“Everything Got Kinda Strange after a While:” Some Reflections on Translating N avajo Poetry that Should not be Translated

Summary Inspired by an inquiry from a N avajo friend about why I had not published on a particular poem by R ex L ee J im, this paper engages that question through three interconnected themes. First, there will be an analysis of the poem by J im where I translate the poem but also place it within the context of N avajo concerns with k'é (reciprocity, generosity). Second, I turn to thinking through some of the issues brought out in the translation of the N avajo word ajik'eed as “one fucks.” This leads to questions about the ways that indigenous languages and their speakers are imagined and represented. Finally, I take up the foregoing issues as I reflect on my own translation practices.