Farmington Municipal Schools is bringing tradition to life through the construction of a traditional Navajo hogan at Tibbetts Middle School, an exciting and meaningful project designed to connect FMS students with Diné culture, history, and community.
The hogan will serve as a hands-on educational space where our students can deepen their understanding of Navajo traditions, values, and worldview. To bring this vision to life, the district is partnering with educators from Native American Programs and experts to ensure the project is authentic, respectful, and educationally impactful.
A Navajo hogan is the traditional, sacred, earth-covered home of the Diné (Navajo) people. Designed to promote harmony with nature and spiritual balance, the hogan’s structure represents the universe.
The hogan at Tibbetts Middle School will serve students across Farmington Municipal Schools.
“We are thrilled that we’ll have a place we can truly call our own for storytelling, a hogan where the heartbeat of our culture will come alive. Here, we will share the sacred legends and rich history of the Navajo people, lace together generations through cultural workshops like traditional weaving, wedding basket making, and cradleboard crafting. Our students will learn the art of string games and traditional play, the very threads that carry our cultural, intellectual, and social heritage forward. And at the heart of it all, a central hearth where the aroma of Navajo stew will fill the air and remind us of who we are and where we come from,” said Dr. Geraldine Garrity, Director of Native American Programs.
"For years, our district has carried these traditions from school to school, but now we’ll have a special place. This hogan will serve every school, unite our community, and stand as the proud center of everything we do,” Dr. Garrity added.
This project is a proud collaboration between three outstanding organizations. AG Solutions, a 100% Native American and Navajo-owned firm, will contribute authentic cultural knowledge and construction expertise to the endeavor. Alongside them, SEH, an employee-owned collective of engineers, architects, and planners, and the FMS Indian Education Committee, will provide the technical and design excellence necessary to bring this structure to life with both safety and integrity.
The hogan will be constructed at a total cost of $500,000, funded through the district’s Impact Aid allocation. Impact Aid is federal funding provided to school districts that serve students residing on federal or tribal lands, making it especially meaningful that these resources are being reinvested directly into a structure that celebrates and honors those same communities.
Tibbetts Middle School is located at 3500 Twin Peaks Boulevard in Farmington. Built in 2013, the school is committed to fostering inclusive, culturally responsive learning environments that honor the identities and traditions of its students.
To learn more about hogans, HashkʼaaniiHooghan (Male Hogan) and Tsé‘oghan (Female Hogan), you can visit Wally Brown’s page here and here. Mr. Brown is a Navajo historian who has also visited with FMS students to share his knowledge and teachings.
Updated on March 10, 2026