Mexico City Minority Languages return to Stories go to Heritage Easy access to minority cultures and languages can be provided with simple songs and stories. Since there is much repetition of simple syllables, it can be easy for anyone to learn. We hear key words in the Navajo language, which help express the setting.
Story tellers can use unfamiliar language if there is repetition and context.
My experience in telling these stories hundreds of times, is that the use of the Navajo language in this way works fine with Navajo, Anglo, Hispanic, and even Mexican audiences. I do tell the story in Spanish instead of English sometimes, or even with a mixture of the three languages, if I think the audience will understand it best that way. The story of Ma'ii lends itself well to discussions of stranger danger, and the importance of making friends carefully. He would come home everyday from the mesa just so content. Everybody knew why he was happy, especially his grandpa, who he called, Shicheii.