Navajo
Location: Northern New Mexico, a portion of
southern Utah, and part of northern Arizona.Language: AthapaskanDaily Life: The Navajo (na-va-hoe)
are making every effort to create a promising future for
themselves. They acknowledge the importance of education and economic success,
but do not wish to lose sight of the important Navajo principle of supporting
family and community.Traditions: Traditional Navajo economy relied on
agriculture and livestock such as sheep, goats and horses. They planted fields
of corn, beans and squash and practiced hunting and gathering to obtain even
more plant foods.History: Navajo life became difficult after
Western contact. The
whites wanted them to stop raising sheep because of soil erosion and actually
killed many of the Navajo's livestock. With the loss of their sheep, they did
not know how to support themselves. Many Navajos left the government
reservation to seek wage labor. Some served as migrant workers in seasonal
harvesting, others went to cities for employment in factories, while others
helped with railroad construction and operations.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not
claim expertise on the Navajo.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the web address of this page.
If you are Navajo, your feedback is much appreciated.
Resources:
- Robert S. McPherson, The Northern Navajo Frontier 1860-1900 (1988)
- Garrick and Roberta Bailey, A History of the Navajo: The
Reservation Years (1986)
- Alfonso Ortiz, ed., Handbook of North American Indians, vol.
10 (1983).
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