NAVAJO NATION (KRQE) – A Santa Fe, New Mexico, woman has made it her mission to bring smiles to Navajo kids and support them by providing them with skateboards and a brand-new skate park.
Amy Denet Deal is a member of the Diné Tribe and refers to herself as a “skate auntie.” She is currently in the process of handing out 5,000 skateboards to Indigenous youth in New Mexico and Arizona through her sustainable upcycled artwear brand, 4KINSHIP. Her first skateboard giveaway was in Window Rock, Arizona, in early September, and last week she held another giveaway in Shiprock, New Mexico.
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“I’ve personally never been in a room with that much joy. Those kids were like, ‘Oh my God’, it’s just like the biggest smiles. Like, they were so excited, and they were all together so they could experience it together,” said Denet Deal about the giveaway event in Window Rock. “Within an hour and maybe 15 minutes, like 1,600 skateboards were gone.”