bitterly cold. - half-doze- m Sari Ross, master storyteller from Durango, tells a story at Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, during a multi-da- y workshop. After one night of bitter cold, the group mandates that when someone gets up during the night to use the outhouse, he or she must put a log on the fire. The strategy works; the hogan stays warm. Tsosie, in his late 30s, stands about 58, has a round face and wears a baseball hat with a hockey team logo. He has a hearty laugh that fuels others. He has been Garry is a consummate cowboy in his mid-50- s. described as a cross between Mark Twain and Spalding Gray. His light brown mustache is thick and the sides creep down to his chin. He felt cowboy hat that is slightly soiled. He wears wears an Levis, not Wranglers. His boots have round, not pointy, toes and the heels are low. And he almost always wears a handkerchief tied around his neck. He talks slowly and softly with a subtle Texan accent. Ross is a friendly face who engages anyone in conversation. She is animated, jovial and has the unexpected enthusiasm of someone half her 70 years. She is short with awesome gray hair and a flair for fashion. Ross has a degree in theater and it shows. She tells more than just words, she gives you the face and voice of the character and all of its subtleties. She often uses props a practice she says other storytellers disdain. They say props take away from the story, but I feel they enhance it, especially with kids because they need some time to capture their interest, Ross says. It makes me more comfortable, too. Each storyteller estimates he or she knows at least 40 stories. They know different version of the same stories, too. Ross knows about 50 different themes of Cinderella, the oldest one dating back to Egyptian times. She says the names may not be the same, but the story line of a mistreated young girl whose sisters get preferential treatment-w- ho pulls herself up to a better position remains. In stories of most cultures, there usually is an underdog and it is usually a girl, but not always, Ross said. Tsosies stories are steeped in Navajo history and religion. On the first day of the workshop, he takes the group to the Dine College, in the town ofTsaile, Ariz., to view the mural replicating the Navajo creation story. Tsosie insists that the Navajo are not descendants of the Amerind people who migrated to North America from Asia about 20,000 years ago as some genetic and linguistic data suggests. Rather, he says the Navajos were created after migrating through a succession of black, blue and yellow worlds below this world (the fifth one). The Holy people emerged into this world through a reed onto a small island in the midst of a large lake. The Navajo believe that the place of emergence is on top of Huerfano Mesa in northwestern New Mexico or somewhere further north amid the San Juan Mountains of off-whi- te - - |