Photo by Clarke ToltonDuane ‘Chili’ Yazzie outside his home in Shiprock, NM.
Courtesy of Chili YazzieChili and his wife Betsy at their wedding ceremony in 1972. 
Photo by Clarke ToltonShiprock monument. Standing at 1,583 feet, it is a centerpiece of Navajo culture and spiritualism.
Photo by Clarke ToltonChili, who joined XIT in 1972, pictured in an early promo for the band.
Courtesy of Chili YazzieSmokey Robinson at Motown Studios wearing an original XIT shirt.
XIT ad promoting “Plight of the Redman” in Rolling Stone Magazine, 1972. 
Courtesy of Chili Yazzie.XIT performing on The Real Don Steele Show in 1974.
Courtesy of Chili YazzieAn original promo ad for “Plight of the Redman” with Chili at bottom left. 
Photo by Clarke ToltonChili in his hogan.
Courtesy of the AIM Interpretive CenterAn original American Indian Movement flyer announcing protests in Farmington, NM. Marches would eventually lead to the takeover of the Fairchild Plant.
Courtesy of Chili YazzieChili with Jesse Jackson.
Photo Courtesy of Chili Yazzie
Photo by Clarke ToltonA hogan outside Many Farms, AZ.
Courtesy of Chili Yazzie A card from Chili’s last run for Navajo Nation President in 2014, depicting the colors associated with the Navajo four directions. The star at the center represents the great emergence.
Photo by Clarke ToltonNavajo Nation headquarters. Window Rock, AZ. 
Photo by Clarke Tolton
Courtesy of Chili YazzieChili organizing outside the Shiprock Chapter House, where he has held title as President since 2001.
Courtesy of Chili YazzieChili with Vanguard of Tomorrow’s Resistance after an organized 20 mile walk in protest of proposed mining at Oak Flat, AZ.
Photo by Clarke ToltonFour Corners Power Plant outside of Shiprock, NM.
Photo by Clarke ToltonWild horses near Indian Wells, AZ.
Photo by Clarke ToltonChili retiring old flags at a Memorial Day Ceremony in Shiprock, NM. 
Photo by Clarke ToltonOutside Round Rock, AZ. 
Photo by Clarke ToltonChili and his grandson in Shiprock, NM.021 A LINE DRAWN IN THE REZ DIRT
A story of the Navajo reservation, native rock and roll, and action against a colonial government.
For over two decades, Duane “Chili” Yazzie has been an activist for Native American rights. Of the Navajo tribe, Chili has spent his life on the reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico, following tribal traditions and questioning the relationship between Native Peoples and Anglo-Americans. As a young man, he became a member of the influential Native American rock band, XIT, playing at political rallies across the United States. Chili would later become involved in Navajo politics, being sworn into the administration of the Shiprock Chapter House, where he now serves as president.
In this story, Chili explains the principles of the Diné people, while also recalling his experiences of the United States Indian Affairs relocation program, armed take-overs of corporate factories, political riots in the Navajo Capital, and an assassination attempt by a local white man to take Chili’s life. A LINE DRAWN IN THE REZ DIRT illustrates the struggle of Native Americans transitioning into a modern day America that has renounced the traditions of its past.
This episode is a part of a multi-media project on the Diné sponsored by VSCO’s 23.5.
Select photos by Clarke Tolton
Music by High Aura’d
021
A LINE DRAWN IN THE REZ DIRT
A story of the Navajo reservation, native rock and roll, and action against a colonial government.
020
BANISHED VETERANS – PART 2
A story of military vets barred from the country they served.
019
BANISHED VETERANS – PART 1
A story of military vets barred from the country they served.
018
THESE EXECUTIONS
A story of public relations and lethal injection.
017
ANYTHING FOR A WITNESS
A story of justice found within the shape of a face.
016
WATER IS WIDE
A story of activism at sea.
015
VANISHED STATUS
A story of protest and assumed identity.
014
BUT NOT WITH SILVER
A story of divine fate and segregation within the Secret Service.
013
ALWAYS KEEP THE FIRE GOING SOMEWHERE
A story of compassion and saintlike devotion in the streets of New Orleans.
012
EYES BACK ON THE HIGHWAY
A story of travel without destination.
011
SOMETHING CAN’T BE EVERYTHING
A story of consciousness, love, and magick in vintage Hollywood.
010
MAN DIVIDED
A story of hot chrome motorcycles, leather, and a journey into the wilderness.
009
PRACTICES OF ENFREAKMENT
A story of autonomous abnormality.
008
THE ACCIDENTAL OUTLAWS
A story of lawlessness while practicing organic methods.
007
CURRENT WITH THE PAST
A story of seclusion, discovery, creation, and worship.
006
SESQUIPEDALIAN
A story of hustles and gambles within lowlife culture.
005
I SAW MY OWN
A story of hitchhiking the interstate and highways in the 1980’s.
004
HIGHWAYS OF THE PAST JOURNEYING: …WHERE OUR SON WAS
A story of vanishment and revelation on the road.
003
AS I HAVE GONE ALONE IN THERE
A story from someone who creates adventure in the 21st century.
002
OTHER WORLDS
Two stories from those who challenge reality by contacting other spirits, dimensions, portals, and voids. How? Ancient mind-altering ceremonies and leaps of faith.
001
BURDEN OF PROOF
Two stories from individuals who collected evidence in different ways.
ABOUT
Everything is Stories
EVERYTHING IS STORIES
An ongoing audio survey of individuals who have experienced transcendence and/or power of the will. No story will be considered too troubled, no atmosphere too strange.
Needed: tales from the underground, the underdog, the outlaw, and the outcast. Genuine characters of all kinds welcome.
Everything is Stories explores unconventional narratives of the past and present to preserve the eccentric, the authentic, and the personal.
Created by Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray.
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