Shiprock Navajo Nation Fair

Shiprock Navajo Nation Fair

Usually first weekend of October

Also known as the Northern Navajo Fair, this fair began in 1924 and is considered the oldest and most traditional of Navajo fairs. It is a harvest fair held in Shiprock, New Mexico, the largest populated community of the Navajo Nation.
The fair coincides with the conclusion of an ancient healing ceremony, the Navajo Night Chant. This is a nine-day chant known as the Yei Bei Chei, and is a complex ritual usually conducted after the first frost. Parts of the ceremony may be witnessed by the public. Among the more colorful public rituals are Two Yei's Come and the grand finale in which sacred masked dancers begin a dance late Saturday night and continue into the pre-dawn.
After watching the healing ceremony, spectators go on to other events of the fair such as an all-Indian rodeo, an inter-tribal powwow, a livestock show, a carnival, the Miss Northern Navajo Pageant, Indian arts and crafts exhibits, and a Saturday morning parade.
See also Navajo Nation Fair at Window Rock

CONTACTS:
Navajo Tourism Department
P.O. Box 663
Window Rock, AZ 86515
928-810-8501; fax: 928-810-8500
www.discovernavajo.com

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 640
IndianAmer-1989, p. 269
RelHolCal-2004, p. 259