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From the Dine' (Navajo) Nation in the southwest of the united states

BIO OF THE JONES BENALLY FAMILY NAVAJO DANCE TROUPE

World Champion Hoop Dancer and traditional healer Jones Benally, his daughter Jeneda, son Clayson and granddaughters Dyatihi(16), Bahiyyah (14), Deezhchiil (13) and Zonnie (7) form the Jones Benally Family Navajo Dance Troupe. Through 3 generations, they bring healing power, beauty and profound messages of Navajo (Diné) culture to educate and uplift audiences around the globe. The Jones Benally Family give an unparalleled introduction to Navajo culture, storytelling, music and dance.

Navajo dance is a sacred tradition encompassing a wide variety of forms which aim to heal the body, mind and spirit. When presented outside of their Navajo community, these dances are modified for public viewing, but they retain their deep capacity to move hearts and minds. The family’s emotive vocals and chanting along with accompaniment on traditional rhythm instruments such as hand drum and gourds amplify the ceremonial mood.
The Benally Family’s extensive repertoire of over 20 different dances includes Eagle, Feather, Basket, Gourd, Swan, Horse and the Round Dance. The Hoop Dance is always a highlight as audiences marvel at the phenomenal natural figures and shapes that either Jones or Clayson evoke so fluidly using hoops made of willow.

Jones Benally is a respected elder of the Navajo Nation. He was the first ever traditional practitioner to be employed at a Government hospital and held this role for 19 years. He still practices medicine along with Jeneda and Clayson. Jones was also the composer of the traditional songs for the motion picture “Geronimo” as well as countless documentaries and TV specials . Jones has won multiple world champion Hoop Dance titles, received the first Heard Museum Living Legacy Award and is recognized as an Arizona Indian Living Treasure. The Jones Benally Family was recently featured in The Washington Post, National Geographic, Arizona Highways, Geo Magazine and countless news stories throughout the world.

Recently they have performed at The Library Of Congress, The National Folk Festival, The American Folk Festival, Grassroots Festival, The Museum of North American History, Museum of Northern Arizona, Tanz n Fest, and hundreds more throughout the U.S., Europe, Mexico and Canada.

Jones Benally also performs with his families multi-award winning band Sihasin. The Family offers lectures to schools, communities and organizations.

BIO OF SIHASIN

Sihasin is a duo of multi award-winning musicians Jeneda and Clayson Benally from the (Dine) Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona. As brother and sister they grew up protesting the environmental degradation and inhumane acts of cultural genocide against their traditional way of life.

The siblings tour throughout the world playing music, facilitating youth empowerment workshops and striving to build bridges of respect between communities, cultures, and our relationship with the environment. They have released two albums, both produced by Ed Stasium (The Ramones, Talking Heads, Living Colour, Joan Jett, Mick Jagger). Both album releases, “Never Surrender” and “Fight like a Woman” won Native American Awards, Global Music Awards, and Indian summer Music Awards. In 2016, they collaborated with The Okee Dokee Brothers on a song called “Sister Moon and Brother Sun” on the album “A Western Adventure Album” which received a Grammy Nomination. In 2017-2018’s Winter season, Sihasin’s rendition of “Winter Wonderland” (Cleopatra Records, “Punk Rock Christmas”) was used in Hyundai’s car commercial “Naughty or Nice”alongside legendary singer Tony Bennett. The duo has been ambassadors for American Music Abroad through the State Department, touring communities in Peru and playing for the American Embassy’s Fourth of July event at the Ambassador’s Estate. They collaborated with Peruvian band, Uchpa, to create a song on behalf of the event titled, “Freedom”. Their song “Shine” spent 18 weeks on Sirius XM’S Aboriginal Countdown reaching the #1 spot and they were highlighted in the Huffington Post as the #1 Freedom Fighting band to get you through the Trump Years.

In their three decades of playing music and touring, they have performed on many stages including The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Tanz n Folk Fest, L’Oympia Theatre, Worldfest, The Woody Guthrie Center, The Amerind Museum, for the US Embassy in Peru, and on many Indigenous Reservations throughout The United States.