Joy Prior
#3 - Immigration
Many people move from one country to another for a variety of reasons. Choose an article dealing with the immigration of an individual/family/group form one country to another. What push/pull factors exist that encourage immigration? Does relative location play a role? Does the new country welcome the immigrants? What challenges exist for the new country in assimilating the immigrants?
Driver, Pearl S. California University Accused of Being Front for Visa Fraud. India West, News Report. 27 January 2011. Web. 28 January 2011. Web. http://newamericamedia.org/2011/01/calif-university-accused-of-being-front-for-visa-fraud.php
The Tri-Valley University is being charged with abusing the use of student visas. Over 1500 people have enrolled in the university from other countries, and in theory the students are attending the University in California. The only glitch is that most of the students are working in states as far away as Maryland. Not only did the university forge many of the student addresses but there is no record of class progress reports, or attendance records. Hundreds of the students are now fleeing the United States, and the students who were enrolled in the upcoming winter semester have canceled their travel plans.
There were two different groups of immigrants effected by the pull factor. First, it is interesting that there are specific visas in the United States for students. There are enough people immigrating to the United States for and education that the government has issued specific visas for student immigrants. The second group of immigrants were the “student” on student visas living in the United States, but who were not actually attending school. The particular group of immigrants mentioned in this article did not immigrate for an education, but for work opportunities or family. The article did not elaborate why the “students” were living in other parts of the country, but it did mention that illegally worked in various occupations across the country.
There was also a push factor mentioned in this article, legal residency. I thought that it was interesting that as the students were finding out that their visas were in jeopardy they began to flea the country. The other students who were planning on coming to the United States canceled their flights. They were literally pushing to get out of the country because of legal documentation and laws. I had only thought of dramatic things such as famine and civil war being push factors in immigration, but now I see that laws and legal forms can also be a form of push immigration.
Although, this article did not specify if the immigrants were coming to America to be with family I assume that there was some sort of correlation between the “student” immigrants. For starters approximately 95% of the “students” were Indian nationals, mostly Andhra Pradesh. That fact is not really a lot of information, and I from it the reader can only make a crude assumption about the relationships all of the immigrants. In my imagination I can see the dean of Tri-Valley University immigrating to the United States himself and then setting up a system for relatives, friends, and family to work and live in the United States. I can also imagine a group of friends, similar to my own, talking about how they wanted to travel the world. I can hardly blame them for deciding to all immigrate to the states together for a few years by using this beat the system opportunity.
The challenges the United States faces with immigration and how the United States seems to treat immigrants is a very close relationship. For starters America loves immigration. This article points that the government even issues student visas to increase immigration. On the other hand the article emphasizes that the government wants immigrants to enter the states legally and legitimately. In the United States people can make their career by learning how to enforce immigration laws, and deporting people who immigrate to the states illegally. It is often an intense and interesting relationship.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
VA 1 article
Joy Prior
VAEDU 397
Sec 001
Graham, Mark Allen
Holmberg, Ryan. Dystopiaman Tetsumi Kudo: Nuclear angst and ecological breakdown are specters haunting the first U.S. retrospective to treat this major figure of the Japanese postwar ear. International Review: Art in America. Print. March 2009. Page 96-103.
Summary
In the article that author Ryan Holmberg critiques some of the exhibits of Tetsumi Kudo. The author describes some of Kudo’s more recognizable works and discusses some of the signature elements in Kudo’s work through the summary of his life. In 1958, the artist Kudo began his career in performative painting. In the early 1960s when he moved to Europe he began making Nouveau Realisme art. In most of these paintings he continually attacks utopian ideals and humanist beliefs. After working in Paris for twenty years he divided his time between France and Japan. Throughout this time his artwork also began to evolve. In his latter life he uses multicolored string and sculptures to attack the “heart of the matter” in Japan’s culture.
Describes
Kudo used mutated human faces and bright colors in a variety of mediums to capture the audience in an almost grotesque displays. My favorite piece described in the article was Your Portrait May 66 from 1966. It has two lawn chairs beneath fluorescent orange and green parasol under a black light. On each of the chairs there is a wax like corps, one man and one woman. Both figures only have one hand left and in their hand they are holding their most prized organ in a bird cage. In the woman’s bird cage is a heart, and in the man’s is a brain.
The artwork that was my least favorite was Cultivation by Radioactivity in the Electronic Circuit. In this piece Kudo put a human nose, nappy toy mouse, penis, and small cattails growing out of a swamp of fat. All of this is covered in a bubble, and it almost look like a Halloween snow globe. I didn’t like this one for a few reasons, but mainly because of Kudo’s obsession with the male reproductive organ is overwhelmingly degrading. The critic emphasized that the penis represented Kudo’s idea of devolution and the idea that single celled organisms can reproduce. I think this portrayal of the male sex organ makes mankind appear as lowly as swamp slugs, which is an idea that I do not support.
Interprets
The interpretation of Kudo work is centered around a four key subjects: devolution, the effect holocaust nuclear warfare has on mankind, and Japan’s culture. Devolution, the idea that species can regress to a single celled organism, is shown throughout his work mainly through the use of displaying the male reproductive organ in primitive surroundings. His art work often displays organs in nature in an attempt to portray the effect of nuclear activity on mankind. These human figures are often hollowed eyed waxy lumps and seem victims of some unethical artistically choice. Kudo depicts human organs in cages expressing the idea that humans are impression by social ideals. In his later work Kudo included multicolored strings to represent hereditary chromosomes, what he believed linked humankind together, and critiques Japan’s historical problems through statues. The underlining declaration of his work is an anti-utopian perspective and mocks humanists ideals.
Judges
The author, Holmberg, critiques much of Kudo’s work as if he were visiting a freak show. Throughout the article there are phrases such as: pervasively disfigured, catastrophes, painted in awful combinations of pastel and fluorescents colors, and nightmarish vein of Cold War science fiction. Much of what the author has to say about Kudo’s art work seems a fit description of Kudo’s work. Despite the seemingly foul taste some of the pieces leave in the author’s mouth Holmberg recognizes the importance of understanding Kudo’s life perspectives and philosophies when critiquing his pieces. Holmberg describes some of the key theories used throughout Kudo’s work and concludes with a positive reflection on the influence his pieces had in Japan’s politics.
Theoretical Stance
I do not believe that the author agreed with Kudo, but the author did respect the artist enough to strive and understand his work. Holmberg states, “I do not agree that the work is so positive: after all, impotence instituted on a universal scale would entail the end of the species.” The author seems to believe that Kudo’s highly anti-utopia attitude did not formulate a robust political response and was extremely grotesque. Holmberg seems to enjoy some of Kudo’s latter work more, and believes that Kudo found a sort of immortal refuge in critiquing the history of Japan’s culture. He also believes that much of Kudo’s latter work would not be possible or as expressive if Kudo had not explored the profane and harsh subjects portrayed in his earlier art work.
VAEDU 397
Sec 001
Graham, Mark Allen
Holmberg, Ryan. Dystopiaman Tetsumi Kudo: Nuclear angst and ecological breakdown are specters haunting the first U.S. retrospective to treat this major figure of the Japanese postwar ear. International Review: Art in America. Print. March 2009. Page 96-103.
Summary
In the article that author Ryan Holmberg critiques some of the exhibits of Tetsumi Kudo. The author describes some of Kudo’s more recognizable works and discusses some of the signature elements in Kudo’s work through the summary of his life. In 1958, the artist Kudo began his career in performative painting. In the early 1960s when he moved to Europe he began making Nouveau Realisme art. In most of these paintings he continually attacks utopian ideals and humanist beliefs. After working in Paris for twenty years he divided his time between France and Japan. Throughout this time his artwork also began to evolve. In his latter life he uses multicolored string and sculptures to attack the “heart of the matter” in Japan’s culture.
Describes
Kudo used mutated human faces and bright colors in a variety of mediums to capture the audience in an almost grotesque displays. My favorite piece described in the article was Your Portrait May 66 from 1966. It has two lawn chairs beneath fluorescent orange and green parasol under a black light. On each of the chairs there is a wax like corps, one man and one woman. Both figures only have one hand left and in their hand they are holding their most prized organ in a bird cage. In the woman’s bird cage is a heart, and in the man’s is a brain.
The artwork that was my least favorite was Cultivation by Radioactivity in the Electronic Circuit. In this piece Kudo put a human nose, nappy toy mouse, penis, and small cattails growing out of a swamp of fat. All of this is covered in a bubble, and it almost look like a Halloween snow globe. I didn’t like this one for a few reasons, but mainly because of Kudo’s obsession with the male reproductive organ is overwhelmingly degrading. The critic emphasized that the penis represented Kudo’s idea of devolution and the idea that single celled organisms can reproduce. I think this portrayal of the male sex organ makes mankind appear as lowly as swamp slugs, which is an idea that I do not support.
Interprets
The interpretation of Kudo work is centered around a four key subjects: devolution, the effect holocaust nuclear warfare has on mankind, and Japan’s culture. Devolution, the idea that species can regress to a single celled organism, is shown throughout his work mainly through the use of displaying the male reproductive organ in primitive surroundings. His art work often displays organs in nature in an attempt to portray the effect of nuclear activity on mankind. These human figures are often hollowed eyed waxy lumps and seem victims of some unethical artistically choice. Kudo depicts human organs in cages expressing the idea that humans are impression by social ideals. In his later work Kudo included multicolored strings to represent hereditary chromosomes, what he believed linked humankind together, and critiques Japan’s historical problems through statues. The underlining declaration of his work is an anti-utopian perspective and mocks humanists ideals.
Judges
The author, Holmberg, critiques much of Kudo’s work as if he were visiting a freak show. Throughout the article there are phrases such as: pervasively disfigured, catastrophes, painted in awful combinations of pastel and fluorescents colors, and nightmarish vein of Cold War science fiction. Much of what the author has to say about Kudo’s art work seems a fit description of Kudo’s work. Despite the seemingly foul taste some of the pieces leave in the author’s mouth Holmberg recognizes the importance of understanding Kudo’s life perspectives and philosophies when critiquing his pieces. Holmberg describes some of the key theories used throughout Kudo’s work and concludes with a positive reflection on the influence his pieces had in Japan’s politics.
Theoretical Stance
I do not believe that the author agreed with Kudo, but the author did respect the artist enough to strive and understand his work. Holmberg states, “I do not agree that the work is so positive: after all, impotence instituted on a universal scale would entail the end of the species.” The author seems to believe that Kudo’s highly anti-utopia attitude did not formulate a robust political response and was extremely grotesque. Holmberg seems to enjoy some of Kudo’s latter work more, and believes that Kudo found a sort of immortal refuge in critiquing the history of Japan’s culture. He also believes that much of Kudo’s latter work would not be possible or as expressive if Kudo had not explored the profane and harsh subjects portrayed in his earlier art work.
Monday, January 24, 2011
REG #8
Joy Marie Prior
Honors Religion 211
Section 12
Feb 7, 2011
Feb 7, 2011
The Sabbath; The Twelve
My friends and I love to go dancing. I can only think of a few weeks when we have not gone dancing on the weekends, and that would be finals week, and the weeks that everyone is home for the vacation. We love it. Most dances start getting good around eleven, and go until two. After reading about the Sabbath day I could not get the idea of keeping the Sabbath day holy out of my mind, and I made a promise that on Saturday night I would try and be home by midnight.
It was easy enough to make while I was reading my scriptures, but when I was there with my friends, and that song that I like came on, and I was driving everyone, and no one but me wanted to go home, and I did not have church until one, and there I was wondering if I should go home by myself or just stay. At around midnight I told my friends that if they wanted a ride with me I was going; no one really wanted to go. Everyone found another ride home, and I left.
When I got in the car and pulled away from the loud music and flashing lights I could not shake the feeling of overwhelming satisfaction. It filled my whole soul, and when I finally pulled into my apartment parking lot I sat there for a few minutes by myself. The feeling was so complete and full filling that I knew I would have to leave at midnight the next week, and the next, and the next if I wanted to keep this much love in my heart. To leave early was such a small sacrifice, but the reward was immeasurable.
Honors Religion 211
Section 12
Feb 7, 2011
Feb 7, 2011
The Sabbath; The Twelve
My friends and I love to go dancing. I can only think of a few weeks when we have not gone dancing on the weekends, and that would be finals week, and the weeks that everyone is home for the vacation. We love it. Most dances start getting good around eleven, and go until two. After reading about the Sabbath day I could not get the idea of keeping the Sabbath day holy out of my mind, and I made a promise that on Saturday night I would try and be home by midnight.
It was easy enough to make while I was reading my scriptures, but when I was there with my friends, and that song that I like came on, and I was driving everyone, and no one but me wanted to go home, and I did not have church until one, and there I was wondering if I should go home by myself or just stay. At around midnight I told my friends that if they wanted a ride with me I was going; no one really wanted to go. Everyone found another ride home, and I left.
When I got in the car and pulled away from the loud music and flashing lights I could not shake the feeling of overwhelming satisfaction. It filled my whole soul, and when I finally pulled into my apartment parking lot I sat there for a few minutes by myself. The feeling was so complete and full filling that I knew I would have to leave at midnight the next week, and the next, and the next if I wanted to keep this much love in my heart. To leave early was such a small sacrifice, but the reward was immeasurable.
REG #7
Joy Marie Prior
Honors Religion 211
Section 12
Feb 2, 2011
Feb 2, 2011
Spiritual Rebirth; Accepted in Samaria, Rejected in Nazareth
The idea of rebirth has always puzzled me. This week when I was sitting in sacrament I was reflecting on the reading and I wanted experience rebirth. I know that the sacrament is like being baptized again, but I wanted to embrace that feeling. So while I was sitting there I asked for more confirmation about my own spiritual rebirth. I felt a remarkable difference between my heart and motivations before I partook of the sacrament and afterwards. There was a sudden feeling in me that I was changed.
As I thought about how much better I felt about who I was and what I wanted to become I had a sneaking fear that if I did change I would become oddly different. That my friends would think that I was “not being” myself or that I was “rejecting” who I really was if I changed. This fear flaked off of me as I embraced the idea that I wanted to be changed, because if I was changed that could bring me closer to God. I was grateful for the reading and the confirmation that not only can I experience a rebirth but that I can embrace a new and changed self.
Honors Religion 211
Section 12
Feb 2, 2011
Feb 2, 2011
Spiritual Rebirth; Accepted in Samaria, Rejected in Nazareth
The idea of rebirth has always puzzled me. This week when I was sitting in sacrament I was reflecting on the reading and I wanted experience rebirth. I know that the sacrament is like being baptized again, but I wanted to embrace that feeling. So while I was sitting there I asked for more confirmation about my own spiritual rebirth. I felt a remarkable difference between my heart and motivations before I partook of the sacrament and afterwards. There was a sudden feeling in me that I was changed.
As I thought about how much better I felt about who I was and what I wanted to become I had a sneaking fear that if I did change I would become oddly different. That my friends would think that I was “not being” myself or that I was “rejecting” who I really was if I changed. This fear flaked off of me as I embraced the idea that I wanted to be changed, because if I was changed that could bring me closer to God. I was grateful for the reading and the confirmation that not only can I experience a rebirth but that I can embrace a new and changed self.
REG #6
Joy Marie Prior
Honors Religion 211
Section 12
January 31, 2011
January 31, 2011
Baptism and Temptations
The real wow factor in this passage was that Jesus Christ was continually being tempted by the Devil. For some reason I was under the false impression that after the Devil tempted him three times the old serpent gave up. The passages of scriptures that say He will be tempted in all manners and the quote from C.S. Lewis and the passages revealed to me that Jesus Christ was tempted on all different levels, and by all different temptations from the Devil. While I was pondering on the different methods that the Devil tempted Jesus Christ with I started thinking about the different methods that the Devil tempts me. In short I realized that all temptations come from the Devil. I also made the realization that these temptations are to distract me from who I truly am; if I follow the example of Jesus Christ I can overcome temptations by remembering who I am, and following the loving spirit of the Holy Ghost.
Honors Religion 211
Section 12
January 31, 2011
January 31, 2011
Baptism and Temptations
The real wow factor in this passage was that Jesus Christ was continually being tempted by the Devil. For some reason I was under the false impression that after the Devil tempted him three times the old serpent gave up. The passages of scriptures that say He will be tempted in all manners and the quote from C.S. Lewis and the passages revealed to me that Jesus Christ was tempted on all different levels, and by all different temptations from the Devil. While I was pondering on the different methods that the Devil tempted Jesus Christ with I started thinking about the different methods that the Devil tempts me. In short I realized that all temptations come from the Devil. I also made the realization that these temptations are to distract me from who I truly am; if I follow the example of Jesus Christ I can overcome temptations by remembering who I am, and following the loving spirit of the Holy Ghost.
GEOG bibliography
Besmehn, Michelle. National Geographic Channel gets Some New Best Friends: Best Friends Animal Society. Web. National Geographic, 13 Dec. 2007. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Roach, John. Navajo Help Save Unique Sheep From Extinction. National Geographic News: Reporting Your World Daily. 30 August 2005. Web 28 October 2010. Web 21 January 2011.
The Return of Navajo Boy: Screening & Discussion. National Geographic. Web. 8 September 2008. Web. 21 January 2011.< http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/allroads/2008/09/the-return-of-navajo-boy-scree-2.html>.
Roberts, David. Finding Everett Ruess. Web. National Geographic, April/May 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Miller, Mark. Road Trip: Navajo and Hopi Lands, Arizona: National Geographic’s Drives of a Lifetime Series. Web. National Geographic Traveler. Web. 21 January 2011.
Bruchac, Joseph, Begay, Shonot. Navajo Long Walk: the Tragic Story of a Proud People’s Forced March From Their Homeland. National Geographic Society, 2002. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Natural Resources. The Navajo Nation Division of Econoimic Development, Window Rock Arizna. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Roberts, David. Finding Everett Ruess. Web. National Geographic. April/May 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Shirley, Joe. American Anthropological Association. Menasha, WI. 1963. Web. Navajo Nation. Web. 21 January, 2011.< http://navajopeople.org/navajo-nation.htm>.
Besmehn, Michelle. National Geographic Channel gets Some New Best Friends: Best Friends Animal Society. Web. National Geographic, 13 Dec. 2007. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Navajo Tribe. Social Studies. Web. 22 January, 2011..
Our News Wrap-up! Best Friends Animal Society. Web. 22 January, 2011.
Roach, John. Navajo Help Save Unique Sheep From Extinction. National Geographic News: Reporting Your World Daily. 30 August 2005. Web 28 October 2010. Web 21 January 2011.
The Return of Navajo Boy: Screening & Discussion. National Geographic. Web. 8 September 2008. Web. 21 January 2011.< http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/allroads/2008/09/the-return-of-navajo-boy-scree-2.html>.
Roberts, David. Finding Everett Ruess. Web. National Geographic, April/May 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Miller, Mark. Road Trip: Navajo and Hopi Lands, Arizona: National Geographic’s Drives of a Lifetime Series. Web. National Geographic Traveler. Web. 21 January 2011.
Bruchac, Joseph, Begay, Shonot. Navajo Long Walk: the Tragic Story of a Proud People’s Forced March From Their Homeland. National Geographic Society, 2002. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Natural Resources. The Navajo Nation Division of Econoimic Development, Window Rock Arizna. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Roberts, David. Finding Everett Ruess. Web. National Geographic. April/May 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Shirley, Joe. American Anthropological Association. Menasha, WI. 1963. Web. Navajo Nation. Web. 21 January, 2011.< http://navajopeople.org/navajo-nation.htm>.
Besmehn, Michelle. National Geographic Channel gets Some New Best Friends: Best Friends Animal Society. Web. National Geographic, 13 Dec. 2007. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
Navajo Tribe. Social Studies. Web. 22 January, 2011.
Our News Wrap-up! Best Friends Animal Society. Web. 22 January, 2011.
GOEG 2nd draft
The Navajo Nation is the Navajo Reservation; it is located in the four-corners area. This is the one place in the world where four states: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet, creating a perfect square. The image of four separate identities meeting seems to embody the Navajo Nation. This is a place for differences to meet: the ancestors, tourists, locals, and clans; the Navajo religious tradition, Catholics, Mormons, and modern technology; the desert, mountains, snow, and heat. Unlike other boundaries that a separated by a common river or are divided by a vast ocean, the differences seem to face each other as abruptly as each of the four states. Compared to the skyscrapers and freeway entrances surrounding the Navajo Nation, it seems that change on the reservation happens as slowly as the arches that appear in the sandstone.
My love for the Navajo Nation really started over a conversation about irrigation ditches. 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, and yet I felt drawn to it, all because it had irrigation ditches.
For this report I read five particular National Geographic articles, each one relating to one 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.
Location
Besmehn, Michelle. National Geographic Channel gets Some New Best Friends: Best Friends Animal Society. Web National Geographic, 13 Dec. 2007. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
With roughly 27,000 square miles the Navajo Nation is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America and masked by Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona boarders (Navajo). It is the largest Indian reservation on the United States continent. Most of the reservation rests at an altitude between 5,000 and 7,000 feet (Shirley). It is near Lake Powell, by the four corner area, but to the Diné, or the Navajo people, the Navajo Nation is protected by the Four Sacred Mountains.
The Best Friends animal society is an example of one of the surrounding facilities that impacts the reservation. Best Friends is considered a the haven for hundreds of dogs, cats, and other abandoned animals. It is the largest national sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals. Best Friends worked with the Fredonia Humane Society provides free spay and neuter services to the people living in the Gap, an area apart of the Navajo Reservation. The initial program offered a limit to the number of free services, and many locals exceeded the limit. Currently, Best Friends charges most of the members of the Navajo Nation to spay and neuter dogs and cats. Programs such as Best Friends that surround the area are known for establishing programs to help the Navajo Nation, but few of them address many of the major concerns of the Diné
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. For the Diné the wool rugs with the jagged black and red patterns are a woven example of centuries of cultural and history. Despite the United States attempts to civilize the Diné the land between the Four Sacred Mountains seems to cradle the Navajo Traditional Sheepherders.
How the churro sheep transformed the Navajo Nation in the early 1600s. After the Spanish colonists introduced sheep to the Navajo people 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 the wool. For hundreds of years the Diné have preferred the churro wool because it is less greasy, and requires less precious water 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 then led a once proud people across hundreds of miles 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 at organization of the Navajo Reservation when the Diné were allowed to return to their homelands the Untied States 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 United States 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 slaughters continued until there were less than 450 Churro sheep remaining.
In 1977, McNeal started a program called Diné bé iiná, or The Navajo Way of Life, a program based on establishing herds of Churro for the Diné. After searching 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 woven the sacred Churro back into their culture. Weavers still ask spiderwomen for help when weaving traditional rugs.
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 sun baked 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 Arizona, the Navajo Nation capital city, to debate (in Navajo and English) concerns from across the reservation (Navajo).
As 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. United States delegates distributed land in the eastern border to settlers, tribes, and individuals who were whiling to maintain the property. The unique distribution of land 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 as people realized that unlike herds and crops a relative could lie about how much money he possessed some members began to be suspicious of one another (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
Miller, Mark. Road Trip: Navajo and Hopi Lands, Arizona: National Geographic’s Drives of a Lifetime Series. National Geographic Traveler. Web Web 21 January 2011.
The next article is a map and recommended road trip through the Navajo Nation and into the Hopi Reservation. It not only includes descriptive directions, but the purpose of the article suggests the important influence tourism has on the Navajo Nation. Most people in the Navajo Nation, locals and tourists, travel along the High Ways. The National Geographic recommend a 425-mile loop route that starts at Tuba city and runs through the Navajo Nation through the Hopi Reservation (a reservation surrounded by the Navajo Nation) and back to tuba city. Some of the sites included in the tour are Navajo National Monument and Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Between each of the suggested stops are hundred mile long stretches of Highways and old Route 59. Most of the cities along the route included a few scattered houses, gas stations, and basketball hoops. Locals race beside the slow driving tourists to reach the grocery store and school. Even though the article recommended Route 59 and US 160 a driver that only travels along the sun bleached assault roads will never see the many faces of the Navajo Nation. Much of the reservation can only be found through the dust clouds made on the wondering dirt roads.
Region
Roberts, David. Finding Everett Ruess. Web National Geographic, April/May 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2011
As the author investigates the man’s death the reader catches many of the common elements of the Navajo Nation draped throughout the story. For starters the article is about a seventeen-year-old Youngman who disappeared on the Navajo Nation during the 1930s. The impact of the FBI and United State Federal Government has on the Navajo Nation left a signature mark on the regions development.
In the article the influence the Federal government has over the area is lightly laced throughout the story. The Navajo Nation has refused to adopt a new government under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 three separate times (Navajo). Yet, the Navajo governing council works with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to enforce laws and perform routine work within the reservation. All proposed laws are reviewed by the United States Secretary of the Interior of Secretarial Review board (Navajo). There are elections on the reservation and members are expected to follow the Navajo Tribal Code. When the Navajo Nation was established Window Rock, Arizona was designated as the capital city because it was near the Fort Defiance army base.
In the article when Bellson discovers the skeleton he calls the author and then the FBI according to Navajo Nation regulations. Bellson recounts that as soon as the FBI agent from Monticello saw the corps she declared it a Navajo Burial site, and concluded it should not be disturbed. Later Bellson contacted Maldonado, the supervisory archaeologist in the Cultural Resource Compliance Section of the Navajo Nation. After Maldonado reviewed the skeleton he concluded that if it was a traditional Navajo Burial the face would have been turned east and in the crevice there would have been a saddle. Today, the location of Window Rock and a forgotten skeleton lying in the sand are only a few examples of the many influence the Federal Government has had over the regional development of the Navajo Nation.
Some of the changes on the Navajo Nation have seemed to happen as slowly as the formation of window rock, while other changes are like the long stretches of high way that extend from one end of the reservation to the other without seeming to end and begin. Still some of the changes are as drastic as the first snow fall: cold, harsh, and slowly melted by the sun. The truth is that in a place with so many differences change is inevitable. One family vacation, I remember feeling the four metallic state line markers trace across my back as I laid on the four-corner plaque smiling for the camera. My heart felt as if it was pounding so deep into the earth that if I stood up I might just lift the whole earth up with me, and I only rolled over off the plaque when my brother insisted it was his turn to try. The plaque itself was hard and the metal pocked and probed me; I had lain with my arms and legs spread out hundreds of times on picnic blankets—why I can still remember that summer vacation was because I knew I was at a place where differences were meeting. When I was there I could not help but to feel a part of the earth and a part of something grander than myself. The Navajo Nations gives me this same feeling, the sensation that beauty can only come at the place were differences can meet.
Navajo Tribe. Social Studies. Web http://www.kidport.com/reflib/SocialStudies/NativeAmericans/Navajo.htm Web 22 January, 2011.
Our News Wrap-up! Best Friends Animal Society. Web http://www.bestfriends.org/ Web 22 January, 2011.
My love for the Navajo Nation really started over a conversation about irrigation ditches. 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, and yet I felt drawn to it, all because it had irrigation ditches.
For this report I read five particular National Geographic articles, each one relating to one 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.
Location
Besmehn, Michelle. National Geographic Channel gets Some New Best Friends: Best Friends Animal Society. Web National Geographic, 13 Dec. 2007. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
With roughly 27,000 square miles the Navajo Nation is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America and masked by Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona boarders (Navajo). It is the largest Indian reservation on the United States continent. Most of the reservation rests at an altitude between 5,000 and 7,000 feet (Shirley). It is near Lake Powell, by the four corner area, but to the Diné, or the Navajo people, the Navajo Nation is protected by the Four Sacred Mountains.
The Best Friends animal society is an example of one of the surrounding facilities that impacts the reservation. Best Friends is considered a the haven for hundreds of dogs, cats, and other abandoned animals. It is the largest national sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals. Best Friends worked with the Fredonia Humane Society provides free spay and neuter services to the people living in the Gap, an area apart of the Navajo Reservation. The initial program offered a limit to the number of free services, and many locals exceeded the limit. Currently, Best Friends charges most of the members of the Navajo Nation to spay and neuter dogs and cats. Programs such as Best Friends that surround the area are known for establishing programs to help the Navajo Nation, but few of them address many of the major concerns of the Diné
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. For the Diné the wool rugs with the jagged black and red patterns are a woven example of centuries of cultural and history. Despite the United States attempts to civilize the Diné the land between the Four Sacred Mountains seems to cradle the Navajo Traditional Sheepherders.
How the churro sheep transformed the Navajo Nation in the early 1600s. After the Spanish colonists introduced sheep to the Navajo people 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 the wool. For hundreds of years the Diné have preferred the churro wool because it is less greasy, and requires less precious water 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 then led a once proud people across hundreds of miles 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 at organization of the Navajo Reservation when the Diné were allowed to return to their homelands the Untied States 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 United States 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 slaughters continued until there were less than 450 Churro sheep remaining.
In 1977, McNeal started a program called Diné bé iiná, or The Navajo Way of Life, a program based on establishing herds of Churro for the Diné. After searching 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 woven the sacred Churro back into their culture. Weavers still ask spiderwomen for help when weaving traditional rugs.
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 sun baked 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 Arizona, the Navajo Nation capital city, to debate (in Navajo and English) concerns from across the reservation (Navajo).
As 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. United States delegates distributed land in the eastern border to settlers, tribes, and individuals who were whiling to maintain the property. The unique distribution of land 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 as people realized that unlike herds and crops a relative could lie about how much money he possessed some members began to be suspicious of one another (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
Miller, Mark. Road Trip: Navajo and Hopi Lands, Arizona: National Geographic’s Drives of a Lifetime Series. National Geographic Traveler. Web Web 21 January 2011.
The next article is a map and recommended road trip through the Navajo Nation and into the Hopi Reservation. It not only includes descriptive directions, but the purpose of the article suggests the important influence tourism has on the Navajo Nation. Most people in the Navajo Nation, locals and tourists, travel along the High Ways. The National Geographic recommend a 425-mile loop route that starts at Tuba city and runs through the Navajo Nation through the Hopi Reservation (a reservation surrounded by the Navajo Nation) and back to tuba city. Some of the sites included in the tour are Navajo National Monument and Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Between each of the suggested stops are hundred mile long stretches of Highways and old Route 59. Most of the cities along the route included a few scattered houses, gas stations, and basketball hoops. Locals race beside the slow driving tourists to reach the grocery store and school. Even though the article recommended Route 59 and US 160 a driver that only travels along the sun bleached assault roads will never see the many faces of the Navajo Nation. Much of the reservation can only be found through the dust clouds made on the wondering dirt roads.
Region
Roberts, David. Finding Everett Ruess. Web National Geographic, April/May 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2011
As the author investigates the man’s death the reader catches many of the common elements of the Navajo Nation draped throughout the story. For starters the article is about a seventeen-year-old Youngman who disappeared on the Navajo Nation during the 1930s. The impact of the FBI and United State Federal Government has on the Navajo Nation left a signature mark on the regions development.
In the article the influence the Federal government has over the area is lightly laced throughout the story. The Navajo Nation has refused to adopt a new government under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 three separate times (Navajo). Yet, the Navajo governing council works with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to enforce laws and perform routine work within the reservation. All proposed laws are reviewed by the United States Secretary of the Interior of Secretarial Review board (Navajo). There are elections on the reservation and members are expected to follow the Navajo Tribal Code. When the Navajo Nation was established Window Rock, Arizona was designated as the capital city because it was near the Fort Defiance army base.
In the article when Bellson discovers the skeleton he calls the author and then the FBI according to Navajo Nation regulations. Bellson recounts that as soon as the FBI agent from Monticello saw the corps she declared it a Navajo Burial site, and concluded it should not be disturbed. Later Bellson contacted Maldonado, the supervisory archaeologist in the Cultural Resource Compliance Section of the Navajo Nation. After Maldonado reviewed the skeleton he concluded that if it was a traditional Navajo Burial the face would have been turned east and in the crevice there would have been a saddle. Today, the location of Window Rock and a forgotten skeleton lying in the sand are only a few examples of the many influence the Federal Government has had over the regional development of the Navajo Nation.
Some of the changes on the Navajo Nation have seemed to happen as slowly as the formation of window rock, while other changes are like the long stretches of high way that extend from one end of the reservation to the other without seeming to end and begin. Still some of the changes are as drastic as the first snow fall: cold, harsh, and slowly melted by the sun. The truth is that in a place with so many differences change is inevitable. One family vacation, I remember feeling the four metallic state line markers trace across my back as I laid on the four-corner plaque smiling for the camera. My heart felt as if it was pounding so deep into the earth that if I stood up I might just lift the whole earth up with me, and I only rolled over off the plaque when my brother insisted it was his turn to try. The plaque itself was hard and the metal pocked and probed me; I had lain with my arms and legs spread out hundreds of times on picnic blankets—why I can still remember that summer vacation was because I knew I was at a place where differences were meeting. When I was there I could not help but to feel a part of the earth and a part of something grander than myself. The Navajo Nations gives me this same feeling, the sensation that beauty can only come at the place were differences can meet.
Navajo Tribe. Social Studies. Web http://www.kidport.com/reflib/SocialStudies/NativeAmericans/Navajo.htm Web 22 January, 2011.
Our News Wrap-up! Best Friends Animal Society. Web http://www.bestfriends.org/ Web 22 January, 2011.
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