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My love for the Navajo Nation really started over a conversation about irrigation ditches; I found it oddly comforting to have a conversation with someone without having to define irrigation ditch, or clarifying the difference between a bale of hay and a bale of straw. I was in my freshman year of college, homesick, and here was someone who knew what an irrigation ditch was. Within no time we started a lifelong friendship. She was from the Navajo Nation, a place that I had never heard of, filled with things that I did not even know existed, and yet I felt drawn to it, all because it had irrigation ditches. I want to share this love with the reader by discussing a few of the things that I have learned about the Navajo Nation, and the Diné, or the Navajo People.
For this report I read five particular National Geographic articles, one relating to each of the five themes of geography. Although most of the information I discuss throughout this paper is my personal reflection and summary of these particular articles I felt that it was important to investigate some of the subjects mentioned in the articles more thoroughly. The other articles that I used are cited by regular MLA citation throughout my paper. I hope that the reader is able to recognize the beauty in the land, culture, and traditions of the Navajo Nation.
It has it has an established government, that is supported and restricted by the whims of the United States government.
Location
With 27,000 square miles the Navajo Nation is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America masked by Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona boarders (Navajo). Most of the area rests at an altitude between 5,000 and 7,000 (Shirley).
Best friends
Place
Roach, John. Navajo Help Save Unique Sheep From Extinction. National Geographic News: Reporting Your World Daily. 30 August 2005. Web 28 October 2010. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0830_050830_navajo_sheep_2.html Web 21 January 2011.
The beautiful Navajo rugs are weaved by more than nimble fingers and red dyed wool. Into each of the rugs is sown the soul of the weaver, the Navajo holy sprits, and traditions that stretch further than the yards of wool could ever reach. Despite the United States attempts to civilize the Diné the land between the Four Sacred Mountains seems to cradle the Navajo Traditional Sheepherders; the annual rainfall on the reservation is less than 15 inches, with more than 50% of the reservation classified as desert, and less than 10% of the land is available for irrigation (Shirley). Few things are able to flourish on the reservation as well as the Diné traditions. The black and red wool rugs with the jagged patterns weave together centuries of the cultural and history of the Diné.
How the churro sheep transformed the Navajo Nation in the early 1600s. When the Spanish colonists first came to the West they introduced sheep to the Navajo people. As the domestic sheep herds were introduced to the Diné transformed into a shepherding society. Oral tradition says the Churro sheep were a gift from the spirits. Tradition says the sheep came to the people when they were ready, and that spiderwomen came to Diné to teach them how to weave. For hundreds of years the Diné have preferred the churro wool because it is less greasy, and requires less precious in preparation for weaving.
Thousands of churro sheep were slaughtered in 1863 by Colonel Kit Carson’s cavalry in his attempt to relocate the clans to a territory in New Mexico. After failed attempts to capture the Diné the cavalry began to slaughter the Navajo sheep, burn crops, and chop down orchards. Starved and humiliated many of the Diné surrendered to Colonel Kit Carson. He led a once proud people across hundreds of miles into unspeakable conditions to near starvation in New Mexico, a tragedy which would eventually be known as The Long Walk. Only a few churro sheep herds survived the attacks, but in 1868 when the Diné were allowed to return to their homelands at organization of the Navajo Reservation the government gave each Navajo two Churro to help create self-sufficiency.
A few decades latter during the 1930s, the Dust Bowl ear, the government slaughtered thousands of the Navajo’s sheep and goats in an attempt to prevent overgrazing. The Navajo were asked to report their flocks to the government, and then the herds would be shipped to the slaughterhouses. Although the agents promised one U.S. dollar per head most of the 400,000 to 600,000 rotting carcasses shot on sight throughout the reservation were never recorded, let alone paid for. The program continued until there were less than 450 Churro sheep remaining.
McNeal started a program called Diné bé iiná, or The Navajo Lifeway, in 1977 that is based on establishing herds of Churro for the Diné. After search through the Rocky Mountains the organization was able to gather flocks of remaining Churro sheep and in the early 1980s the program began to distribute herds to the Navajo Nations. Today there are over 8,500 Churro in the United States, but more importantly the Diné have been able to weave the sacred Churro back into their culture. Weavers still ask spiderwomen to help them weave traditional rugs, and the people feel strongly the Creator spirit is pleased with the respectful care of the sheep.
Human-environment interaction
The Return of Navajo Boy: Screening & Discussion. National Geographic. Web 8 September 2008. < http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/allroads/2008/09/the-return-of-navajo-boy-scree-2.html> Web 21 January 2011.
If someone were to look at the red and brown stone statues scattered across the pebbled sand it seems ridiculous to believe that people are dying throughout the Navajo Nation because of an abundance of natural resources. Despite the shrubbery lining the stretches of highway the only shadows large enough to cover the assault are cast by the towering mountains, but underneath the sunbaked earth is a wealth of natural resources. The discovery of oil, uranium, and coal in the 1920’s still transforms the Navajo Nation Government, the settlement of land, and Diné in immeasurable degrees.
Many attribute larger size and sophisticated forms of Indian government on the Navajo Nation to the organization of the tribal council in 1923 (Jud). In the 1920’s oil, uranium, and coal were discovered in the Navajo Traditional homeland. The Diné formed the Navajo nation Council Chambers in an effort to organize and lease land for mines and businesses. A capital city was established near one of the U.S. army forts, and the Diné began to elect delegates. Today, there are 88 council members that represent the 110 chapters in the Navajo Nation who still meet in Window Rock, to debate (in Navajo and English) concerns from across the reservation (Navajo).
As the interests in the Navajo Nation increased so did the government involvement. In an attempt to help civilize the territory the Diné were encouraged to begin farming. The Navajo Nation Capitol city Window Rock Arizona was established near a U.S. army Fort and delegates began to distribute land across the eastern border to settlers, tribes, and individuals who were whiling to maintain the property. The unique distribution formed what is now known as the Checkerboard, an area that is dotted with private, tribal, and governmentally owned lands. As settlements were established people began to have trade with money instead of sheep or horses (Blake). Traditionally in a Navajo Clan each family member is responsible for supporting his relatives, but the members began to be suspicious of one another as each realized that unlike herds and crops a relative could lie about how much money he possessed (Peter).
The film reviewed in this article captures the reality of the mines on the Navajo Nation. The Return of Navajo Boy was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000, and resulted in a series of events that launched a federal investigation into the effects of uranium on the Navajo Nation. The producer Jeff Spitz reveals the Cly family’s feelings, and personal stories of the mines. Recently the United States Department of Justice paid $100,000 to a former uranium miner (Return). It is important to realize that the poor health of the miners were not the only destructive effects of the mines. Chapters across the reservation have demanded fresh water from their representatives in Window Rock, but even as recent as 2008, over 4,000 Navajo drink water from contaminated wells, and thousands more are subject to exposure and radiation left behind by the mines (Jud). The raised awareness by The Return of Navajo Boy helped to acute the need for environmental justice in the Navajo Nation.
Movement
Region
Shirley, Joe. American Anthropological Association. Menasha, WI. 1963. Web Navajo Nation. Web. < http://navajopeople.org/navajo-nation.htm> Web 21 January, 2011.