Shonto Begay - Diné artist

Maternal Clan: Bitter Water      Paternal Clan: Salt Clan

In Navajo, the word Shonto refers to light reflecting off water. A similar glint is in Shonto Begay’s eyes when his paintbrush meets canvas. Shonto’s writings and paintings capture a moment of Diné, the people.

Born on a Navajo reservation sheep camp to a weaver of Tonalea storm patterns and a respected medicine man, as a boy Shonto was removed from his Hogan home and forced to attend a government boarding school away from his family and culture. Now he reclaims his identity through his art, balancing the harsh realities of reservation life with the amazing beauty found among its canyons and mesas. “I am very mindful that painting has saved my life many times over,” says Shonto. “It is how I’ve been able to dilute and even heal my own personal tragedies.”

Shonto’s images include truck beds full of families, hitchhikers and mesas that seem to go on forever. From first light upon the red earth to images of Manhattan, his impressionistic brushstrokes depict moments in time that pay homage to his memories or state his concerns about the environment and encroaching development.

Shonto is a volunteer with Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, Black Mesa Trust and the Save the Peaks efforts. For more information about Native people, land and resources, visit : www.nativemovement.org  www.swfa.org   www.blackmesawatercoalition.org and www.blackfire.net