Ex-GHS teacher publishes second Navajo novel

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

Karen Sorensen Jensen, a former Gallup High School English, speech, and drama teacher, has recently published her second novel, "The Return of the Navajo." The book is a sequel to her 1999 novel "Trail of Darkness." [Courtesy Photo]

GALLUP — Karen Sorensen Jensen moved away from Gallup almost 50 years ago, but she has found the people of Gallup and the Navajo Nation to be unforgettable.

Jensen, a teacher at Gallup High School from 1953 to 1957, has just published her second historical novel that is rooted in the history of the Navajo tribe. "The Return of the Navajo" is a sequel to her first novel, "Trail of Darkness."

Of Scandinavian descent, Jensen has published both books under the name Carn Jensen. Carn is the Danish version of Karen.

In a recent telephone interview, Jensen said her interest in Navajo history and culture was sparked during the years she taught English, speech, and drama to students at Gallup High. And, in fact, Jensen dedicated the second novel to her former Gallup students.

The English assignments written by her Navajo students particularly captivated Jensen's interest. Her students wrote about participating in rodeos, Navajo dances, and traditional ceremonies.

"That sort of stuck with me through the years," she said of the stories. "It captured me and stayed with me," she added.

Jensen, a Wisconsin native, said she was also fascinated by the vibrant Navajo culture that she glimpsed while in Gallup. Back in the 1950s, she recalled, some families still came to town in horse-drawn wagons and babies were still carried on cradleboards.

During her years here, Jensen took an introductory Navajo language class, and she and her husband spent many weekends exploring the region. Her husband, Dr. Lee Jensen, now retired from the University of Wisconsin, was then a Gallup High School history teacher and coach for the football and track teams. While in Gallup, he co-hosted a program on KGAK with a Navajo radio announcer.

Jensen's two novels are centered around the love story between Chee Panther, a fictional Navajo leader in the 1800s, and Ingrid Swanson, a young Norwegian-American whose family is killed by Mexican bandits during the family's ill-fated journey to California. Swanson is rescued from the attack, falls in love with Panther, marries him, and becomes known by her Navajo name, Yucca Flower.

When asked why she made her main female character a non-Indian, Jensen said she hadn't really spent time analyzing that writing decision. Jensen's home in Wisconsin is very near Minnesota, she said, and the states are heavily populated by people of Scandinavian descent. Such a female heroine would appeal to her local readers, she said.

The cross-cultural romance also set both novels up with instant dramatic tension."You always have to have action in a novel," Jensen explained.

According to Jensen, the plots of both novels are set against the historic clash between the Navajo tribe and the United States government. "Trail of Darkness" begins with the U.S. Army's campaign to round up Navajo people for the Long Walk. The novel ends with the Navajo people's struggle to endure their imprisonment at Fort Sumner. "The Return of the Navajo" begins with the Navajo people's return to Dinetah and the problems associated with returning home and the establishment of the Navajo Reservation.

Jensen said she has done extensive historical research on that period of Navajo history; so both novels are full of historical details. A trip to Fort Sumner allowed Jensen to get a real sense of what it was like for Navajo people to have lived there for four years.

Now that "The Return of the Navajo" has been published, Jensen is planning to write a third novel in what may become a series. "I'm going to carry on the same characters," said Jensen, explaining that she would like to follow the lives of Chee Panther's children and feature storylines about boarding schools, trading posts, and the arrival of Christian missionaries.

Jensen said she welcomes feedback from Navajo readers. She will donate a copy of her latest novel to the Gallup Public Library, she added, when she visits the city at the end of March.

In addition to visiting their former students in March, the Jensens are planning to attend a 50th Gallup High School reunion that is scheduled for this year's Labor Day weekend.

"The Return of the Navajo" by Carn Jensen can be purchased directly from Jensen for $13, or it can be purchased on amazon.com, barnesnoble.com, bordersbooks.com or from the publisher, authorhouse.com. Jensen can be contacted at karenleejensen@aol.com or at (480) 895-8263 (February and March) or at (715) 425-2703 beginning in April.