Native Americans

Navajo Indians

The Navajo Reservation is the largest Native American reservation in the country (16 million acres). It is located in the Four Corners’ area. Most of it is in north-eastern Arizona. Some of it is also on the southern end of Utah and some on the north-west side of New Mexico. It is about the same size as Massachusetts and Connecticutt combined. The U.S. Census estimates that there are 341,000 Navajo. They are the largest Native American tribe. Nearly half of the Navajo people, 157,000, live on the reservation. They call the reservation Navajo Nation. The Navajo are the largest Native American tribe in population in the U.S.

The Navajo believe that everything alive has a spirit and a soul. They feel that even rocks, clouds, and snowstorms have spirits. They believe that it is important to keep everything in the world in balance. Some of their leaders are what you call Healers. Healers give blessings to others. Sometimes ceremonies are used when giving the blessings, and sometimes the ceremonies have dancing and chanting. A blessing for someone who is sick is called a Blessingway.

They call the Navajo Reservation Dinetah. This means the home or people of Dine. They also call the reservation Navajo Nation.

The Hopi Reservation is within the borders of the Navajo Nation. From what we can tell, the Hopi came from the Pueblo and Anasazi cultures. The Pueblo Indians were already there when the Navajo got there about 700 years ago. The Hopi had become good farmers and shepherders. They were also good with horses. Making beautiful blankets and clothes was another thing the Hopi did well. When the Mexicans arrived they fought with the Hopi and Navajo. Then, the American settlers came. They fought with them too.

In 1863, Kit Carson was sent in. He was a well-known mountain man. He too fought with the Indians. He and his soldiers won out. They destroyed homes, most of the sheep, and the peach orchards. They then made the Navajo people leave their homes in Arizona. The soldiers forced them to walk 300 miles to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. This action was called the Lone Walk. Several hundred Navajos died on that trip. Some 2,000 Navajo died over the following four years. After four years of suffering at Bosque Redondo, Kit Carson made a change. He realized that what they made the Navajo do was a mistake. In 1868, a treaty was signed. It allowed the Navajo to return home.

Barboncito was a Navajo warrior/leader at this time. He fought against the American settlers and soldiers in the Navajo Wars. The U.S. government offered him and the Navajo people to go to Oklahoma. Barboncito said that they did not want to go anywere else. He got Carson to agree to let them return to their homes.

Family is everything to the Navajo. They organize in clans, groups of families. Today there are about 60 clans. The mother leads the family, and the people stay with the mother’s clan.

Like today, in the past, the women did many things. They took care of the sheep and horses. They did the cooking. Often the cooking was done outside. They grew and took care of the corn. They also made baskets. Another thing the women did was spin and weave wool from their sheep. With the wool they would weave rugs.

When there was a birth, a healer would give a blessing. At age 12 or 13 there was also another ceremony to welcome them into the tribe.

The Navajo learned about how to care for sheep from the Spanish. From the Pueblo Indians they learned about weaving and cotton.

Hogans were the type of homes that they would live in. The hogan is a place for spiritual things. Many live in hogans still today. These homes are made from mud and clay. Hogans are round and have a rounded roof with a hole in the center to let the smoke escape. The door faces east, and there are no windows. Many Navajos grew up without running water in their homes. Many hogans had dirt floors.

The Navajo did farming. Corn was one of the main crops they planted. They would also hunt and fish. They believed that they should never take more than they needed.

The men and boys would wear a loose shirt with white, calf-length pants. Headbands were also used. Many headbands were made of twisted cloth.

Women wore long dresses and turquoise necklaces. They would even wear these while tending the sheep. These items are even worn by some today. Today, the some of the Navajo women will be doing this while the boys, wearing T shirts and jeans, will be rounding up ponies in a pickup truck. The women would also wear shawls, called mantles. They borrowed this practice from the Mexicans. Another thing they wore were blankets. They wore them over a shoulder.

Making rugs and blankets from wool was one of the crafts of the Navajo. There were a number of steps to get the wool finished into cloth or blankets. Those steps were:

1. Raise the sheep
- This included tending the flocks
- And feeding and watering them.
2. Sheer the sheep
3. Wash the wool
4. Card and comb it
5. Spin and twist fibers
6. and, Weave it.
- It took several weeks (200 hours) at a loom to make a small rug (5x3 feet).

Jewelry was another skill the Navajo learned. Captain Henry L. Dodge, a U.S. Indian Agent, brought in a Mexican silversmith to Fort Defiance. This was done to train the Navajo how to make jewelry. They became famous for jewelry made with turquoise.

One of the favorite things many Navajo enjoy doing today, especially the youth, is to play basketball. The reservation and surrounding areas have had some very good basketball teams. They enjoy competing in the high school games. When the games take place thousands of family members, other students, faculty, friends, and community will come out to watch. They call it Rez Ball. If you are from a nearby school, off the reservation, you might want to watch out. They have had some really good teams.

Reading-SocialStudiesSolutions

Reading resources

Text Credits:

The Navajo by David C. King;
https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1471.pdf - population;
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=navajo&tid=ACSDT1Y2019.C02014&hidePreview=false – Census population estimates;
https://www.discovernavajo.com/fact-sheet.aspx - Population facts and how many live on the Navajo Nation Reservation;
Canyon Dreams by Michael Powell;
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hopi - ancestry

Image Credits:

Antelope Canyon by Hans-22944 through Pixabay -4036_1920;
Navajo Nation map from USA-politique by laurent- Openclipart.org;
Hopi young man through the Sloan Foundation and the Library of Congress 1200px;
Navajo rugs by Boston Public Library- Wikimedia Commons;
Navajo Hogan by Garrick Mallery-James Gilchrist Swan- Wikimedia Commons;
Navajo - Clothing by R Madison through Pixabay 1737988_1920;
Navajo dress and turquoise jewelry at Offutt Air Force Base event on Native Americans - Dia Molnar is modeling and picture by Kendra Williams- through Wikimedia Commons 800px;
Navajo Child - Dress - Jewelry The Silversmith Daughter near Gallup NM picture by JR Willis through Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons - 428px- LCCN2012646847


Text Readability:

ATOS- 5.0
Flesch-Kincaid Level- 6.2

Notes:

The Navajo Nation, the U.S. Government, and the State of Utah signed a water-rights agreement on May 27, 2022 that will allow the Navajo Nation to bring water to many more of its communities.

“This is a historic day for Utah Navajo families. We send our appreciation to the Navajo Nation Council and President Jonathan Nez for holding the federal government and the State of Utah accountable for our most precious resource - our Diné water. The bipartisan infrastructure law now allows us to upgrade our water infrastructure projects and expand water delivery to the rural areas of Utah Navajo. Now our elders, veterans, and most vulnerable relatives will soon have access to clean, potable drinking water in their homes,” said Council Delegate Herman Daniels Jr. (Ts’ah Bii’ Kin, Navajo Mountain, Shonto, Oljato).

Taken from the https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/ web site under Press Releases for May 27.