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Alastair Lee Bitsóí is an award-winning Diné journalist from the Navajo Nation. He writes on the intersections of climate change, culture, public health and the environment. He is from the small community of Naschitti, Navajo Nation, New Mexico, which is below the Chooshgai Mountains on the Arizona-New Mexico state line.
In what ways does nature inspire or inform your work?
Since time immemorial, my ancestral memory has been in the outdoors. I love how Mother Nature influences creativity in my writing. When I feel stuck, I often rely on her to get me going to inform on any of my work and creative pursuits.
What does it mean to you to be part of a thriving ecosystem?
Being in a thriving ecosystem means achieving balance. Also known in Diné culture as Hózhò, it means being in grounding, wholistic balance with the natural world, which I think every human and non-human being tries to emulate with their spiritual, emotional, physical and mental being. Being part of a thriving ecosystem also means being reciprocally alive.
