How Can You Get Involved?
Rainbow Fiber Co-Op will be offering Diné grown Navajo-Churro fiber products for sale online Winter 2021! Learn more about our efforts to support three critically endangered Navajo-Churro sheep flocks and find out how YOU can get involved today.
Our Shepherds: Irene Bennalley
Irene and her son winter in Two Grey Hills, New Mexico with their gorgeous flock of Navajo-Churro sheep. In the summer they migrate with the flock on foot up to the family’s ancestral sheep camp in the Chuska Mountains.
Our Shepherds: Kelly Skacy
Kelly raises a beautiful flock of Navajo-Churro sheep and Navajo Angora goats. She cares for them along with her husband and four children in Coppermine, Arizona located in the Western Agency of the Navajo Nation.
Our Shepherds: Marjorie Curley
Marjorie Curley lives with her husband Irvin in Ganado, Arizona, where they steward an impressive flock of Navajo-Churro sheep. “When they lamb, you don’t have to worry about it. They tend to their young ones.”
The Rainbow Story
The “Rainbow” in our project name is tied to an origin story of T’áá Dibé—the First Sheep. Beautiful brown sheep are considered a special blessing to a flock from the Rainbow People and the Sun God. This is the story as told by Nikyle Begay.
The History of Navajo-Churro Sheep
Diné philosophy, spirituality, and sheep are intertwined like wool in the strongest weaving. Sheep symbolize the Good Life, living in harmony and balance on the land. Read more from Diné be'iiná (The Navajo Lifeway).