Both are places with red and rocky ground.
Far from home, a traveler posted this message on the internet. It was July 1, 2021.
I've made it to my next lookout, overlooking a spot we're calling "Séítah."
Where on Earth is Séítah? No place! It's on the planet Mars. And what about the "traveler" who posted the message? It was a NASA rover called Perseverance. The robot was wheeling its way around, exploring the red planet. It studied rocks and loose dirt on the ground.
Perseverance's first stop was a rock called Máaz. That means "Mars" in Navajo. It's a language spoken by people of the Navajo Nation. The NASA team gave Navajo names to other places the rover found, like Séítah. Why did they choose to use Navajo names? Because the Navajo Nation's lands are in the Southwestern U.S. The ground is red and rocky there. And the spot where the rover first landed on Mars looks a bit like it.
The name of the rover itself is meaningful for the Navajo people, too. Why is that?
Because the Navajo have a long history of perseverance. Like the Mars rover, they once had to find their way in a new land after a hard journey. Long ago, the Navajo lived in what is now Canada. They followed animal herds from place to place. They hunted and gathered food. Between the years 1100 and 1500, they made the long migration south to the Navajo Nation's current lands. There, they adapted to a very different environment. They learned to grow food. And they became known for their beautiful arts, like pottery.
Today, the Navajo Nation is still going strong. It has about 400,000 members. And Navajo is the most spoken Native American language in the U.S.
The Navajo have traveled far. They came from Canada to the American Southwest. Now, with a little help from Ha'ahóni (Perseverance), their language has journeyed even further. It's gone all the way to Mars.
Think about the article. In what way are the American Southwest and Mars the same?
Both are places where food grows.
Both have rovers studying them.
Both have red and rocky ground.
Both are home to animal herds.
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