Albert L. Haskie: Adoone'é
“You can go outside and learn from the outside world, but don’t forget where you come from. Come back and help our people,” - a lesson that Albert L. Haskie learned from his elders and has taken to heart by giving something back to his home and people through his first-ever app, Adoone’é. A tool meant to help Diné people learn more about their clans, Adoone'é is a trailblazer in the world of Indigenous apps, joining just a handful of others in working to preserve native culture through technology. We spoke with Albert about the development of his app and to learn more about what he hopes Adoone'é can do for his community.
Albert considers his app to have been a “long time coming”, remembering how his mother enrolled him into several Navajo Immersion programs, where he learned the importance of valuing culture and language. Albert was also involved in the “Navajo Math Circle Program” which centered around bridging the concepts of culture and technology, and how one could be used to support the other. It was in his senior year that he decided to go into the field of computers, having always been fascinated with all sorts of technology, and eventually graduated with an Associates in Mathematics from Diné College. It was soon after that when Albert started to solidify his idea for the app.
“When I was learning about clans, I remember it just clicked for me. I’ve always tried to figure out the mysteries of how Navajo clan relationships worked, why someone is considered your uncle in some cases, and why other people are considered your grandpa. It was always a puzzling mess of confusion for me, at first, but once I took this Navajo class, it opened my eyes to seeing how the Navajo clan culture system works. I wanted to share with my friends how it works, but then I realized, not everyone has that type of resource. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be raised on the Navajo reservation, close to Navajo resources, or close to Navajo educators who are experienced in these types of topics.”
Adoone'é Logo - courtesy of Albert L. Haskie
Albert was always interested in figuring out how he could help his peers who were in situations like this, who were raised outside of their culture, and who didn’t have access to all this information, which he now aims to do through Adoone'é. The app’s name loosely translates to “Navajo Clan Relations” and focuses on helping users learn more about the clan system and how they relate to others. Albert developed an algorithm using the clans that is able to tell someone how they’re related to another Diné person and how to address them.
The development process provided a unique challenge to Albert that caused him to look at his goal in a new light.
“Not only do you need to be Navajo and know how to code, but you also need to know how to intertwine the two together. You need to know how to incorporate Navajo language and culture into your whole entire development process. It’s not like there was a book out there written for me, all I could do was rely heavily on Navajo culture teachings, and then try to teach myself what coding aspects could apply to these teachings.”
All in all, the app took around five months to complete, the first one focused on creating the aforementioned algorithm, with a week dedicated to packaging it into a mobile app, and the other four consisted of refining the features and making it more usable.
Albert has a history in filmmaking as well, a hobby of his that has given him another outlet for his creativity and a method to make his thoughts tangible. While he’s recently shifted his focus to software development, he’s found that he’s been able to apply many of the lessons he learned from the former art form to the latter. “It brings forth challenges you have to push through. I think that’s what filmmaking has really taught me, to follow through with your actions. It’s what my first film really taught me. It was a lot of planning, but I was frustrated with myself that I wasn’t getting anything done with actual filming or acting, and so I decided I need to make it a challenge to myself to get this done. It was nice to push myself and see what I was capable of.”
Adoone'é App Store Icon - courtesy of Albert L. Haskie
While the coding was an aspect handled completely by Albert, he credits many others in their efforts to support his work and their involvement in the end product of Adoone'é. “I did have a lot of support from my family and friends, help from Change Labs who helped on the business aspect, and help from a graphic designer, Ryan Allison, who did the wonderful design of Adoone'é.”
Albert is elated to see the community’s response and usage of his app, and to have a chance to live up to the lesson he remarked on earlier. “This is my way of giving back to my people, by providing a reliable and accessible resource about their culture.”
Adoone'é can currently be purchased for $9.99 on the App and Google Play store. To learn more about Albert and his work, follow him on Instagram at adoonee_2023 or here.