The family of Canyon staff and artists mourn the passing of Dine peyote singer Paul Guy, Sr., a respected leader of the Native American Church and Road Man. He was born in 1923 in Chinle, Arizona, one of seven children of Notah and Elouise.  His clan was Coyote Pass and born for Water Flowing Clan. His maternal clan was Red Bottom and paternal clan was Towering House. In 1945 he wed Mary Ruth Curley in an arranged marriage that lasted sixty-five years. They had nine children – Ophelia, Amelia, Robert, Lydia, Paul, Jr., the late Gilbert, Cornelia, Delbert and Tonya.

In 1998, Paul Guy, Sr. with his son, Paul Guy, Jr., released My Father’s Chapel, a collection of twenty-four peyote songs many of which were old and almost forgotten. In the notes the senior Guy described the importance of his work as a Road Man,

“Being a Road Man takes great responsibility and commitment. One must be ready in his heart. The Road Man must be prepared to handle any situation that arises in and outside meetings. If a person needs an emergency healing ceremony conducted at anytime, the Road Man must be ready. Because of this, it takes great strength and dedication”.

He also spoke of his sense of belonging to his people and his religion,

“Being a Navajo is in everything you touch. You breathe it, you taste it, you live it. It is the same with the Native American Church. You are always surrounded by it”.

Paul Guy, Sr. with Paul Guy, Jr.