Emma Robbins, a Diné (Navajo) artist and activist, grew up in Tuba City, located in the western part of the Navajo Nation. In 2020, she founded The Chapter House (TCH) currently located in Echo Park, recently entering a full-time role as its executive director.
Robbins tells L.A. TACO that the organization’s name is an homage to the Chapter Houses found across the Navajo nation, community centers utilized for meetings between elected officials, conversations with residents, and cultural gatherings.
“I was always really fortunate to grow up in community with a lot of strong Navajo aunties, and I grew up going to Chapter House meetings,” Robbins says. “During the height of the pandemic and other tough moments across the reservation, people came together for things like mutual aid, vaccinations, and really just a physical location to care for one another.”
The Chapter House was partially born out of a necessity for joy; to offer the Indigenous folks in L.A. physical resources and the chance to connect with their community through activities like improv, family events, and celebrations of “Indigiqueerness.”
Robbins’ background as an environmental activist is heavily fueled by her advocacy for clean water within the Navajo Nation…