The Omnibus

Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: In the Spotlight

Media Credit: Inga Locke Uzzial "Z" Dominguez is a Southwest Baptist University student who grew up on a Navajo reservation. He lived on the reservation for 18 years.

Freshman Uzzial Dominguez, also known as "Z", is fluent in Navajo and English because he grew up in the Navajo Nation, a reservation located around the four corners area of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.
There is a lot of alcohol abuse as well as a lot of poverty on the reservation. Graffiti from the many gangs on the reservation can be found on many of the walls of the homes.
"The reservation is fun, but it is only fun because of all the crazy things people do," said Dominguez.
The gangs come from various rival schools as well as rival towns. There are nearly 12 towns on the reservation that are about the size of Bolivar or larger.
Dominguez's mother was murdered when he was four years old. Dominguez, his younger sister and brother all went to live with his mother's sister and her husband and son. Many children on the reservation are abandoned and do whatever they want, but when discipline comes, it is harsh and painful.
"I learned from the reservation how to survive, really different from the white society, how to be a hard worker and be independent," said Dominguez.
Education on the reservation is very low and insufficient. There are government schools that have dormitories for orphans and abandoned children where Navajo students can attend school for free with free room and board.
Like many children on the reservation, Dominguez was a sheep herder from the age of 10 to the age of 18. Having animals is a big part of the Navajo life. Dominguez spent a lot of time doing chores such as walking for water, chopping wood and shearing sheep.
There is very little running water on the reservation and not much electricity. Dominguez remembers having to walk one to three miles a day for things such as water and wood.
"The fun stuff on the reservation is walking through the mountains and riding horses," said Dominguez.
Religion in the Navajo Nation mainly consists of the official Navajo Religion, a large Mormon population followed by Catholicism and a small amount of other various Protestant denominations, almost all charismatic. Dominguez was baptized in the Mormon church when he was a teenager. Dominguez's entire family strongly believe in the Navajo religion.
"It is hard to understand being a Christian after coming from the reservation," said Dominguez.
When Dominguez was 18, he accepted Christ. He chose to run away from home and headed to Texas. He left because he felt a call to the ministry. Dominguez has only been a part of mainstream society for two and a half years and is still trying to adjust to a life that most Southwest Baptist University students would call natural.
"The reservation is a cool place to be because of the culture and how different it is from the white society" said Dominguez.
He attended Baptist Bible College in Springfield, and came to SBU in the fall semester of 2006.
Dominguez is an Intercultural Studies major. He hopes to one day work in evangelistic ministry.
Dominguez would like to return to the reservation to visit again since he has not returned in three years, but does not see himself ever returning to live in the Navajo Nation.

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