Dineh Tah Navajo Dancers Presentation and Performance

Colonel Samuel Tappan and the Navajo Treaty 155th Commemoration 
with the Dineh Tah Navajo Dancers 

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11:00 am presentation in the CAM Auditorium, 27 Pleasant St, Gloucester MA 
Registration required for all attendees. Free for members, $20 for non-members 

1:30 pm performance at CAM Green, 13 Poplar St, Gloucester MA 
Free and open to the public

This May, the Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers are visiting Cape Ann from the Navajo Nation for the 155th commemoration of the Navajo Treaty. The treaty was signed by peace commissioners Colonel Samuel F. Tappan (1831-1913) of Manchester, Massachusetts and Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman. The Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers are traveling to Cape Ann this spring to acknowledge the life and legacy of Colonel Tappan and the key role he played in the 1868 Navajo Treaty, which established their right of return to their ancestral homelands. In 2018, Kitty Weaver found a third copy of the Navajo Treaty known as the Tappan Copy which is housed today in the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock Arizona. The Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers will be blessing Samuel F. Tappan’s house, which still stands in Manchester, on Thursday, May 18, the morning of Thursday, May 18, with a program that evening. 

On Friday, May 19, Shawn Price, the director of the dancers, will give a presentation in the CAM Auditorium on the history of Col. Tappan, Col. Sherman, and the Navajo Treaty of 1868. Following this presentation, the Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers will perform a program of traditional dances with narration at the Cape Ann Museum Green at 1:30 pm.  During the performance, SmokeSygnals will return to install benches in the wetu installed as part of Native Waters; Native Lands so that visitors can sit and enjoy the structure.

As performing ambassadors to the Great Navajo Nation, the Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers, under the direction of Shawn Price, are a group of young, talented, and disciplined individuals. The dancers have received many accolades for sharing their cultural programs across the country. Their unique program offers the finest in traditional and semi-contemporary performances. They have performed at many distinguished events and premiere venues throughout the country. 

When attending this event, please have your ticket ready and present it to a Visitors Services Representative upon arrival. Please plan to arrive early for an expedited check-in.