Early Life and Artistic Beginnings Harrison Begay, also known by his Diné name Haashké yah Níyá – meaning “Warrior Who Walked Up to His Enemy” or “Wandering Boy” – was born around 1917 in Whitecone, Arizona, though the precise year remains somewhat uncertain. His upbringing within the Navajo Nation profoundly shaped his artistic vision, steeped as it was in the traditions and landscapes of his ancestors. The son of Black Rock and Zonnie Tachinie Begay, he came from a family deeply connected to the land, spending his early years tending sheep and goats, experiences that would later resonate…