'Incredibly grotesque' church play depicting Navajo medicine man in hell sparks outrage
19 June
A Navajo medicine man, or Hataałii, is condemned to hell in a play conducted this month by The Door Christian Fellowship Church in Gallup, N.M.
When Louvannina Tsosie walked into The Door Christian Fellowship Church in Gallup, N.M., she expected the kind of church service she had growing up: worship, music, a sermon, prayer and some scripture reading.
What she didn’t expect was a stage performance aimed at Native people that included a condemnation of traditional Navajo beliefs — and those who embrace them.
“Unfortunately, it turned out to be a really disrespectful kind of play,” she said.
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Among other scenes that trafficked in harmful stereotypes of Indigenous people, the play showcased a Diné Hataałii, or medicine man, being condemned to hell for practicing traditional Diné ways of life, including ceremony and traditional healing.
Hataałii protect and preserve all traditional ceremonies and customs of the Diné way of life, and they hold a special place of honor among the Diné people.
The Door showing the damnation of a Hataałii “wasn’t a misunderstanding,” Tsosie said, but rather a “direct attack on our beliefs and spirituality.”
The Door is an offshoot of the Potter’s House Christian Fellowship Church, which was founded in Prescott, and is part of Christian Fellowship Ministries located in Benton, Kentucky. Christian Fellowship Ministries has over 4,000 churches worldwide, with seven churches on the Navajo Nation.
“Our church here in Gallup was among the first few Southwestern works launched out of the Prescott congregation,” The Door’s website states. “From the earliest days, it has stood as a testimony to God’s power to transform lives and reach cities through evangelism, discipleship and church planting.”
The Arizona Mirror reached out to The Door and Potter’s House, but neither church responded.
The shock from the play prompted Tsosie to start recording a video of the over-the-top theatrical production on her phone. She then posted that video on her TikTok account with the caption: “The things you see in border towns.”
Her TikTok posts feature two parts of the play, which was set in a dark room with the stage illuminated by red lights, while ominous drum music plays in the background.
The music played throughout the show featured remixes of traditional songs, layered with sound effects to create a more menacing tone.
At the center of the stage, a Navajo man dressed in traditional clothing kneels by a fire, holding an eagle feather in his hand. Kneeling next to the Navajo medicine man is an actor dressed in a demon costume, encouraging his actions.
Suddenly, another Navajo person appears, shouting at the medicine man and demanding to know what he did to his niece.
“She’s in the hospital. What kind of ceremony did you do?” the man shouts. The interaction escalates into violence, as the angry man stabs and kills the medicine man.
In the next scene, the medicine man — the murder victim — is standing at what is supposed to be the gates of heaven, surrounded by white light, interacting with an angel. That angel swiftly bars the Hataałii from heaven and condemns him to hell.
The stage suddenly bathed in red lights, demons surround the medicine man, taunting him. “Come on, let’s do a ceremony,” and “We don’t like tradition, do we?” they say.
The medicine man is laid on the floor, and the lead demon gives orders to his minions: “Let’s do a purification. I’ll purify your soul in the fiery pits of hell. Demons, take this pedophile and make him suffer.”
Since she posted the video, Tsosie said she has received an overwhelming response. The video has garnered more than 230,000 views on TikTok, with nearly 1,600 comments.
Tsosie said some of the comments in her videos claim she is taking the play out of context, misrepresenting the situation and she needs to find her way with Christ.
“It kind of felt like a big slap in my face,” she said.
Tsosie, 24, grew up in a Christian household in Tohlakai, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation. She said she is familiar with the religion, even though she is no longer religious. She attended The Door’s service because a friend invited her.
In response to the play, Tsosie helped organize a peaceful protest across the street from the church on June 8. She said they want accountability, including a public apology. They have not received a response from the church, much less an apology.
Navajo elders and youth have reached out to her. Tsosie said the elders appreciate her speaking up about the incident because they thought they’d never see it happen. Youth have shared their feelings about forced religion and the cultural shame they encounter.
“It’s been emotional and overwhelming, in the best and hardest ways,” she said. “This moment is bigger than me, and it’s about our people realizing that we don’t have to stay silent anymore.”
‘It was absolutely revolting’
As she sat through the service, Tsosie said she noticed how utterly unbothered the predominantly Native audience was as the actors portraying the demons mocked Diné ceremonies.
“I guess it felt normal to them,” she said. “I think the painful part of the play was that most of the actors were themselves Navajo.”
Diné historian Dr. Jennifer Nez Denetdale said she has heard stories about The Door Church and how many Navajo people involved with the church actively participated in demeaning and derogatory remarks about their people.
Her niece witnessed this firsthand and never returned, appalled by their actions. Denetdale said demonizing the Diné people’s way of life is a long-term strategy of The Door Church.
Denetdale said the Navajo Nation has never really acknowledged or accounted for the extent to which the Navajo people have been Christianized since colonization began on their homeland.
“What follows the soldiers are the missionaries,” she said. “What follows the establishment of the forts is the missionaries and the priests.”
Denetdale holds a doctoral degree in history and serves as the professor and chair of American Studies at the University of New Mexico. Her research work focuses on settler colonialism, decolonization and Diné studies.
Denetdale is from Tohatchi, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation. During her regular drives to Gallup, which is 25 miles away and the closest community with resources for many Navajo people in the area, she made it a habit to count the churches along the way.
“In that stretch, there are at least 16 Christian churches, and we’re talking about a remote area,” she said. “There’s an investment in continuing to Christianize Navajo people, and in that process, they must discount, vilify and demonize who we are and our foundation as Diné people.”
Due to how heavily Christianized the Navajo people are, Denetdale said their response to conflicts involving the church, such as what was depicted in Tsosie’s video, is often not to say anything — or to deflect by saying things like, “That’s not my church and that’s not us.”
“They don’t see it as problematic because they personalize it,” she added. “I think that’s part of the problem, and a question for all of us is to acknowledge just how Christianized we’ve become.”
Denetdale said she is not a Christian, and it is difficult for any Navajo person to say they are not a Christian because so many prominent leaders on the Navajo Nation are Christian. However, she said she is a historian and knows the history of Christianity, and “it is an ugly, ugly story.”
Denetdale said she doesn’t use the terms “culture” or “religion” to explain the Diné people’s way of life because they do not adequately describe who they are. She said that the Diné people’s knowledge and understanding of the world are rooted in a deep philosophy of Diné values.
When she saw the video, she said “it was absolutely revolting” and she shouldn’t be surprised that, in this day and age, one can showcase something that has “such incredibly grotesque depictions of Diné ways of being, and that medicine people, traditional practitioners, are demonized.”
“I’m shocked, but I shouldn’t be shocked — this is Gallup, New Mexico,” she said, a city with a long history of racism and discrimination against Indigenous people.
The City of Gallup was founded in 1881. It has been referred to as the “Indian Capitol of the World” due to its proximity to several tribal nations, including the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Pueblo Nation, whose tribal lands surround the city, as well as the significant contribution of Indigenous people to the local economy.
Indigenous people make up more than 52% of the city’s population, but like many border towns, Gallup has a history of racism and violence against Native people.
In response to public outcry, the City of Gallup released a statement indicating that, since its founding, it has been a place of diverse heritages, beliefs, and practices.
Due to the diversity of Gallup, the city stated that “conflict is inevitable,” and when it occurs, their priority is to ensure the public’s safety and that all rights are respected and protected.
The city stated it cannot intervene or take sides in matters of speech and expression. However, they can and will impose reasonable restrictions on time, place and manner in the public arena.
“Freedom of expression comes at a price,” the city wrote in its statement. “It requires an acceptance of and willingness to bear insult and offense, to hear and see what one may find hurtful or despicable.”
The Arizona Mirror reached out to the City of Gallup for comment, but it did not respond.
Navajo Nation Council issues letter to church
Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley said that since the video was released, council delegates have been asked by constituents to address it. Curley called the church’s play very disrespectful.
“It was very gruesome and visual,” she said, especially with the sound effects. “They went above and beyond to do that.”
On the best way to move forward, Curley said that she consulted with faith-based leaders from various denominations and traditional practitioners to hear their perspectives on the incident.
“Many of them reiterated that this type of disrespect or depiction of discrimination should not be tolerated toward any faith,” she said in an interview with the Arizona Mirror.
Many expressed their disapproval of the church’s performance, she said, noting that it crosses the boundaries of respect among faiths.
“Navajo traditional practices are considered sacred by many of our people,” Curley said in a statement. “They are integral to Navajo identity, history, and our way of life.”
On behalf of the Navajo Nation Council, Curley issued a formal letter to The Door on June 11, expressing disappointment and calling on the church’s leadership to take responsibility for the performance.
“As neighbors to the Navajo Nation, the City of Gallup and surrounding communities share not only a geographical proximity but also a cultural and social relationship with our people,” the letter stated. “It is within this shared space that mutual respect, understanding and coexistence must be nurtured.”
The Navajo Nation Council described the performance as a misrepresentation and mockery of sacred aspects of Navajo spirituality, stating that the portrayal is disrespectful and culturally insensitive.
“Navajo medicine men are spiritual leaders and should never be made a mockery in such a violent manner,” Curley said in a statement.
The letter calls on the church to take the concerns of the community seriously, Curley said, and she is more than willing to sit down with the church’s leaders to have a “respectful dialogue on what has happened.”
“Many of our people are still frustrated,” she said, adding that they have not received any type of response back from the church.
Curley said that it is essential to acknowledge the religious freedoms practiced on the Navajo Nation. However, she said that “freedom should never come at the expense of another person’s sacred beliefs or traditions.”
“My statement is not intended to play down or disrespect another religion, but there has to be some type of respect, even as neighbors,” Curley added. “This goes across all faiths. We have to stay respectful to one another.”
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has not released a statement about the incident. The Arizona Mirror reached out to Nygren’s office, but it did not respond.
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