A Basketball Season On The Navajo Nation

Spencer Beckwith On The Arts

Covering Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix a few years ago, New York Times journalist Michael Powell, disheartened by the commercialism of the big game, drove north into Navajo country to spend time with a community known for its love of basketball. He ultimately spent six months with the Chinle High School Wildcats as they pursued a state championship. The result is his book, Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation. "Basketball is a passion play there. In a town of 3,000," Powell told KUNM, "5,000 will show up on the night of a big game."