Set amid the stunning environs of Arizona’s rugged Canyon de Chelly, this fascinating documentary explores traditional Navajo Indian spiritual practices and thought. The film examines Navajo art, cosmology, and culture and illustrates how the traditional way of life, called “walking in beauty,” seeks to replicate the innate order and harmony of the universe within each individual.
The film features Navajo medicine man Johnson Dennison, Navajo philosopher Harry Walters, and noted anthropologist Peter Gold.
“In Beauty I Walk” will stimulate thought and discussion in a wide array of courses in Native American studies, cultural anthropology, comparative religion, and philosophy. It was produced by Sheri Brenner.
Reviews
“This outstanding film is a valuable resource for anyone interested in culture and philosophy, and it is sure to become a classic in its field. It presents an overview of Navajo Indian cosmology concisely and elegantly, and emphasizes the importance of the four sacred directions at the macrocosmic and microcosmic levels. Similarly, it relates the importance of the Navajo sense of place for the centering of one´s moral, spiritual, and social being. The film´s approach is straightforward, which makes it a great resource and a fine teaching aide in various fields of cultural studies and philosophy. It is a film I will be sure to use over and over again in many of my philosophy and religion classes.” — Sean Cridland, Asst. Prof. of Philosophy, Fort Lewis College
“In the narrator´s words, ´though times have changed, the ancient patterns of life, beliefs and ceremonies continue to be observed,´ and this video´s Navajo participants, Harry Walters and Johnson Dennison, each give reasons why this should be so. The video depicts with credibility how a Navajo faces life´s challenges, which deter him from the Beauty Way, and how he has access to prayers and ceremonies so that he stays on the path of Beauty. The attentive viewer will receive a powerful message here. As the anthropologist, Peter Gold, observes in this program, the world has much to learn from the Navajo and others who have preserved their ancient ways of living.” — Grace Anna McNeley (Navajo), Humanities Faculty, Diné College
