Translation

"be'ashniih: I am an authority on it (and thus know how to counteract it)

Authority on it, to be an—(in the sense of knowing how to counteract it; to know how to counteract it)"

Colloquial Navajo: A Dictionary (Robert W. Young & William Morgan)

NB: not the power to enforce
NB: not the power to make sure it is followed through

I am an authority on it, in this view means I have power over it, in the very least by means of making it no longer true, by means of loosening its rein, by means of lifting the yoke, by means of direct action.

"Counteract: vt., to act directly against; check, neutralize, or undo the effect of with opposing action."

Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition (Simon and Schuster)

To then say, I am an authority on poverty, severed relations, and hunger, would mean I have the means to undo the effects of these afflictions, by some opposing action.

Thought. Music. Language. Art.

I have the means to neutralize these conditions via action. I give generously. I maintain relations. I feed the dirt. I feed the Gods.

Be'ashniih. What possibility does this bring for Nations, thoughts, and music? For people and artists? For every one living inside several mouths and several languages? How can we apply our authority, our ability to counteract, to direct action, at the level of recognizing what needs to be done and doing it, to what needs to be seen and seeing it, to what needs to be said and saying it.