Diné author and scholar Evangeline Parsons Yazzie has died at the age of 69.
The Navajo-Hopi Observer reports Yazzie was originally from Hardrock, Arizona and was of the Water Flows Together Clan, born for Coyote Pass/ Jemez.
She was an acclaimed writer of children’s and young adult books written in the Navajo language. Her accolades include the International Reading Association’s Children’s Choices Book Award, the Notable Children’s Social Studies Trade Book Award, the Independent Publisher Book Awards for Non-fiction, and the Storytelling World Award.
Yazzie taught at Northern Arizona University for 24 years with a Master of Arts degree in Bilingual Multicultural Education and a Doctorate in Education focusing on Native Language Maintenance and Preservation.
Yazzie’s textbook Rediscovering the Navajo Language was adopted by the New Mexico State Department of Education in 2008, the first state in U.S. history to adopt an American Indian language textbook.
She will be laid to rest in Flagstaff, her longtime home.