Angelica Norton
History 2600
Chris Case
Navajo
The tribe name came from the white people; the Navajos originally called
themselves Diné, meaning “The People,” or “Children of the Holy People.”
(navajopeople.org) There are a couple ways to spell Navajo: Navaho or Navahoe. The
Navajos have their own nation, the Navajo Nation.
The Navajos are located around the four corners region, southeastern Utah,
southwestern Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, and northeastern Arizona. The
reservation covers 27,000 square miles around the four corners area
(discoveramerica.com). The environment is a desert surrounding with sand, buttes,
plateaus, and mountains. It snows in the winter and gets humid in the summer. Some days
there will be clouds, it’ll be windy, and some days it will rain to help bless the land. On
the reservation in northeastern part of Arizona there’s a hole on the Navajo reservation
that’s part of the Hopi reservation. The Navajos were nomadic people before they met the
Hopis and were taught to farm and grow crops (funnelbrain.com).
Diné Bizaad or the Navajo Language comes from the Na-Dené family; it’s similar
to the Apaches (navajopeople.org). The Navajo Language is spoken by approximately
175,000 people in the United States and elsewhere (Gordon, 2005). Navajos who are born
and raised on the reservation are taught the language by relatives or in school. At
Whitehorse High School in Montezuma Creek, Utah, Navajo language is a class offered
to young students of the Navajo to help keep the language alive and connected with
families. The Navajo language originally was not a written language until WWII when a
secret coded message needed to be created for combat. The Navajo language was used to
help deliver messages for orders and attacks. It was a code that couldn’t be broken by
enemies, it was a success and helped the war. The language program Rosetta Stone took a
project where they found endangered languages and found experts that would help
preserve the language for future generations. The Navajo language was part of the list
and the project was complete in 2010, you can take a demo of the program on the Rosetta
Stone website and learn basic words in Navajo. The full program is available at Navajo
schools, chapter houses, and homes. Another way to help preserve the Navajo language
was to dub a famous movie in Navajo. Manuelito Wheeler had the idea of taking Star
Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and dubbing the movie in the Navajo language. It was a
great idea because it spoke to a wide range of audience and was something new that
wasn’t brought up by other Native American tribes. DVDs are available to purchase for
home entertainment and for Star Wars fans to translate their favorite lines in Navajo.
The Navajos have been through cold harsh winters and blazing hot
summers. Through many years they have learned how to gather and grow crops. The
Navajos were dependant on sheep. Sheeps offered wool to make clothing, beds, and yarn
for weaving rugs. They also offered meat for food and fat for ceremonial purposes.
Navajos lived in hogans, some were octagonal shaped, and some were rounded. Most
hogans are built from sand and wood. There was only one doorway that would face the
east, where the sun rises. The sun was one of the Holy People that Navajos would pray to
in the morning. Traditional beliefs are to wake up every morning before the sun rises and
say a prayer using corn pollen and facing the east, saying your appreciation towards
mother earth and ask for protection from the Holy People. The Navajos are family
oriented and belief that the elderly are respected to help give guidance in life. Navajos are
also taught what to do and what not to do in certain events. Teachings and blessings are
priorities in the culture, when someone is ill or something doesn’t feel right, it is asked to
have a blessing or ceremony to help set balance in the person’s life. A medicine man will
be asked to help perform a one-day or four day ceremony to help the person bring back
balance into their life. Some ceremonies are performed in good blessings or when it’s
part of life such as weddings, a baby’s first laugh, girl becomes a woman, and protection.
Ceremonies and prayers are an essential for the Navajos and are often practiced today.
The Navajo creation story has four parts, they are divided into worlds, and it is
believed that we live in the fourth world. The first world is known as the Black World
and only had insects along with first man and first woman. The second world is known as
the Blue World and had insects, animals, and birds. The third world is known as Yellow
world, it had more animals and was more sacred. The fourth world that we live in is
called White World. In each world problems would occur and each world was not
perfect. Some tragic even would happen and a new world would open to give living
creatures another chance. There are many other creation stories that help shape and form
the lives of the Navajos. Along with games and traditional beliefs, most of them come
from animals. The coyote is one of the famous characters that are only told in the winter
for teachings and entertainment. Coyote is the bad guy in every story with every animal,
there’s always a lesson to be taught from the stories to help children to make the same
mistakes in life.
In 1923, a tribal government was established to help meet the increasing desires
of American oil companies to lease Navajoland for exploration (navajo-nsn.gov). Navajo
Nation is a government that helps Navajos on the reservation to solve economic issues on
the reservation. They are connected with Bureau of Indian Affairs to help form solutions
for land dispute and governmental needs. The Navajo Nation’s capital is located in
Window Rock, Arizona.
The Navajo reservation is located between the four sacred mountains. Mount
Blanca, Mount Taylor, Mount Humphrey, and Mount Hesperus Dibé Nitsaa are the four
sacred mountains (navajopeople.org). Within the mountains the Navajos feel safe and at
home knowing that they are on land that their ancestors were born and raised with
traditional values. The Navajo Long Walk was a harsh four-year period where the
Navajos were relocated to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. They were forced by the American
government in 1864 to leave their homes and walk 300 plus miles in the cold of winter to
the Americans that they can live on their own. There were not enough supplies for every
Navajo on site of the camp to be taken care of, it was decided until 1868 that the Navajos
could return to their land with the U.S.-Navajo Treaty of 1868. The treaty offered
Navajos to live in peace and to go back to the reservations. (crowcanyon.org)
Some of the major issues that occur on the Navajo reservation is alcohol and drug
abuse. Due the reservation being an open area it’s accessible for young teens to get
alcohol or drugs, causing teenagers to create crimes such as gang violence. The rate of
homicide has increased 34 in 2012 to 42 in 2013 (phoenixnewtimes.com). Many
problems on the Navajo reservation occur and very little can be done to prevent it from
happening. There may be police but it could take a couple of hours for them to arrive at
the scene due to the amount of officers and the drive.
I believe that the Navajos today are recognized for who they are because their art,
rugs, and jewelry are popular and expensive. They have come a long way in history from
the Navajo Long Walk. They’ve been taken away from their homeland in 1800’s to be
put into a camp for four years, only to find out that they know what is best for them and
they can make it on their own. The Navajos were able to help America during WWII by
volunteering to fight for freedom and the protection of the land by combat and using the
Navajo Language. Native Americans also helped with respecting land and only taking
what they need. It is important to be aware of other cultures and to respect them, a lot of
other cultures sacrifice traditions and teachings to help form a better life in different
ways, such as jobs or education.