Questionable claims #2-3

More claims from our questionable claims dept., this time about a Navajo professor with a PhD and a new book.

Claim:

Finding a sense of identityUniversity of New Mexico assistant professor Jennifer Nez Denetdale is the author of "Reclaiming Dine' History: The Legacies of Navajo Chief Manuelito and Juanita." The book, about her great-great-great-grandparents, is "probably the first Navajo history by a Navajo."Fact:Yazzie, Ethelou. Navajo History
Many Farms, Ariz : Navajo Community College Press, 1971.

Roessel, Ruth W.. Navajo Stories of the Long Walk Period
Tsaile, Ariz. : Navajo Community College Press, 1973.Claim:

Finding a sense of identityIn a brief interview, Denetdale said she is the first Navajo with a Ph.D.Fact:

NavajosAmong the first Navajos to earn a Ph.D., Ned Hatathli (1923-1972) was the first president of the Navajo Community College—the first college owned and operated by the Navajo people.Santa Rosa Lake State Park Part of Event to Retrace Navajo ‘Long Walk’Dr. Jennifer Nez Denetdale, who is the first Navajo woman to earn a PhD in history from the University of New Mexico, will speak at the park.Comment:  I suspect there are older Navajo history books written by Navajos. And many written by Navajos since the 1970s before Denetdale's 2007 book.

Hatathli, who got his PhD in the late '40s, was only "among the first Navajos" to earn one. I wouldn't be surprised if the first Navajo earned a PhD in the 1930s or even the 1920s.

Perhaps Denetdale meant she's the first Navajo woman to earn a PhD in history from the University of New Mexico. But that isn't what she said, according to the article.

Sorry to pick on Denetdale, but the facts are the facts.