Dorothea Born
My Navajo name was "White Apple"
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Biography
I have been interested in the Navajo culture since I was very young and there was never any doubt in my mind that one day I would travel to the Navajo territory. Perhaps it was the beautiful Turquoise ring my mother gave me for my twelfth birthday, or the desire to one day be able to ride freely on the prairie, but one thing was certain, one day I would go to America to meet the Navajos. visit and ride with them across the prairie and ride a horse. In school, too, I took every opportunity to read, write, and learn about the Navajos. Whether I had to do a piece of work for geography, history or English, it always started and ended with the Navajos in America.
I didn't hesitate for a moment when I got the chance to work on the east coast of America for a few months halfway through my Art History study. America as a whole already had a great attraction for me and once in Boston, the step to Arizona would only be smaller. I had a wonderful time on the East Coast and made many dear friends, but as soon as I saved enough money and had the opportunity to travel, I left for Arizona, to the Navajo ation. When I arrived in Monument Valley after a few days, I grabbed the opportunity to stay there for a longer period of time.
How that went and what a special experience this was, I tell in my book: My Navajo name was “White Apple”. My experiences have shaped me and also determined the rest of my life path. Because of my unique opportunity to work and live with the Navajos, I will be connected to the Navajo culture and Monument Valley in particular for ever.
After my return to the Netherlands I picked up my art history studies again and I graduated in the weaving art of the Navajo women, by making a combination of art history, women's studies and anthropology.
Since graduating, I have been lecturing on the Navajo culture. In addition, I have set up and guided trips to America for a travel organization in order to introduce as many people as possible in a respectful way to the various Native American cultures in the west of America, especially the Navajo culture.
My love, knowledge and respect for the Navajo culture and my own experiences ensure that I can tell in my own way, based on various anecdotes, how beautiful, special, exciting, but also how anxious it was sometimes to adapt. to The Navajo Way of Life. A unique story about me as a white woman who had to overcome many obstacles within the culture, within the family and within my relationship and who gave everything to follow my passion, my dream and my great love. I did not let anything or anyone stop me and always followed my heart to eventually find my own way “To Walk in Beauty”!
By telling my own story I hope to be an inspiration for many women to realize their dreams and to find and follow their own path!
May you walk in beauty!!
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