Renowned Navajo community leader, matriarch and educator Louva Dahozy has died. The 99-year-old was called the Mother of the Navajo Nation.
For seven decades Dahozy advocated for strengthening nutrition, education and economic opportunity on the Navajo Nation.
She began working as a community educator in the 1950s and used her farming experience to create traditional food programs for Indigenous communities.
“She served our community and the greater Navajo Nation with grit and purpose, and many of those achievements we still see today, such as voting rights, healthy living and animal care,” says Council Delegate Andy Nez. “Her legacy is forged in community engagement for the betterment of the Navajo people and the preservation of our language and culture.”
Dahozy helped secure federal funding for Diné language radio programs that focused on nutrition and home economics.
And for 10 years she produced daily episodes of the Navajo Homemakers Radio Education show where she championed food security in underserved populations.
Dahozy also wrote two cookbooks that centered on traditional Navajo foods.
“Dr. Dahozy believed in change through personal responsibility, healthier lifestyles, and active civic engagement,” says Speaker Crystalyne Curley. “Through her advocacy for Native representation in government, she helped open doors for many candidates to serve their communities for the first time.”
Dahozy eventually became a voice for voter rights and the needs of women and older adults in Native communities.
She received a lifetime achievement award and an honorary doctorate from the University of Arizona.
