Fall Reflections from a Diné Woman’s Daughter

By Elyse Dempsey

The end of a calendar year can bring excitement for a number of things, like waiting to see fun seasonal decorations or even trying a new soup recipe found on socials. In the Southwest, I can say that fall has its own special time as we are all feeling and moving with the changing of the seasons. Personally, this time of year always brings to mind how October is the start of a new year for my people, the Diné.

In our teachings, fall signals the time to harvest the last of the fields and get ready for winter. It signals the time for living through all the planning done in the spring and also preparing for rest coming in the winter. I always feel renewed during this time, which may seem different for some who feel like it’s an ending. I find a peaceful start in the quietness that sets in for nature. I find renewed comfort in the cold weather. I feel a beginning in the thought of the coming rest. (I think the ancestors had it right starting a new year with rest.)

I’ve always felt that our histories, Indigenous teachings and wisdom, move in opposite motion to worlds external to ours. Our start being the end for another is one example. Wealth depicted as a number of investments and money, but defined as the number of sheep in the Diné world is another example. The act of living in opposition to our nature has become so frequent that it is natural. We are experts in living forward but moving in all directions. I believe what makes this way of existing easy for me and perhaps my Indigenous relatives is that the center of that rotation is rooted in who we are and from which we come. Like a Rubix cube. The core is unchanging, but all other parts are in motion.

At Roanhorse Consulting this past quarter, there have been countless moments of living  forward and backward and in sync and in opposition. It has become our nature and greatest strength to move like nature, like water. We’ve been in relationship and laughs with many new and old partners, and have given life to some pretty awesome projects. I gain a lot of energy and hope from the thought that one day all this emotional, exciting and delicious work that we do as Roanhorse Consulting will lead to a different future for our Indigenous relatives.

It is exciting to think about the amazing projects we’ve stewarded into existence over the last few months. To start, Center Native is a one-stop shop database full of digital tools to grow, empower, and showcase all the amazing Native American Resources in New Mexico. We also launched the pilot of the Rematriating Economies Apprenticeship in June 2023 to support a cohort of 10 Indigenous women to become decision makers in investment and fund management. It was shared with me that the origins of these projects in particular started as ideas, small conversations about what was needed for our Indigenous relatives and what we could do to help collectively arrive at a better future. 

There is plenty more that I could share about these projects alone, and I invite you to explore them in your next free moment. One kind ask I do have of you, dear reader and listener, is to take some time to go beyond your work and just live this fall season. Maybe that looks like setting yourself up in a comfy space, enjoying some tunes from my mixtape, and joining us at Roanhorse Consulting in living forward toward our blessings and the future of coming seasons. 

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Elyse Dempsey is from Oak Springs, Diné Nation. She is Towering House People born for the Rock Gap People. Her maternal grandfather was of the Bitter Water People and her paternal grandfather was of the Deer Springs People. She is the daughter of the late Marilyn D. Begay, a strong matriarch and Diné language caretaker. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, as many run-walks as her feet can take, jewelry making and sitting back with a slice of pie (just not apple).