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Harrison Dehiya: Broadcasting in Navajo
It is this evening job that drew the attention of a Sports Illustrated reporter. Harrison started announcing sports during his six-year stint at another Navajo radio station, KTNN in Window Rock. Harrison says, “In the early 90s they wanted to start a sports program. They wanted a Navajo announcer to do sports and I said 'I'll try.' I tried it and it stuck on me. So I'm still doing it.” Years before as he listened to Howard Cosell call Mohammad Ali boxing matches, Harrison wondered if it could possibly be done in Navajo. It is a descriptive language that often uses a whole sentence to say what can be said in only one or two English words. In Navajo, there is often no word or phrase for a certain play or penalty. For example, an illegal block translates as “there is no law, there is no reason to do that.” Playing a variety of sports as a youth helped Harrison picture the play and come up with descriptive terminology. Like the Code Talkers, he developed a vocabulary - one that his audience understands and one that rolls off the tongue quickly and easily during fast-paced action. Harrison says that football is easier than basketball because it is slower. There is a little more time to talk, such as when players go into a huddle and during passes. High school basketball is the most difficult because it is so fast. “You just have to really keep up with it. Your mouth 42 - WOTN-The Magazine
has to be ahead of your mind. After doing it so many years, it just comes naturally to me,” says Harrison. “Since Navajo was my first language, that helps out, too. You try not to get lost when doing it in Navajo. You just want to be on top of it, the way the professional sportscasters do.” Harrison is one of only two announcers who cover local sports in Navajo, so he stays busy and has developed quite a following. People often ask when and where he will be next to announce a game. Local sports are a huge part of community life, with tremendous support for the home team, especially in the play-offs. The station also broadcasts all-star games in Arizona and New Mexico. He says, “Parents and grandparents come up to us and really thank us for broadcasting in Navajo. When there is a game and there are some Navajos – older or younger Navajos – who have portable radios and headphones, they are listening to us, right along with the game.” Navajo broadcasting, particularly the games, help keep the language vital and interesting for young people. Harrison says his broadcasts are even used in Navajo language classes in Gallup, Chuska and Wingate. Harrison says, “I hope when I retire, someone of the younger generation will be in my seat.” An Arts & Entertainment Publication