Since time immemorial, Diné have faced monsters of disease, and they not only have survived but also have thrived as a people. While the media, stories, and cries of Diné people and community have shown the rampage of the coronavirus monster, many have asked why the virus was so prevalent in the Navajo Nation between 2020 and 2021. This roundtable features a conversation between Dr. Phil Smith, who has worked with Navajo Nation health services for decades, and his historian daughter, Dr. Farina King, and young grandson William King. These young historians and Diné physician, who descend from traditional healers, will discuss intergenerational struggles that historicize COVID-19 and the path of healing in the Navajo Nation. This session will also address histories of Diné healing, peoplehood, identity, and ties to homelands at a level such that youth and adults can learn and benefit from.
Join us for this interview and discussion on October 9, 2021, at 1:00 PM CST!
This event will be live-streamed on Facebook Live. Watch online only.
The museum will be open to the public with regular hours, reserve your free timed ticket for entry.
This event will be recorded and archived on our website.
About Phil L. Smith MD, MPH
Phil L. Smith, MD, MPH is a retiring Senior Clinician for the Utah Navajo Health System and an Associate Faculty member at Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. He works closely with the Center’s Training team on developing and implementing courses and mentoring students.
He previously served as Chair, IHS National Institutional Review Board, and remains a member. He also previously served as the Director, IHS Office of Health Program and Chief Medical Officer for the Indian Health Service. Dr. Smith received his Medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine. A Family and Community Medicine physician, he is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Family Practice and The American College of Preventive Medicine and Board Certified in both specialties. He is a graduate of the Uniformed Services University School.
Dr. Smith grew up on the Navajo reservation and after his medical and residency training, returned to Navajo land to serve as a family and emergency medicine physician in several rural sites over several decades before being assigned to his work at Indian Health Service.
About Dr. Farina King
Farina King, Ph.D., a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is Associate Professor of History and affiliated faculty of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She is also the director and founder of the NSU Center for Indigenous Community Engagement. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University in U.S. History. King specializes in twentieth-century Native American Studies, especially American Indian boarding school histories. She is the author of The Earth Memory Compass: Diné Landscapes and Education in the Twentieth Century, and co-author with Michael P. Taylor and James R. Swensen of Returning Home: Diné Creative Works from the Intermountain Indian School (November 2021). Learn more at farinaking.com!
About Will King
William (Will) King is Dr. Farina King's oldest child who has a younger brother and sister. Dr. Phil Smith is his maternal grandfather, or "Cheii" as Will affectionately calls him. Will is starting the sixth grade this upcoming school year. He hopes to one day study marine life such as sharks in college and to become a marine biologist. He also enjoys traveling and swimming. He dreams of one day learning and going scuba diving with his father.