Nát'oh Baa Hane': How Tobacco Saved the World from Destruction and Healed the People

There comes a time in life, and in history, when we must be reminded and be retaught about wellness of life—what to do and not to do. On the Navajo Nation, we look around and see young people who are unaware of things that can be harmful to their health. It is our responsibility, as adults, to teach and provide guidelines for their safety needs. This is a Fundamental Law of the Navajo.

Today, we all need a good lesson about life. We need to hear it repeatedly to be reminded of life's philosophy of Są'ah Naagháí Bik'ehózhóón, which reminds us that living a good healthy life includes keeping our mind, spirit, soul, and body clean. These lessons of living are not meant to put people down, insult, or embarrass them. These teachings are meant to help get people out of addiction. Many times, all we need is to have someone open our minds allowing us to escape narrow-mindedness. We need a holistic spiritual vantage point of the world. We also need that holistic spiritual view of ourselves, and our relatives. The mind and body manifest a desire to indulge in new educational perspectives. It is natural for our minds to have thirst and hunger for knowledge. Let us feed our minds and bodies with spiritual knowledge.

Navajo Hataałii (Chanters) are trained to see to the needs of The People, to maintain their well-being, and to attend to the duty of saving a life. We seek the spirituality in life that is associated with nature and the Holy People, and we journey to better understand longevity and wisdom. As healers and guides, we give our concern with passion, and we believe that without spiritual healing, we will all suffer down the road. That is why we are sharing knowledge to save your internal organs and insist that you take care of your body and mind by not contaminating them with unhealthy chemical substances.

It is said that all people should live to be 102 years old as this is the ideal age. We want you to be healthy and able-bodied experiencing minimal difficulties. With healing and prevention, we can walk on the correct path of life, which is also identified as the Corn Pollen Road of Life. There are options to turn your life around, to get rid of bad habits that are health hazards. Please choose the life of healthy living in your future. The end is never too soon in this journey of a lifetime. Many people are smart enough to know not to smoke commercial and electronic cigarettes, but still cut their lives short by contaminating their lungs. If only we intervened earlier, these relatives would still be alive. Nevertheless, it's not too late to help by sharing the teachings about the dangers of chemical tobacco use.

The proper use of Navajo traditional Nát'oh (mountain tobacco) needs to be mentioned at this point. It is a medicinal herb utilized for healing in traditional Navajo ceremony known as "Nahagha." If it is abused, it will become a danger to your health. It should only be used in a prescribed way, to heal and nurture. Abusing Nát'oh will destroy your life and kill you, so quit and leave it alone. Live a long time. No need to smoke to pass time. Instead, smoke in ceremonies for treatment.

We are responsible for taking care of our loved ones' lives by educating them with what we know and sharing our experiences. We respect young people's learning abilities, and we want them to live wisely and take life seriously. We hope we all succeed to make change for the better of all.

Tobacco People

In this section, and in the sections that follow, the information utilized to describe and enhance the understanding of tobacco is taken directly from Diné baa hane', or the Navajo creation account. In this account, each of the Four Worlds had conflict that...