Durango – After Harpo Productions repeatedly denied rumors that its star Oprah Winfrey would visit the Navajo Nation, the media phenomenon did appear briefly in the tribe’s capital of Window Rock, Ariz., on Thursday to prepare for her first American Indian TV segment.
And there were several sightings around Durango on Wednesday and Thursday, where Winfrey paid a visit to her former chef, Paul Gelose, owner of the Palace Restaurant, to congratulate him on upcoming nuptials.
Winfrey, friend Gayle King and Gelose took a short train ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad on Thursday morning over the Animas River, with crew in tow, rail spokeswoman Andrea Seid said.
“When we found we had the opportunity to have her here, Al Harper, the owner, arranged to have his private car, the General Palmer, brought out, in addition to the Nomad, another one of our private cars,” Seid said. “It was a very quick ride. … She seemed to love it. Once she got on the General Palmer – they originally had said they just wanted to look – then once she got on it and sat down, she said, ‘Oh no, I need to go for a ride.”‘
Winfrey, a 52-year-old billionaire multimedia star, publisher and producer, has been an occasional resident of nearby Telluride for many years.
She traveled to Indian Country to visit with about 450 members of the Navajo, Hopi and other tribes for an as-yet-unscheduled segment of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
“It was a real honor to have such a celebrity grace us with her presence, especially on sacred ground right under the Window Rock,” Navajo president Joe Shirley said in a news release Thursday. “She’s a very likable person, of course, very honorable. She shook hands with a lot of Navajo elderly. She even took in some of our bread, some of our jewelry.”
Rumors flew around the reservation for weeks that Winfrey was going to visit Window Rock, but Harpo Productions and Navajo officials quelled them. Participants lined up for the show were told that a crew might shoot footage for a segment there, but the star herself would not visit.
Priscella Littlefoot, the To’Nanees’Dizi chapter coordinator, said that Winfrey’s trip to Window Rock is a key to letting the world in. “Hopefully, Oprah’s visit will portray that, while we do have social problems, we’re still rich in our heritage, our culture and our language,” she said.
Staff writer Electa Draper can be reached at 970-385-0917 or edraper@denverpost.com.
