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SHIPROCK – The towering Shiprock pinnacle is perfectly framed by a window in Wilson De Vore’s modular classroom tucked behind Northwest High School.

De Vore, the first traditional counselor on the payroll at Shiprock Associated Schools Inc., gazes at the famous landmark when he needs inspiration or tranquility.

“I’m here because I was a headache to teachers as I was growing up,” he said during an interview. “I’m here to tell the kids that I’ve made mistakes. I share as much as I can with students to get them to talk, to help them find their identities.”

Shiprock Associated Schools Inc., which comprises Northwest High School and Atsa Biyaazh Community School, began seeking a traditional counselor several years ago, executive director Leo Johnson said.

Adding the position was part of the schools’ effort to change their image from an alternative education setting to a more mainstream environment.

Administrators worked to develop a job description that captured the schools’ need for contemporary counseling and traditional knowledge.

De Vore fit the role, Johnson said.

De Vore, who started at the school in September, quickly moved from a classroom inside the high school to a modular building outside, he said. His traditional singing was disturbing nearby classes.

De Vore doesn’t mind. His new location allows students to leave the main campus and make a special visit to his office, a building he describes as “a place where you can be yourself.”

Inside, students who are referred to De Vore by teachers, administrators or other staff members can talk openly about challenges. De Vore also hosts classes for groups of students in which he teaches the fundamentals of Diné culture, including the creation story and how youths can discover identity through tradition.

His sessions don’t take the place of the academic Dine language and culture classes in the high school. Neither is his role to convert students to native religion, he said.

“It’s not conversion but identity,” said De Vore, who spends most of his time with male students in grades 7 through 12. “It’s asking, ‘Who is that brown guy looking back at me in the mirror? What does it mean to be Dine?’ ”

De Vore wants to build sweat lodges on the campus, bring traditional ceremonies to students, teach seminars for staff and community, and develop a manual teachers can use to incorporate traditional teachings into every academic subject.

But his main focus is working with students, De Vore said.

The walls of his office are covered with charts, maps and pictures that portray the history of the Navajo. He also uses traditional healing objects in ceremonies when appropriate.

“There’s so much healing and power in tradition,” he said. “It’s so much better than writing up a diagnosis and handing out medication.”