The Navajo Hogan Project

I am addressing the lack of adequate housing and homelessness on the Navajo reservation by building traditional Navajo hogans for unsheltered aka homeless Navajo families for free. Traditional Navajo hogans are a sustainable and affordable housing. Building hogans have inspired me to create what I call, The Navajo Hogan Project. A project where I build hogans for unsheltered aka homeless Navajo families for free. All the work is done by me and volunteers from the communities. I’m currently learning how to collaborate with other architects, community volunteers, and tribal leaders.

This is a crucial time for me to do this type of artistic building. Navajo people are culturally a close-knit family unit and as a tribe, we are always taught to give back to our communities, and there has always been a big need for housing, a problem that has worsened during the pandemic. With separate housing, people would be better able to social distancing, which helps keep covid transmission down.

My name is Karen Begay. I'm from the Navajo tribe. The program I started would be helping to solve the housing issue on the Navajo reservation. I started a program on the Navajo reservation called The Navajo Hogan Project. I build traditional 8-sided dwellings called hogans from natural materials such as juniper, pine and packed earth. I make them to shelter unsheltered homeless Navajo families for free. In addition to seeking support to build, I would also like to start hogan-building internships to teach traditional Navajo hogan building to our young people.

Current funding for The Navajo Hogan Project includes: 

- The Master-Apprentice Artist Award, the Southwest FolkLife Alliance, Tucson, AZ 
- 8 Artist Grants, Arizona Commission for the Arts 
- I have also received 8000 Ponderosa Pine logs from the Coconino County U.S. Forest Service 
- Awarded a wood stove for each hogan that I build from RedFeather.org 

I wanted to build hogans for a long time because it is part of our Creation Story: the hogan is connected to the Sacred Mountain the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff, Arizona which we Navajo call Dook'o'oosłííd (which translated means the shining snow on the highest top). I built a traditional Navajo hogan in Valle, Arizona which is available for anyone to visit by appointment. Anyone can contact me by cell or email to schedule a visit to the Valle Hogan.

The Navajos or Diné as we call ourselves, has more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members as of 2021, the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States; additionally, the Navajo Nation has the largest reservation in the country. The reservation straddles the Four Corners region and covers more than 27,325 square miles (70,000 square km) of land in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. The Navajo Reservation is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia. The Navajo language is spoken throughout the region, and most Navajos also speak English.
This is about my tribe the Navajo tribe and we have a housing shortage my solution is to build traditional Navajo hogans for homeless Navajo families for free and this is a culturally acceptable solution. I would like other organizations, tribes and entities both native and non-native to sponsor building a traditional Navajo hogan for a family. 

Right now I am targeting the Navajo Reservation of which I am a member of and I understand the lack of housing in the Navajo Reservation communities. I am from a small community called Smoke Signal which is located in the heart of the Navajo Reservation. In 2017 I realized the impact the COVID pandemic had on the Navajo Reservation and other Indian Reservations across the United States. Building traditional Navajo hogans (dwellings) for homeless Navajo families would be a culturally acceptable solution to help with social distancing and help prevent the spread of the COVID virus. This is the reason why I started the Navajo Hogan Project. 

We are the right team of volunteers who come from Navajo communities where the hogans are going to be built. The Navajo Hogan Project is a traditional architectural project that responds to my community’s immediate need for housing. Navajo hogans are also a spiritual and cultural gathering space. In addition, currently all the hogan construction is done by volunteers and by the family who is requesting the hogan. As I develop the project, I would like to be able to pay the workers through workforce development agencies. I am also interested in intertribal collaborations to expand The Navajo Hogan Project. I am currently talking to other tribes about getting involved with The Navajo Hogan Project. 

For The Navajo Hogan Project we intend to complete the following list of proposals. 

1. We intend to create internships for youth, find ways to pay workers to help construct hogans, and identify sustainable building materials. 
2. Help open doors for other tribal organizations and encourage them to come on board with The Navajo Hogan Project. 
3. We would like to have guidance in collaborations with other grass-roots Indigenous artists and organizations to outreach to volunteers who are already interfacing with the unhoused, veterans and elders. 
4. We would like to provide support to bring on more team members to help run the Navajo Hogan Project, such as accountant, project assistant and coordinators.

I have already been working with the homeless unsheltered Navajo families in Flagstaff, Arizona and on the Navajo Reservation by helping to provide them with essential supplies for example winter coats, hygiene kits, sometimes showers, drinking water, hand sanitizer, face masks, and some meals or food items. And I am from Smoke Signal, Arizona near the Whippoorwill Chapter House area on the Navajo reservation. During the COVID pandemic I realized I could be social distancing and building traditional Navajo hogans at the same time plus helping to solve the homeless problem on the Navajo reservation by building traditional Navajo hogans for families for free, by getting funders to sponsor each hogan that gets built through The Navajo Hogan Project. All leftover building materials will get cycled into the next hogan that gets built and so on so that nothing gets wasted or thrown away. The Navajo Hogan Project is a sustainable green project. 

The Navajo Tribe has been building traditional Navajo Hogans for thousands of years and I will use my traditional knowledge as a hogan builder to respond to the ongoing crisis of homelessness in my community, and to create spaces
for art and community healing. I use the traditional ways my elders
taught me to build hogans as we have for thousands of years. I am one
of the few female hogan builders in the world.
Many Navajo on our Reservation have land but do not have actual
homes to live in. We can build a hogan for these Navajo families for
FREE, if they have “homesite lease,” a legal document giving them tribal
permission to homestead, which many have. As a tribal member myself, I
am in a unique position because I understand the needs of my people.
When I build a hogan for someone, they often break down in tears. It is so
humbling for me.

The Navajo Hogan Project (2015-Present)
● Building traditional Navajo hogans for unsheltered aka homeless
Navajo families who live on the Navajo reservation for FREE. Each
hogan costs between $35,000 to $50,000 to build.
● 2015 - Raised personal funds for the land purchase ($7,000)
● 2017 - Smoke Signal Hogan - Smoke Signal, AZ (Navajo tribal land)
● 2018 - Valle Hogan - Valle, Arizona (non-tribal land)
○ Researching land, and planning (2015-2016)
○ I purchased 1 acre of land with my own money, in rural area,
south of the Grand Canyon region (it is non-reservation land,
surrounded by survivalists) (2017)
○ 2017-2018: Constructed a traditional 8-sided hogan, with over
30 people from the community (Native and non-Native)
volunteers who helped construct the hogan.
○ This hogan has been blessed by local medicine man.
○ It will serve for community gatherings for local Native people,
for social distance art exhibits and art demonstrations and
educational lectures.
● 2021-2023 - Tuba City Hogan - Tuba City, AZ (tribal land),
community meeting and planning, gathering materials.
● 2022 - 2023 - Planning and development for expanding the project.
LLC, branding, consultations with contractors.
● 2022-2023 - Research and planning for hogan building internships
at the college level possibly at Northern Arizona University; possible
work-force development in order to pay workers
● 2021 - I was given 8000 ponderosa pine logs from Coconino
County U.S. Forest Service to build hogans (as part of their
forest-thinning project), so the project also helps ease this
overgrowth problem. Additionally, I’m researching alternative
recycled building materials to build hogans with.
● Spiritual and traditional planning for each hogan includes utilizing
the 6 directions: north, east, west, south and the ground and sky. In
Navajo hogans, the doorway always faces towards the rising sun in
the east. Hogans were a gift from the Holy People. Originally,
Navajo hogans were built using juniper wood, ponderosa pine which are chinked (caulked) with mud or clay, to build an octagonal shape, leaving room in the center of the ceiling for a smoke hole.

This statement comes from my resume and I intend to continue adding more to it in the future as The Navajo Hogan Project evolves. I plan to research housing on other tribal reservations in the United States and I also plan to research using alternative building materials such as hemp or other natural materials such as flagstone, or malpais rock. 

I am gauging my progress by how many hogans get built in my lifetime. I learned how to build traditional Navajo hogans from my grandpa Tsnijinnie Nez Begay 40 years ago. My grandpa learned how to build hogans from his father and grandfather before him and they learned from the generation before them. 

1. We built 4 traditional Navajo hogans in Smoke Signal, Arizona.

2. I built the Valle Hogan in 2017 and I started the Navajo Hogan Project. 

3. I have a hogan requested by the Perry family in Tuba City Arizona. 

4. I have a list of 9 hogan requests from 9 families on the Navajo Reservation.

I have reached out to the Coconino National Forest Service in Flagstaff, Arizona for logs. They are thinning the forest because of drought and they donated 8000 ponderosa pine logs for the Navajo Hogan Project. This is sustainable and helps reduce the impact of forest fires in the Coconino National Forest. Instead of the Coconino National Forest Service throwing out or shredding the ponderosa pine logs I am recycling the logs into traditional Navajo hogans for homeless Navajo families for free. I am currently seeking sponsorship of each hogan that I build from other tribes or businesses both Native and Non-Native. Volunteers come from the Navajo communities where the hogans are being built. I am hoping to be able to create jobs in these impoverished areas. 

The Theory of Change is already happening in real time as the housing crisis continues in the United States, culturally by building traditional Navajo hogans for homeless Navajo families this is a solution that will continue to evolve into the future and the project will have a positive impact on the Navajo Reservation and The Navajo Hogan Project will start other housing projects to improve Native American lives on other reservations throughout the country. I am creating a chain reaction by building traditional Navajo Hogans to improve the quality of life of Navajo families. The data collected from The Navajo Hogan Project will be collected in real time and documented as each hogan is built. This project is still developing, and I will be able to answer any questions about The Theory of Change as this project develops. I need to trust other data sources to develop The Theory of Change for The Navajo Hogan Project. The Navajo Hogan Project intends to build as many hogans (dwellings) as possible for homeless Navajo families. 

https://www.usnews.com/news/be...

Across the U.S., Disparities in Indian Country Emerge Through Tribal Housing (usnews.com)

Living Conditions - Navajo Relief Fund (nativepartnership.org)

The Navajo Hogan Project started from building 4 hogans in Smoke Signal, Arizona. We currently have received 9 hogan requests from 9 different communities on the Navajo Reservation. The next hogan to get built will be in Tuba City, Arizona for the Perry family. When the Perry Hogan gets built we will begin gathering data for The Theory of Change following the guidelines of the grant. We will continue to reach out to other Native American tribes and financial institutions to sponsor each hogan that gets built. We are not giving up. 

I did use satellite imaging to map and mark the property lines before building the Valle Hogan. In conjunction with satellite imaging I will be using a drone to map and observe landmarks and mark the area with wooden stakes of the location that the Navajo hogan will be built for accuracy. This may be the first time anyone has used a drone in the process of traditional Navajo hogan building. 

I learned how to build traditional Navajo hogans from my grandfather Tsinijinnie Nez Begay and every hogan that we built is still standing. In 2017 I bought some land in Valle, Arizona which is west of Flagstaff, Arizona and I built a traditional Navajo hogan on that land. Approximately 30 volunteers from all walks of life came from Flagstaff, Arizona and participated in the building of that Valle Hogan. I did not discriminate when it came to volunteers helping me to build a hogan. Everyone was welcome to come help in the building. 

IndigiCoin LLC DBA The Navajo Hogan Project is a Native American Housing Financial Investment institution formed to build sustainable and affordable houses for unsheltered aka homeless Native American families living on reservations for FREE. We will be seeking investors from all Native American tribes and tribal organizations, non-tribal organizations and corporations, who want to invest in Native American people. The Navajo Hogan Project wants to invest in protecting its own Indigenous communities and populations by providing them with basic shelter. Thus far, The Navajo Hogan Project funding has primarily come from grants and bootstrapping.

1. The Navajo Hogan Project -Is going to be become a Native American Housing Investment firm on a national level. 

2. The Navajo Hogan Project is a Native American owned business.

3. The Navajo Hogan Project welcomes non-native investors.

Together we can make a difference by providing sustainable and affordable housing for Native American families. 

The Navajo Hogan Project will invest in Native American communities through financing from Native American tribes and other investors to build affordable, sustainable houses for Native American families and The Navajo Hogan Project will design and build the houses using historic traditional tribal housing designs. The Navajo Hogan Project will investigate and do a historical search to validate the housing structures and harvest natural building materials to build with such as hemp building products or ponderosa pine logs. 

The Navajo Hogan Project has no competition. One of the biggest challenges The Navajo Hogan Project is facing is the cost of building materials needed with which to build traditional Navajo Hogans and transporting building materials to the job sites. With your investment in The Navajo Hogan Project we can meet this challenge head on to get many homes built. 

We are projecting investments of $100,000.00 in year 1 and 250,000.00 in year 2 with a profit margin of 15%. That assumes we can build 1-4 hogans per year on the Navajo Reservation at a cost of $50-60,000.00 per hogan built. The hogans are built on a volunteer basis, until I can afford to pay for their labor. We will continue to pursue investors for The Navajo Hogan Project to pay for salaries, the labor costs, building materials and financial costs. Native American Tribal investments will become a key for The Navajo Hogan Project and we will be reaching out to Native American Tribes for financial investments. The Navajo Hogan Project investors will be what makes this Native American Housing Project become successful. Our goal is to build houses for unsheltered houseless Native American families. 

The Navajo Hogan Project is projecting investments of $100,000.00 in year 1 and 250,000.00 in year 2 with a profit margin of 15%. That assumes we can build 1-4 hogans per year on the Navajo Reservation at a cost of $50-60,000.00 per hogan built. The hogans are built on a volunteer basis, until I can afford to pay for the labor. We will continue to pursue investors for The Navajo Hogan Project to pay for salaries, the labor costs, building materials and financial costs. Native American Tribal investments will become a key for The Navajo Hogan Project and we will be reaching out to Native American Tribes for financial investments. The Navajo Hogan Project investors will be what makes this Native American Housing Project become successful. Our goal is to build houses for unsheltered houseless Native American families. These figures are based on forecasting created using a program called LivePlan. 

Current funding for The Navajo Hogan Project includes:

1. I began funding The Navajo Hogan Project myself. 
2. The Master-Apprentice Artist Award, the Southwest FolkLife Alliance, Tucson, AZ. 
3. 8 Artist Grants, Arizona Commission for the Arts. 
4. I have also received 8000 Ponderosa Pine logs from the Coconino County U.S. Forest Service. 
5. Awarded a wood stove for each hogan that I build from RedFeather.org 
6. I will be collaborating with Native Americans for Community Action (a healthcare provider in Flagstaff, Arizona) on future hogan building projects. 
7. I will also begin reaching out to Casinos in Arizona to sponsor hogan building for each homeless Navajo family request.
8. The Navajo Hogan Project will continue to grow and expand.