Eleanor is always smiling and has many stories to tell. She is quiet, reserved and prefers to speak in Navajo. While on home visits, she is very kind and doesn’t hesitate to teach Navajo words and phrases to our Red Feather Staff.

Her home needed weatherization work and Aging in Place adaptations. Red Feather programs were able to install weather strips, seal gaps, caulk priority air leaks, install a heat pump, a smoke detector, a water saving faucet and 10 LED light bulbs as well as a mini-split for heat and AC.

Prior to the mini split, she utilized a wood stove and had no AC. Thanks to the mini split, she can now turn on the AC or heat with the touch of a button.

Eleanor also has mobility issues that make it hard for her to get around easily. Thanks to the Aging in Place program, she got a toilet riser, shower tub handrail, and a kit that includes an ice pack, night lights, non-slip rugs and a handheld shower head. These products aid elderly clients to comfortably get around their home.
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“I am very thankful for the work that has been done” Eleanor says. “The (minisplit) unit that was installed keeps my home nice and cool… I no longer get headaches from the heat, I feel a lot better”.
Thank you to Red Feather Partner Cozyhome for their work on this project. ​

Ironically, we’re back to a starting point of sorts, when our founder, Robert Young, heard about tribal elders freezing to death on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.   So moved by the plight of Katherine Red Feather, he organized his friends to build her a new home, which planted the seed that would eventually grow into who we are today.   Fortunately, we have had several donors and grants over the past year that have helped us develop a new DIY Healthy Heating class, an alternative healthy heating community demonstration site, and the installation of new heating systems in a handful of homes.  As we look to the future, we will continue to solicit support as we expand these efforts, in hopes that all people in our partner communities have access to healthy heating options in their homes.   

Of course, it is not just our programs that evolve, but our staff as well, as you will read in the stories that follow.    In July of this year, I took the reins as Executive Director, after spending eight years in program development positions within the organization.  My own path to Red Feather involved a deep interest in humanity, and a belief that no matter our geography, religion, political views or economic status, we are all connected and should strive to support each other as we endeavor to survive in this chaotic world.

Having worked in the remote corners of West Africa (hand-in-hand with Muslim and Christian communities) and the bustling city of Nairobi, Kenya, I purposefully found my way to the southwestern United States.   It was here that I connected with our native communities, who have so many beautiful attributes and whose teachings are of great benefit to our global community.  Sadly, they have also endured many injustices and traumatic hardships.   Despite this, they keep on thriving and evolving as people.  They are not the only native communities to have encountered such a reality. 

On a recent, much-needed vacation to Australia, I had the chance to learn more about the aboriginal communities there.   Facing much of a similar plight to Native Americans, such as genocide, forced assimilation and theft of their homelands, they remain resilient.  I was amazed to see outside the Sydney airport, next to the Australian National Flag, an equivalently sized Aboriginal Peoples Flag.  Let’s not pretend to think that having such a flag indicates all is well for Aboriginal Australians or that they live in a world free of prejudice or economic, social, and environmental injustice.    However, let their flag be a beacon, reminding us that all people are equally entitled to a healthy and harmonious life. 

As the year comes to a close and we soon begin yet another, let it be filled with visions of hope and excitement for stories untold.  Endeavor to continue spreading goodwill to all.   We recognize that many of our supporters have already donated all they can during the year, but for those who are able we ask that you consider Red Feather in your year-end giving.  
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If you would rather contribute in other ways, one of the simplest things you can do is share our work more broadly with your family, friends and colleagues- for as our family grows, so does our impact.   And, while our volunteer programs are not as robust as in years past, you can still let us know of your interests by giving us a call or visiting our volunteer page here.  

Wishing all of you a peaceful and prosperous holiday season.
​Sincerely,   ​

My name is Roy Lee Hosteen, and I am Red Feather’s Four Corners Area Project Coordinator.  I am also a member of the Navajo Tribe and reside in Upper Fruitland, New Mexico. Upper Fruitland is one the communities that is participating in our current Wood and Coal Burning Appliance Replacement and Home Weatherization Project (WCBAR). 
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I began working on WCBAR in April of this year.  The project is jointly funded and administered by Arizona Public Service and Southern California Edison. It’s a stove replacement and home weatherization program for low-income families who use wood and coal stoves as the main heating source in their homes.

Weatherizing a home might be simply replacing missing or cracked window glass that lets cold drafts into the home. It can also include things like applying weather stripping, replacing insulation, and patching drywall--all done to close the air leaks that make a home uncomfortable and less energy efficient.  One of my primary responsibilities is to visit families in their home and provide education on how to properly use and maintain their new heating system.  I do this because  any of the stoves that families have been using are a simple “pot belly” design.   Newer EPA-certified stoves, such as the one pictured on the next page, have advanced technologies and operate much differently.    

​I have seen many stoves during my visits that have deteriorated due to their age, but continue to provide service in keeping a family warm during the cold winter months. Some of the stoves are homemade and have sentimental value to the families. Nonetheless, these stoves often have defects, such as holes, that emit smoke and fly-ash into the home, causing health and safety hazards.

The experience of entering a home to install a new stove for a family is priceless.  Families open their doors with a welcoming spirit and expression of gratitude.  They say their good-byes to their old, faithful stove as it leaves their home.  I’ve seen family members touch their old stove for one last time, as if it were another Being that helped them through the years.  The contractor personnel are also moved by the family’s gratitude as they install the new stove.  Once the stove is installed, a fire is built to show them how to use their new heating source. 

Here are some comments from families that have had a new stove installed and their home weatherized:

“Who else would do this?  I am sure thankful for the new stove and sealing where all the cold draft was coming in.  Thank you so much.”
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“I have noticed that I don’t burn as much wood or coal with this new stove.  Thank you, thank you!”

“The new natural gas stove is a true blessing.  The contractors were so polite, professional, and respectful.  Now, I don’t have to bring in wood and coal, which darken my ceiling.  Oh, Thank you.”

“It was certainly a privilege to be selected for a new woodstove and weatherization project.  This was our Thanksgiving holiday blessing and beyond words.  Our struggles and economic difficulties were considered.  Zohnnie Construction personnel were professional in providing their services. Ahe’hee’, Our heartfelt appreciation!”

“The new stove is good.  I like it!  When I first started using it, I would get smoked out of my house.  Until I learned how to use it properly… Ha ha ha.  I was taught how to use the stove levers, but I was too excited to listen.  It’s not like my old stove, it would get red hot and then if I didn’t attend to it the fire would burn out and my house would get cold again.  Now I have a constant steady heat warming my home and the cold draft doesn’t go through my door also.  Thank you to all the people involved.”

Being a community member, I have seen the need for these types of services, and really appreciate the positive health impacts the program is having in our communities. Services were delivered to forty-nine families by the end of November 2019, with many more yet to be qualified for the program. The goal is to replace 300 stoves by the end of 2021.

Any help is greatly appreciated in keeping your home safe and warm through the winter season.  I applaud how professionally this program operates, serving the Native sacredness of safe home around a fire.  My gratitude and appreciation for those who have a heart of giving.  Ahe’hee', Thank you.  

I have known about Red Feather for more than five years, and have been the Program Coordinator for the last year. Prior to being a Red Feather staff member, I was a volunteer for small projects and during a straw bale house project at Hopi in 2014. Prior to coming to Red Feather, I completed degrees in sustainable green building and interior design, while gaining hands-on experience in the private and government construction industries.   I truly enjoy having the opportunity to give back to my Navajo and Hopi tribal communities. I am proud of the positive impacts Red Feather’s programs have on the families we help.  The team effort that exists among Red Feather staff, and the communities we serve to develop and implement solutions for local housing needs, ensures our work has a lasting positive impact. As the Program Coordinator, my responsibilities are processing applications for the programs, coordinating projects-both big and small, and working with independent contractors and the homeowners to ensure our work is effectively implemented.  I’m especially proud of our efforts to develop the local workforce by hiring skilled labor workers and contractors from our partner communities, and providing them with the support they need to be successful.  I believe deeply in program efforts to provide hand-ups and not hand-outs wherever possible, by encouraging families to get involved any way they can in their home repair projects.    Even without asking, many offer to prepare meals for the workers and donate craft items as part of their gratitude.  Red Feather shares many stories through social media, so please check our Facebook and Instagram pages to see how our services help to build ramps, weatherize homes, repair roofs, and educate and empower homeowners to maintain a healthy home.  

Red Feather regularly offers free workshops to Navajo and Hopi communities.  Our Do-It-Yourself style workshops, including Healthy Heating, Women’s Home Maintenance, and Home Weatherization, are highly popular and often have dozens of names on a waiting list. In the past six weeks we’ve completed three Healthy Heating workshops at the Hopi Sipaulovi Youth and Senior Center. These workshops focus on wood stove maintenance and safety, teach fire safety presented by the Hopi Fire Department, and provide information on alternative heating sources and on-site visits.  

 Here are two stories I’d like to share that highlight the positive impact of our work:

An elderly lady living on the Navajo reservation applied for our NHRN program and we were able to get her qualified for weatherization services, as well as our USDA Housing Preservation Grant that enables us to provide extended health and safety home improvements. By the end of her project, she finally had a bathroom with working toilet, and to her relief no longer has to leave her home to use the facilities at neighboring convenience stores.  Before, her primary heating source was a space heater, which was replaced with a mini-split heating and cooling unit that alleviates safety hazards, spares her from gathering firewood, and lowers her heating cost. She also had a ramp built to prevent falls for both herself and her daughter, who also has mobility issues.  The homeowner said, “I had applied and asked for assistance from other organizations and programs, and Red Feather was the first to knock on my door".   She was well deserving of our services, for she has raised many foster children and from the stories she tells, they are now doing well and attending college.

Another elderly woman, from the Hopi nation, recently benefited from our weatherization program but still had many outstanding home repairs that we were not able to resolve with any of our current grant sources.  However, through the means of a donor-sponsored fundraising campaign, she will soon be the recipient of a mini-split heating and cooling system and an indoor and outdoor ramp for safety measures.  Currently, she has a wobbly plastic step that is so dangerous for her to use, she has told us, that she doesn’t leave her home.   This woman is just the sweetest. We are all ecstatic that she will be given the help and services she needs.

My experience working with Red Feather has been nothing but fulfilling. I am excited to go to work every day and often find it hard to pull away from work at the end of the day. My favorite part of what I do is visiting the families throughout the duration of their project. In the end we see how just knocking on their door from the very first visit made a difference in resolving their home improvement issues for a safer and healthier living environment. After that first visit, it’s not just a simple hello- hugs are given. At times it does get emotional for me; many of our clients are elderly and they deserve the ultimate respect and care. I am so happy that Red Feather can provide that in what we offer. Being able to go home to the Hopi and Navajo reservation as part of my job is an added bonus, and I am constantly learning who my relatives are. Now I can say I have so many more grandmothers and grandfathers.

It’s important to care and respect our elders and veterans. Respect is what I teach my children, not only for the human race, but also for nature and the environment. Respect. Kyaptsi (pronounced kep-si).
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Thank you, Red Feather, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this organization that has proven to help so many of my people. Askwali  Ahéhee'