Sunny Dooley

Sunny Dooley is a Diné storyteller born into the Saltwater Clan and born from the Water's Edge Clan.[1] She shares Hane', or Diné Blessingway stories, and is a former Miss Navajo Nation, having won the title in 1982.[2]

Biography

Dooley was born to parents Dorothy and Tom Dooley.[3] She is from the Chi Chil' Tah (Where the Oaks Grow) community in New Mexico,[2][4] and grew up on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. She learned to speak Diné Bizaad as her first language[5] and learned the skill of storytelling from her mother. As a storyteller, Dooley shares stories that have been passed down through generations in her family.[6][4]

In 1979, Dooley graduated from West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. She attended the University of New Mexico, where she received an Associate of Art degree.[7] She later graduated from Brigham Young University, majoring in speech communications and minoring in art. While at the school, she was awarded Miss Indian Brigham Young University.[8][6]

In 1982, she competed in Miss Navajo Nation. During the competition's skills portion, she told a story about the Changing Woman. She won the competition, becoming Miss Navajo Nation from 1982 to 1983. After the contest, she continued storytelling.[1] She performed at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. around 2009.[5] A year later, she published a story called "Mai and the Cliff-Dwelling Birds" in the 2010 book, Trickster: Native American Tales.[9]

As of 2021, Dooley lives in Chi Chil' Tah in a hogan, a traditional log house.[10]

In 2023, she had an acting appearance in the film Frybread Face and Me.

References
  1. Vecsey, Christopher (2015). "Navajo Morals and Myths, Ethics and Ethicists". The Journal of Religious Ethics. 43 (1): 101–115. doi:10.1111/jore.12087. ISSN 0384-9694. JSTOR 24586177. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  2. Legendary Locals of Gallup New Mexico. Arcadia Publishing. 2017. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-4671-2567-3. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. "N.M. Navajo Woman 25th BYU Miss Indian". Albuquerque Journal. 7 April 1985. p. C8. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  4. "Native Dine Blessing Way Stories Told by Sunny Dooley". US Fed News Service. 3 February 2010. ProQuest 471990455. Retrieved 12 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
  5. Terhune, Lea (6 February 2009). "Teaching the Art of Being Human: Ancient". Federal Information & News Dispatch, LLC. ProQuest 189983934. Retrieved 12 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
  6. "Storyteller shares Navajo lore of revered, scarce horned lizard". Austin American-Statesman. 11 February 1992. p. B2. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  7. "Sunny Dooley: Miss Navajo Nation Plans Two-Day Stay in Flagstaff". Arizona Daily Sun. 8 February 1983. p. 7. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  8. "Navajo Miss Selected as Miss Indian BYU". The Daily Herald. 24 March 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  9. Fenton, James (4 November 2012). "Navajo storyteller visits Aztec". Daily Times. ProQuest 1125706094. Retrieved 12 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
  10. Dooley, Sunny (2 November 2021). "When You Displace a People from their Roots". In Bitsóí, Alastair Lee; Larsen, Brooke (eds.). New World Coming: Frontline Voices on Pandemics, Uprisings, and Climate Crisis. Torrey House Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-948814-54-6.
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