Adopt-a-Native-Elder: serving the elders, preserving the culture

Some of Master Weaver Rena Robertson's works. Photo: Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program

In 2011, CJ Robb was just a young man fresh out of college, finding his way professionally and looking for an outlet to serve his community. Born and raised in the Bay Area, he moved around the country, eventually graduating from Park City High School, moving to Wisconsin for college, and finding his way back to Utah, where a chance encounter led him to volunteer for a local nonprofit, leading to a career serving the indigenous elders of the Navajo Nation. 

“I had worked and volunteered with after-school programs and inner-city schools in Milwaukee,” remembers CJ. “When I moved to Utah, I was looking for something to fill that humanitarian void.” As fate would have it, CJ met the Founder and Executive Director of Adopt-A-Native-Elder, Linda Myers. Intrigued with their mission, he jumped on board for a volunteer food run to the Navajo Nation, which spans thousands of acres in Southern Utah and Arizona. The trip changed his life, offering him a glimpse into a culture that gave him both purpose and profession with a career in the organization. “I was struck by all the volunteers who give a week of their time, spend their own money, and distribute food,” says CJ. “It was this phenomenal group of intelligent, kindhearted, giving people.” But what really impacted him was the introduction to the native elders. “These elders in their 80s and 90s, who still dress traditionally and practice traditional ceremonies, live without electricity and running water,” explains CJ. “Witnessing their way of life, and being welcomed to their homeland, I was hooked.”

Fourteen years later, CJ has risen through the ranks of the nonprofit and now serves as its Director of Business and Operations, helping to grow the nonprofit from four to nine staff members and expanding the volunteer base to hundreds. The group has grown from serving 400 elders to serving almost 1,000–most of whom are in their 80s and 90s, with the oldest being 104.  

The mission of the nonprofit is to provide resources to the elders of the Navajo Nation, including food, firewood, and yarn to help them sustain their lifestyle throughout the year, especially in the winter months. But more important than providing the supplies themselves is helping the culture sustain its tradition and heritage. “You see what difference a box of matches makes to an elder who relies on lighting a fire to heat their home,” observes CJ, “or a box of oatmeal to an elder who has no vehicle to get to a store. And when you’re helping these traditional elders sustain themselves, you’re also helping them to preserve culture, tradition, and language because when those elders are able to stay in a multigenerational home, they’re passing those things on.

For the past 36 years the nonprofit has further helped to expand visibility to the Navajo Nation’s heritage by creating a marketplace to help sell their traditional hand-loomed rugs and Native American jewelry through the Adopt-a-Native-Elder rug show, which has been held for 24 years at Deer Valley Resort. The last show in 2019 sold over $300,000 of handmade goods. “People can come and meet the weavers and jewelry makers. They can hear their stories about the rugs, about their homeland, and meet a new generation of weavers. It’s incredibly moving.” 

This year’s events were held on Nov. 8-9 at Snowpark Lodge and featured over 36 weavers in attendance with more than 80 weavers represented. The event included a ticketed Gala on Nov. 7 with a silent auction and traditional ceremonies. 

For more information on Adopt-A-Native-Elder and the Rug and Jewelry show visit www.anelder.org.