Editing Rich Mullins (section)

=== Kansas and the move to Navajo Nation ===
[[File:DineBikeyahBe'elyaigii.svg|thumb|The location of the [[Navajo Nation]] territory in the United States]]
During the late 1980s, Mullins desired change and formulated a plan to leave Tennessee.<ref name="Newcomb" /> He took steps to become a music teacher on a [[Native American reservation]] he had visited before.<ref name="cartoons" /><ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/04/25/christian-rocker-finds-new-life-in-the-desert/ |title = Christian Rocker Finds New Life in the Desert |publisher = Chicago Tribune. |date = April 25, 1996 |access-date = June 1, 2016 |archive-date = June 25, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160625071446/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-04-25/features/9604250272_1_mullins-friends-rich-mullins-awesome-god |url-status = live }}</ref> In 1988, Mullins moved from Bellsburg to [[Wichita, Kansas]] where, in 1991, he attended [[Friends University]]. During this time he lived with his best friend, David "Beaker" Strasser. As part of his degree program, Mullins served as the choir director at West Evangelical Free Church. While in Wichita, he also regularly attended Central Christian Church. He graduated with a [[bachelor's degree]] (BA) in Music Education from Friends University on May 14, 1995.<ref>{{cite news |last = Denison |first = Paul |date = October 29, 1995 |title = Stepping Out in Faith |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qEZWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5230%2C7343759 |newspaper = Eugene Register-Guard |access-date = May 26, 2016 |archive-date = November 27, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231127021907/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qEZWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5230,7343759 |url-status = live }}</ref> His 1991 song "Calling Out Your Name" included a reference to [[The Keeper of the Plains]], a 44&nbsp;ft tall sculpture in Wichita.<ref name="Heaven Smith 2000 p. 104">An Arrow Pointing to Heaven Smith, JB (2000) B & H Publishing Group Nashville, Tennessee {{ISBN|978-0-8054-2635-9}} p. 104</ref>
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|quote=You have to figure out where you're most alive, most vital, and go there. For some people, that's a music career or being a housewife. For me, it's being here.|source=– Mullins on his move<ref name="Tribune">{{cite web |url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/04/25/christian-rocker-finds-new-life-in-the-desert/ |title = Christian Rocker Finds New Life in the Desert |work = Chicago Tribune |date = April 25, 1996 |access-date = June 1, 2016 |archive-date = June 25, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160625071446/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-04-25/features/9604250272_1_mullins-friends-rich-mullins-awesome-god |url-status = live }}</ref>}}

After graduation, he and [[Mitch McVicker]] moved to a [[Navajo Nation|Navajo]] reservation in [[Tse Bonito, New Mexico]] to teach music to children. Mullins and McVicker lived in a small [[hogan]] on the reservation until Mullins' death in 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/04/25/christian-rocker-finds-new-life-in-the-desert/ |title = Christian Rocker Finds New Life in the Desert |date = April 25, 1996 |publisher = Chicago Tribune. |access-date = June 1, 2016 |archive-date = June 25, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160625071446/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-04-25/features/9604250272_1_mullins-friends-rich-mullins-awesome-god |url-status = live }}</ref>

In 1996, at the Ichthus music festival, Mullins cited personal reasons for his move. He was asked if he made the move because God had called him to [[Proselytism#Christianity|proselytize]] and convert the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. To this Mullins responded, "no. I think I just got tired of a White, [[Evangelical]], middle class perspective on God, and I thought I would have more luck finding Christ among the Pagan Navajos. I'm teaching music."<ref>{{cite video |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zQOX8NmC0c |title = Rich Mullins Interview – Ichthus Festival, 1996 |access-date = May 25, 2016 |archive-date = April 16, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170416073010/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zQOX8NmC0c |url-status = live }}</ref>