Heading Off The Diamond: Animal control officer Anderson Brown removes the head of a cow elk that was dumped at the Indian Hills baseball field Friday morning in Gallup. Brown said that the head was probably dumped by a poacher. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

Hundreds of people attend the Ninth annual New Year's Eve Sobriety/Wellness Gourd Dance and Pow-Wow at Gallup Junior High School. The event gives families a place to celebrate the New Year that is safe and alcohol-free. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

String Games: Omega Detsoi, 9, follows along Saturday as Anderson Hoskie teaches her a string game during the open house at NCI in Gallup. The string games are not only fun for children, but they help develop dexterity and memorization skills. Traditional Navajo beliefs only allow the children to play with string during the winter, from the first snow until the first thunderstorm. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

Feathers Valencia, 2, dances with his older brother, Courage, in the background on Saturday evening as they participate in the tiny-tots portion of the pow-wow. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]