Emma Rollins

Being a white woman, I have no place to make commentary on Native American/Indigenous People’s lives and their culture. So work on this production was very hard to approach because we needed the points of view that the characters strive for in the play but we needed actual resources. Through The Tribe of Many Feathers and some other connections, I was able to find Cheyanne Elton who is of Navajo descent, dancing in the Living Legends Native American Section (with a minor in American Indian Studies), and Naabaahii Tsosie who is also of Navajo descent. He is the previous President of the Tribe of Many Feathers at BYU, and he also travels the world dancing Native American dance. Both were able to come and were willing to talk with the cast about their families and their connections with the culture. After the cast did some research and sent me questions for the special guests, Cheyanne and Naabaahii were prepared to share their perspectives. They both have connections with the Navajo tribe and were very willing to talk about their experiences as well as their families’ experiences, jobs on reservations, experiences they’ve had with racism, and their thoughts on representation. They answered many hard questions.

Rejoice, we’re back in person. Rejoice, the semester is almost over. Rejoice, that your family member is coming back to health. Rejoice, Jesus wins in the end. Whatever it is, rejoice. The theme of Christmas Around the World this year is Rejoice. But rejoicing isn’t always joyful. Just as Adam and Eve had to learn joy from pain, good and bad often go hand in hand. So while we celebrate this Christmas season, let’s reflect back on what we’ve had to experience to help us rejoice. In this modern day and age, the pain and hardship we see with the Covid-19 pandemic have affected us all. The announcement of a global pandemic, and finally the world moving forward, has been a major part of our history. March 12, 2020, will forever be remembered by many as the day Brigham Young University shut down and everyone left. Not knowing what the future would hold or how long the hardships were going to last, we pushed forward. The pandemic remained dominant and still rages on. With the 60th anniversary of Christmas Around the World being postponed, we learned even more what that pain can do to foil our joy and rejoicing.