A Navajo medicine man will perform a private cleansing ceremony tonight at the residence hall where a University of Arizona freshman was fatally stabbed Wednesday.
The ceremony follows the death of 18-year-old Mia J. Henderson, who police say was stabbed by her roommate, Galareka Harrison, who is jailed on a first-degree murder charge. Both are from the Navajo Nation and part of the UA’s Native American Young Scholars program, which houses 60 students in Graham-Greenlee Residence Hall.
Thomas Yazzie, a traditional medicine man, will lead the traditional ritual, which is closed to the public. Yazzie’s son is also a freshman at the UA.
The ceremony will begin at sunset and is expected to last about four hours. Traditional Navajos find the ritual crucial for rehabilitating a building where tragic events occurred, according to UA spokesman Johnny Cruz.
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In the wake of Henderson’s murder, one student with the Native American Young Scholars program has requested a room transfer and will be accommodated, Cruz said.
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