We had the good fortune of connecting with Pamela Doverspike and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pamela, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
For all my life, I have loved horses and am passionate about trail riding in the backcountry and camping. After years of adventures, I started Mild to Wild Backcountry Horse Adventures to share with other trail-riding enthusiasts. One of my first trip offerings was riding in Monument Valley with Effie Yazzie Holiday and her family in stunning Monument Valley. Effie guides horseback riders around her grazing grounds and shares stories of her people in the park. Throughout the years, I became close friends with Effie and her family. I soon after learned that they- and the residents who live in Monument Valley- do not have water or electrical infrastructure. This means they lack amenities we often take for granted in our daily lives: refrigeration, indoor toilet, efficient heating, air conditioning, and running water for cooking, cleaning, and drinking. I found out that Effie’s late brother, Lenard, in the last years of his life, was forced to leave their family home because he needed to sleep with an oxygen tank, and they didn’t have electricity to support his health.
Hearing this story and witnessing the concern of Effie’s children, I felt a deep sense of shared responsibility. I rallied a group of friends and community members to form the nonprofit Tsé Bii’: Within The Valley Project. Driven by our love for Monument Valley and the residential community, we are on a mission to fundraise and install sustainable housing resources in Monument Valley homesteads. Through community-empowered initiatives, we want to ensure the continued legacies of the residents and their families and their deep connection to Monument Valley.

What should our readers know about your business?
Tsé Bii is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise funds and install sustainable off-grid resources in the homesteads of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park residents. Our goal is to outfit the eleven homesteads in the park with new roofing, solar power, refrigeration, access to reliable water sources, composting toilets, and showers.

With the support of eight dedicated volunteers and the backing of all eleven residential families, we launched our organization in 2022. Today, we have worked on two homes, successfully installing new roofing, plumbing, electrical infrastructure, and solar power. We are the first group ever who has championed this kind of community-empowered work inside the park. This work would not have been possible without the coordination and leadership of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park’s Parks and Recreation unit, Kayenta and Oljato tribal chapters, and our community partners.

We have learned a lot throughout this process. I am a horseback guiding, grandmother, and retired FedEx Operations Manager. I had to learn a lot on the job, understanding bids, writing grants, and fundraising. However, within these lessons, I have met many incredible people who see the value of this work and want to help. Tsé Bii’ has indeed been a transformative experience, bringing together so many different people to complete our mission.

The journey continues, and we still have much ground to cover. Your support is crucial in making a difference, whether it’s through volunteering, donating, or spreading awareness about the challenges of water and electrical inaccessibility in the United States. Your involvement is what makes our work possible and meaningful.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When you go to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, you drive the loop and see the sights. But what you miss out on is the incredible residential community and culture. Eat an Indian Taco at Linda’s frybread stand that overlooks John Ford’s Point. Take a tour of the park and visit Effie’s hogan, where she and her family invite you to learn about their traditional way of life. As they stretch wool next to their looms, they recall stories of their people and the importance of weaving that keeps their culture and heritage alive. Take up conservations with some of the artists selling their beadwork on pullouts in the park. Some artists who are residents living in the park are eager to share their stories and experiences. Remind yourself that Monument Valley is a sacred place as you visit the incredible vistas and rock formations in the park. It plays an important role in the Navajo creation story and has a rich culture and lived history generations before this place was a park. This place is home.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This work wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible residents of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and our team of dedicated volunteers!
I would like to give a special mention to Effie Yazzie and her family, who have been instrumental in inspiring Tsé Bii’s mission. Our goal is to fundraise and install sustainable off-grid resources in residential homes of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, a community rich in traditional culture and history. I have had the privilege of knowing Effie for over ten years through my horseback riding business. She guides us through her grazing grounds in the Park, sharing with us the stories of her people and their way of life.
Effie and her family are some of the most generous people I know. As I got to know them more over the years, I realized that my horse trailer had more amenities than their homes; she did not have running water or electricity. I learned that her late brother was not able to live his last days in their family home because he needed electricity to run his oxygen tank at night. I could not imagine what it is like to leave your home, not by choice, but by the lack of amenities. That was when the idea of Tsé Bii’ was born; for we all have a right to accessible water and electrical infrastructure.
Since the launch of our non-profit organization, Tsé Bii’, we have been able to make essential changes to their home. Effie is looking forward to taking her first shower at home.

Website: https://www.tsebii.com

Instagram: @tse.bii

Facebook: Tsé Bii’ Project

Youtube: https:// www.youtube.com/@tsebiiproject

Other: GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/0e390561

Image Credits
Lianna Nixon, Brit West

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