The History and Journey of the Navajo Indian Tribe - Essay Example

I. INTRODUCTION There is an overwhelming source of works written, researched, viewed by people from all walks of life on the Navajo Indian Tribe. The enormity of information and data would already reveal the abundance of valuable wealth this tribe have shared to the history and culture of the American people. Who exactly are the Navajos? How come so many historians, anthropologists and scholars have been interested to know them and to be part of their cultural heritage? Where have they originated? What were their challenges and successes as a people? How are they now? The objectives of this essay are briefly summarized as follows: 1. To gain knowledge on the Navajo Indian Tribe: their attributes and characteristics, way of life, culture, livelihood and religious practices. 2. To explore their history and journey with them through time. 3. To determine their contribution to the human race. This essay would explore the trials and triumphs of the Navajo people. Most of the researches on the Navajos were provided by historians and anthropologists who closely monitored their lives. Their travels from the early centuries up to the present times were properly documented. Their encounters with different races were delved on and explored. Their ultimate experience with the United States Government who, up to now, holds jurisdiction over them would be revealed. It is the objective of this essay to present their historical path and determine their legacy to the future. II. THE NAVAJO INDIANS The Navajo Indians are the largest tribe of North America. According to articles on the Navajo People found in Wikipedia, “the name ‘NAVAJO’ comes from the late 18th century via the Spanish (Apaches de) Navajo, Apaches of Navajo, which was derived from the Tewa navahe, ‘fields adjoining a ravine’”. It is interesting to note that the Navajo call themselves DINE, which means, “the people”. They now occupy a large area of cultivated land, named NAVAJO, in what is now Arizona and New Mexico. A. Characteristics of the People. Navajos are known to be semi-nomadic from the 16th century through the 20th century. By nomads, they move constantly in search for pasteur and a place to live. This explains their travel from as far as Alaska, to Canada, to finally settle in Arizona. Their homes are called hogans which were built in traditional fashion until the 1900s. This type of dwelling is made from wooden poles, tree barks, and mud. Due to the way they constructed their dwelling, early historians had difficulties confirming their accurate location and way of life. The hogans are also believed to be holy or sacred to the Navajos. They built their homes with the doorway facing the east so that they can welcome the sun. Their early language was referred to as Athabaskan. This type of language is spoken today by another type of Indian tribe known as the Apache. Details from the Navajo, indigenous people of North America found in Columbian Encyclopedia (2001 – 2007) noted that “their original language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock”. B. Way of Life. Like other cultural people from other parts of the world, the Navajo’s way of life was influenced by a diversity of different races. Since they were formally nomads, traveling from one place to the other, they got to meet different kinds of people: the Canadians, Spaniards, Pueblos, and other Indian tribes. They got to imbibe traces of the other people’s way of life and apply and adapt them as their own. Originally, they were farmers who planted corn and beans. They also hunted animals such as deer, elk and antelope, among others. Intermittently, the Navajos gathered wild vegetables, fruits and other plants for food. C. Weaving. The Navajo Indians were famous for their weaving of blankets and rugs. Their blankets were indigenously woven using raw materials which they themselves gathered and prepared. As quoted from the article the Navajo Indian Tribe from< members.tripod.com>, “no two blanket designs ever are the same”. The uniqueness and intricate patterns produced by the Navajos made them known for their woven products. Details from the article on the Navajo Indians (Eck) reveal that “by the 18th century, the Navajo learned to import their yarn” as against their original indigenous preparation for it. Further, their use of barter trade for commercial wool which often came from uniforms of soldiers, gave them another source to reweave these wool into “intricate multicolored blankets called Germantown”. Through encouragement from European settlers and traders, the Navajo were requested to weave blankets and rugs in distinct styles. As opposed to their “primordial system” of weaving unique blankets, the Europeans named several designs and patters such as “Two Gray Hills” for predominantly black and white, "Teec Nos Pos" (colorful, with very extensive patterns), "Ganado" (founded by Don Lorenzo Hubbell), red dominated patterns with black and white, "Crystal" (founded by J. B. Moore), oriental and Persian styles (almost always with natural dyes), "Wide Ruins", "Chinlee", banded geometric patterns, "Klagetoh", diamond type patterns, "Red Mesa" and bold diamond patterns. (Wikipedia) D. Arts and Craftsmanship Some historians wrote that the Navajo learned silversmithing from the Spaniards. (Lapahie.com) Others say that it was during the captivity in 1864 at Fort Sumner that they were introduced to this kind of craftsmanship (Wikipedia). Suffice is to say that the Navajo became good at this trade and were known for making homemade jewelries which include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, buckles, bolos, hair ornaments, and pins, among others. E. Religion. As an indigenous Indian tribe, the Navajo’s religion was considered complex and elaborate. They have numerous ceremonies for various purposes. The Columbia Encyclopedia recorded that they have about fifty eight to sixty sacred ceremonies. Among these ceremonies are briefly itemized below: ceremonies to heal illnesses ceremonies to strengthen weakness ceremonies to give vitality to the patients ceremonies to restore beauty ceremonies to restore harmony ceremonies to restore balance ceremonies to restore health ceremonies for protection when leaving the boundaries of the four sacred mountains ceremonies to move of evil things in one’s body for someone re-entering the four sacred mountains and ceremonies to cure people from different curses The healers, to the Navajo, are called the “medicine man”. It takes rigorous training to become a healer and to know all the 58 – 60 ceremonies of the tribe. One has to learn by watching and observing his teacher. He has to memorize all chants and tricks of the trade. For somebody who could not be an expert on all ceremonies, “he may opt to specialize in a select few”. (Combumbia Encyclopedia). F. Family Tradition and Ties Writings on culture from Navajo People (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, ) note that”historically, the structure of the Navajo society is largely a matrilocal system in which only women were allowed to own livestock and land”. Since inheritance is through the mother’s line, the women play a very important role in their society. Further, it was also revealed that the clan system is exogamous, “meaning, it was and mostly still is, considered a form of incest to marry or date anyone from any of a person’s four grandparents clans”. III. HISTORY AND JOURNEY THROUGH TIME A. Early History 1000 A.D. There are different views on the exact origin and location of the Navajo Indian Tribe. As mentioned earlier, the reason for this was their being traditionally nomads. It was pinpointed, however, in Early History detailed in Navajo People (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, ) that “archeological and historical evidence suggests that the Navajo ancestors entered the Southwest after 1000 AD with substantial population increases occurring to the 13th century”. Another source, Lapahie (Navajo Timeline, detailed the following: During 1200 BC to 800 BC, “the Na-Dené (NAVAJO) arrived in Alaska from Asia. The Na-Dené Ensemble included 4 major Groups: the Eyak, the Haida, the Tlingit, and the Athabascan (or Athapaskan). There is a strong probability that a relationship may be proved between Na-Dené and the Sino-Tibetan language (i.e. the ancestral form of the Chinese and Tibetan languages. Therefore, it can be traced that their earliest origin was from Asia before they traveled to Alaska, to Canada, and southwest until they reached New Mexico. 1580. Their travel brought them to the west of the Rio Grande located in New Mexico where Spaniards noted that in 1580s, a people resembling the Apaches “shared corn with them”. (Navajo People, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, ) Four Sacred Mountains and Four Rivers The Navajo ancestors passed on their tradition that the “First Woman of Dineh” pointed out 4 sacred mountains and 4 rivers, inside which they should live. These mountains are: “Blanca Peak (Tsisnaasjini — Dawn or White Shell Mountain) in Colorado, Mount Taylor (Tsoodzil — Blue Bead or Turquoise Mountain) in New Mexico, the San Francisco Peaks (Dokooosliid — Abalone Shell Mountain) in Arizona and Hesperus Mountain (Dibé Nitsaa — Big Mountain Sheep) in Colorado” (The Navajo People, Wikipedia). Their forefathers were noted to emphasize that they were “never to move east of the Rio Grande or north of the San Juan Rivers” and it was believed that their coming to the destined place has been the cause of so much death among them and their animals. Lapahie (Navajo Timeline, ) 1620s. The Spaniards referred to the people in the Chama valley as Navajo. This was the first time this word was used to refer to this Indian tribe. 1670s. The Spaniards recorded a people living in a region called Dineclan, due to the Navajos preference in calling them Dine. This area was identified about 60 miles west of the Rio Chama valley. During these times, the Navajo adapted a lot of the Spaniards way of life. There were documentations that they also had interactions with a people known as the “Pueblos”. They made trades with them exchanging corn and woven cotton for meat and materials for stone tools. Accordingly, they learned to tend sheeps and started to increase livestocks and crops. 1680s. (Towner 1996) There was a great Pueblo Revolt of 1680 due to discontent in the control of New Mexico. As a result, the Spaniards were forced to withdraw to El Paso. Accordingly, the extent of Navajo involvement in the uprising is unknown, but the power vacuum created by the Spaniards’ retreat certainly must have aided the Navajo, both economically and politically. 1700s. Details from Towner (1996) stipulated that during the 1700s, “the Navajo and Spaniards were on relatively peaceful terms”. It was during this century that an expedition was undertaken to record the extent of the Navajo territory. As noted, in 1786,”theNavajo were said to consist of five geographic divisions: San Mateo, Ceboletta, Chuska Mountain, Ojo del Oso and Canyon de Chelly”. 1800s. NEW MEXICO TREATIES. Details from Navajo People in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, ) show that written works on the New Mexico Territory stipulates that “the Navajos first came in contact with the forces of the United States of America in 1846 when General Stephen W. Kearny invaded Sta. Fe with 1,600 men during the Mexican American War. The New Mexico Treaty, more famously known as the War Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, was an agreement forged between the United States and Mexico which ended the Mexican American War. This happened on February 2, 1948. Due to the war, the Mexicans lost and as a consequence, half of Mexico’s homeland was turned over to the United States. That included the following territories: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. Also included in the turn-over was the vast Navajo homeland. This officially placed the Navajos under the jurisdiction of the United States government. The change of government was not peacefully recognized by the Navajos. Several troublesome encounters occurred between the Navajos and the US soldiers. Stories about lost livestock on the part of the US Forces were told as they passed the Navajo homeland. In turn, US Forces shoots and kills several Navajos, including influential Navajo headmen or leaders. THE LONG WALK This period marked an unforgettable event in the history of the Navajos. Details on the Long Walk from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, ) revealed the following: The Long Walks started in January 1863. Bands of Navajo led by the Army were relocated from their traditional lands in eastern Arizona Territory and western New Mexico Territory to Fort Sumner (in an area called the Bosque Redondo or Hwééldi by the Navajo) in the Pecos River valley. Bosque Redondo means round grove of trees in the Spanish language. At least 200 died along the 300-mile (500 km) trek that took over 18 days to travel by foot. Between 8,000 and 9,000 people were settled on a 40 miles (104 km²) square area, with a peak population of 9,022 by the spring of 1865. There were actually three groups, taking their own path. They each took a different path but were on the same trail and when returning to the Navajo lands they reformed their group to become one, this group was ten miles (16 km) long. The incidents of life threatening encounters necessitated both parties to forge several treaties during the 1800s. Among the more famous documented treaties are as follows: (Lapahie) 1. Treaty of 1849. Forged on September 9, 1849, this treaty between Lt. Col. John W. Washington and Indian Agent James S. Calhoun stipulated that a group headed by Navajo Chief Mariano Martinez would “recognize United States jurisdiction over them and submit to the trade and intercourse laws, to return captives and stolen property and remain at peace, and to allow the federal government to determine their boundaries”. 2. Treaty of 1855. In the summer of 1855 at Laguna Negra, David Meriwether, Governor of New Mexico, negotiated a treaty with the Navajos. The treaty detailed the following important provisions: cessation of all Navajo claims to the land a defined reservation was provided to the Navajo tribe the Navajos agreed to settle on the land and to “cultivate the soil and raise flocks and herds for a subsistence” In turn, the United States itemized the following conditions: gradual reduced annuities for a set period of years the US President determined and allotted parcels of land to individual families prohibition on the making, selling, or using of spirituous liquors on the Navajo reservation provided that the trade and intercourse laws were retained and enforced over the reservation 3. Treaty of 1868. This is a monumental treaty which created the Navajo reservation. The main provisions of the treaty are summarized below: the new reservation was about one tenth of the country previously claimed by the Navajos it excluded all good eastern grazing land and most of their water resources the Navajo agreed never to make war against the US again the US government agreed to give the Navajos 13,000 sheeps or 2 sheeps per family, corn, flour and food staples to get them through their first winter the Navajos agreed not to possess firearms or conduct raids they agreed to send their children to white schools The treaty was completely observed by the Navajos. This reservation eventually increased to become the largest reservation in the United States today. 1980s. This era marked a milestone in the history of the Navajo people in terms of their important participation and legacy to World War II: “the use of the Navajo language as a military code against the Japanese” (Lapahie). According to the research, in 1941, “the Navajo language was completely unknown to the world”. The Americans used this opportunity to recruit Navajo Code Talkers in February 1942 as a special unit in charge of creating and disseminating codes for the military. A double code system was developed and used in the Pacific which totally left the Japanese cryptographers at a loss. The reason for the inability of the Japanese to break the code was that the Navajo language was never written by that time. The Navajo word was distinctly different from in pronunciation and meaning from the English language. In 1968, another important development in the Indian reservation was the establishment of the Navajo Community College (NCC). Since the Navajo referred themselves as Dine, they preferred NCC to be known as Dine College. Other significant events during the 1900s that made an impact on the Navajo history are as summarized below: DATES IMPORTANT EVENTS 1970 The opening of the Mohave Generating Station caused serious water and electricity problems for the Navajo reservation. More than a billion gallons of water per annum was transporting crushed coal through a 275 mile pipeline from the reservation to the Nevada power plant. Until now, there exist struggles over the water used in the pipeline. 1980 As American Indians get accustomed to eating Anglo food which is high in sugar, there appeared an upsurge in the number of diabetes among older Native Americans, with 1 out of every 4 Navajos contracting the disease. In addition to changes in food habits, the Navajos failed to engage in regular exercises which contribute to the incidence of the disease. 1990 A US census accounted for 210,000 members of the Navajo tribe, a significant increase from the 6,500 families during the Navajo Treaty of 1968. During this time, “US Congress passed a compensation bill for Navajo uranium miners”. (Lapahie) With the bill, the government acknowledged their responsibility for the inhuman conditions of uranium mining on the Navajo reservation. 2000 For the first time, a US President visited the Navajo Nation at Shiprock, New Mexico. President William Jefferson Clinton took time to visit them as a gesture of bridging the “digital divide” between the Navajo Nation and the rest of the United States of America. 2008 Lapahie’s Timeline has its latest entry to the long history of the Navajo Tribe on July 29, 2008. It states: “New Mexico becomes the first state to officially adopt a Navajo textbook, Din� Bizaad B�n�hooaah: Rediscovering the Navajo Language, to be used in language classrooms throughout 10 New Mexico school districts for Fall 2008. The books author Evangeline Parsons Yazzie and Salina Bookshelf President Eric Lockard signed the book into adoption in Santa Fe, NM.” IV. CONTRIBUTION TO THE HUMAN RACE The journey of the Navajo Indian Tribe presented the life of a people full of complex experiences and intricate details. Their saga depicts the natural response of a people to defend themselves and to fight for what they believe has been rightfully theirs. Their interrelationships with other races enriched their culture and way of life. Having adapted the dominant attributes of people like the Spaniards, and other Indian tribes like the Hopi, Apache, and other Native Indians, created in them an improved and well-developed nation, capable of surpassing the accomplishments of the people they encountered. Their most famous products being woven rugs and blankets, hand-made jewelries, and other ornament gave them a distinct patent to these artworks. Their abilities to raise substantial livestock after learning to pastor lands made the Navajo people the envy of many and recognized their leadership in this endeavor. Their rich and unique religious practices are a study in itself due to the benefits and creativeness the learning from these ceremonies give to historians and anthropologists alike. Their acknowledgment for the love of peace and to ultimately prevent war enabled them to accept the treaties presented by the Americans even at the detriment of sacrificing their original land they were accustomed to possess for centuries. Their unselfish and courageous contribution of their native language enabled the creation of a unique military code aided the Americans in winning World War II against the Japanese. Today, the Navajos’ population reach about 300,000 and still increasing – indeed the largest Native American tribe of the North. With their increase in population come significant increases in their contribution to the human race. Their ability of easily adapt and adjust to their environment; to instill innovative attributes to their way of life; to acknowledge defeat; to savor victory; to remain the “people” they originally are – are accomplishments in themselves. What is amazing with the Navajos is the fact that their heritage and firm belief and love for their culture remain intact. V. CONCLUSION There is no wonder why so many historians, archeologists, teachers, students and other people from other races, spend some precious time to learn more about the Navajo Indian Tribe. After accompanying them in their journey through time, it makes one realize the richness and enormity of vast learning from their culture that touches the lives of those who, in one way of the other, at some time in the past, present, or even in the future, were given the opportunity to meet this special people. Their ability of easily adapt and adjust to their environment; to instill innovative attributes to their way of life; to acknowledge defeat; to savor victory; to remain the “people” they originally are – are accomplishments in themselves. What is amazing with the Navajos is the fact that their heritage and firm belief and love for their culture remain intact. WORKS CITED: “Navajo People”, (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, ) “Navajo, indigenous people of North America”, The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2001 – 2007, “Navajo Indian Tribe”, Eck, Pam, “Navajo Indians”, April 1998, < http://inkido.indiana.edu/w310work/romac/navajo.htm> Lapahie, Harrison Jr., Navajo Timeline, 2007, Towner, Ronald H., The Archaeology of Navajo Origins, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, 1996. Read More