Chee's Daughter

Juanita Platero and Siyowin Miller’s short story “Chee’s Daughter” was originally published in Common Grounds magazine in 1948. Platero and Miller were frequent collaborators who worked together on several other short stories, as well as the novel The Winds Erase Your Footprints. A common theme between all of their works is the conflict between old Navajo values and modern westernized life in the United States.

Riding his horse through a canyon, Chee, a young Navajo man, does not show his emotions outwardly, but it is clear something is bothering him. When he comes to the end of the canyon, he can see his mother’s hogan, and he heads towards it. As he approaches, he does not see anyone outside working, and he realizes that his family has already heard the sad news he has come to deliver.

Chee goes inside. His mother, father, and older sister are waiting for him; his sister is crying as she helps prepare dinner for the family. It is revealed that Chee’s wife died recently after a lingering illness. Chee is shocked since during recent visits to the hospital his wife’s condition had seemed much improved. Chee’s wife suffered from tuberculosis. She has left behind a strong and healthy three-year-old daughter.



Chee’s daughter, Little One, is very dear to him. Though she usually stays with Chee’s family while he is away working, Little One is very attached to her father, following him around eagerly when he is with his family. Little One shows a special interest in the way Chee works silver to make jewelry and ornaments.

Having heard of their daughter’s death, Little One’s maternal grandmother and grandfather come to take Little One home with them. According to Navajo custom, children belong to the maternal line and are the responsibility of the mother’s family. However, Chee does not want to give his daughter up, and he plans to give chase to the grandparents. His mother informs Chee that they are traveling in a car, and Chee will never be able to catch them.

Chee is suspicious of his in-laws. He knows they do not keep traditional Navajo customs and probably don’t feel a genuine responsibility to care for Little One. However, he knows that he must go and plead his case and hope they will let him take his daughter home.



The next day, Chee goes to the nearby trading post. The trading post is owned by a white man who employs local Navajos to demonstrate traditional crafts and ways of life to tourists. He once offered Chee an opportunity to work the silver forge in his trading post, but Chee refused, preferring to live in a small hogan and tend his cornfield.

When Chee arrives, he sees that his daughter is being used as a tourist attraction, though she is excited to see her father. Chee’s father-in-law treats him coldly when Chee proposes sharing the care of Little One. When his father-in-law does not agree, Chee considers running away with Little One, but he knows his own family will not support him if he breaks with Navajo tradition.

Chee returns home in defeat. He sinks into a deep despair and decides that he must leave his family home. He weighs his options, considering getting a job at a forge in town or working at a logging camp. However, when the time comes to leave, Chee cannot bring himself to go. Instead, he puts all his energy into working the land, and he has a magnificent harvest in the fall.



He takes some of the surplus to the trading post to sell, thinking that it will give him an opportunity to see Little One. To his surprise, the trading post is closed. A new highway has taken tourist traffic away from the area, and the trading post owner is planning to open up a new shop soon.

His father-in-law confides that times have been hard for them since the trading post closed. Chee recognizes it as a bid for sympathy. He offers to trade enough food to last the winter in exchange for Little One. At first, his in-laws refuse his offer, but when they see how much food Chee has brought them, they relent. Their granddaughter is another mouth that they will have to feed during the coming months.

Little One returns home with Chee. As he rides back with his daughter, Chee thinks that his perseverance, patience, and connection to the land has allowed him to reclaim what is left of his family.