The Navajo Nation
Known as Diné Bikéyah in the native tongue, the Navajo Nation is located in the four corners area of the United States. Traditionally the borders are set by four sacred mountains which consist of Mount Blanca “Tsisnaasjini” in Colorado, Mount Taylor “Tsoodzil” in New Mexico, San Francisco Peaks “Doko’oosliid” in Arizona, and Mount Hesperus “Dibe-Nitsaa” in Colorado. This area covers about 26,000 square miles, making it the largest Indian reservation in the United States. The Navajo Nation is about the size of West Virginia, and homes about 200,000 Navajo people within its borders. The landscape is beautiful and includes the famous Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. About 150,000 members of the Navajo Nation live and work in the surrounding area. The Nation surrounds the Hopi Indian reservation.
The Navajo government is one of the largest and most sophisticated established Native American Governments, which has the difficult task of sustaining a feasible economy for and ever growing population. This tribal structure of government is independent from external political authorities. The Navajo government seat is located in Window Rock, Arizona. For more information go to the official website of the Navajo Indian people: www.navajo.org/
Who Are the Navajo?
The Navajo Indians are the largest Native American Tribe in the United States, they have a strong, rich culture that fascinates and mystifies travelers from around the globe. They have their own nation with several reservations in the southwest area of the U.S. which is run by their own government.
Navajo History
Originally the Navajo were nomadic people. They hunted and gathered for food, living in earth shelters during the cold months of the winter and shelters called hogans during the warmer months. Later as they became more settled in one area they chose to farm corn and beans, as well as raise sheep for food. For a more detailed description before the 1500’s see this Navajo timeline.
In 1863 Colonel Kit Carson invaded the Navajo country.[1][2] He destroyed the people’s sources of food and starved them into submission.[2] Some seven or eight thousand Navajo were then taken on the “Long Walk,” first to Fort Canby and then to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where they were confined to the Bosque Redondo reservation on the Pecos River.[2] They remained prisoners until 1868, when a treaty with the United States was signed at Fort Sumner and the Navajo were brought back to their own country.[1][2] Individuals were appointed to form a united government system. In 1923 the federal government recognized the current tribal government used today.
In World War II the Navajo Language was credited for saving many lives. Navajo Marine soldiers called codetalkers used the native language in order to secretly communicate information and deceive those on the other side. This allowed the Americans to safely communicate orders and hastened the end of the war.
Today they Navajo Indians are doing very well and the beauty of their Navajo Art continuously attracts outsiders. They receive international recognition for their rug weaving and jewelry making. In addition to its material resources, the Navajo have also become well known for their remarkable music, and traditional dance.
From the Library: Franciscan Fathers, An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language (1910)
1910 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1910, not today.
These are outside observers' records from 1910; the Diné themselves are the authority on their own history and customs.
According to the Franciscan Fathers (1910, pp. 33–34), a census was taken when the Navajo were brought back to their country from Fort Sumner in 1868; they gave the count as about 7,300. [1]
Writing in 1910, the Franciscan Fathers recorded the treaty that ended the Fort Sumner years:
“Jesus Albrizzo, the official interpreter for the Navaho signing the treaty with the United States Government at Fort Sumner in 1868, gives the names of those Navaho chiefs as follows:”
— Franciscan Fathers (1910), p. 126 [1]
Sources
- Franciscan Fathers. An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language. Saint Michaels, Arizona: The Franciscan Fathers, 1910, pp. 33–34, 126. Public domain (U.S. publication before 1931). Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1910.
- Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973, pp. 8–9. Cited by printed page.
