Residence
Chinle, AZ

Books:
Bidii

White Nose the Sheep Dog

What Does 'Died' Mean?

Marjorie Thomas holds a BA in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University, an MA in Educational Leadership from the University of New Mexico, and an honorary doctorate from Diné College. She has served as a teacher, bilingual coordinator, and principal in schools on the Navajo Nation and has worked with curriculum and school reform for over 30 years. She was a founding member of the Diné bi Olta Association and President of the Diné Language Teachers' Association. She currently serves as a member of the Chinle Unified School District Governing Board and as the Summer Institute Director of the Learn in Beauty Project at Northern Arizona University.

Marjorie often describes her own education at the Ganado Mission where her mother, Naanibaa Gorman, worked as a health care worker and translator. "When I went to the boarding school we were punished for speaking Navajo. I made up my mind not to have something that was mine taken away from me."

Marjorie Thomas continues to use her language as a storyteller and as an advocate for youth. She is known as "Grandma Thomas" to the youth of the Navajo Nation. She has led many marches from Chinle to Window Rock to support the construction of the Central Navajo Youth Facility. On the marches and at events throughout the Navajo Nation, her donkey song has been heard as a rallying cry to youth and to community members of all ages. She reminds all students and teachers on the Navajo Nation, "We can't lose our language. We need to believe in it and use it."