Navajo

Early History

Archaeological and linguistic evidence shows that the Navajo migrated from present-day northwest Canada and Alaska to the American Southwest around 1000 CE. Linguistic similarities suggest that the Navajo and Apache tribes were once a cohesive ethnic group, speaking the dialect of the Athabaskan and Apachean language family. Navajos were considered highly adaptive to changing conditions and were able to incorporate things from other cultures. They were famously known to their Pueblo neighbors as traders and raiders. The Pueblo groups exchanged maize and woven textiles for meat and hides of deer, antelope, and elk. The Spanish arrived in the 1500s, bringing with them horses, sheep, and goats of European origin. After Spanish colonization in the 17th century, Navajo life became more sedentary as the people established camps to raise sheep and corn. They learned weaving from the Pueblos and silver crafting from their Mexican neighbors.

Shaping of the Navajo Nation

Anglo Americans and Navajos lived in relative peace during the 1800s until a Navajo leader named Narbona was killed in 1849. In the 1850s the U.S. government began to set up forts in Navajo territory, including Fort Defiance and Fort Wingate. After the Spanish were expelled by the Anglo Americans in the southwestern United States, the Navajos fell under the scrutiny of the U.S. government, which was determined to settle the West. The Treaty of 1868 is a significant event in Navajo history and Navajo/U.S. government relations. Unlike so many other Native American tribes during the 19th century, the Navajo were allowed to return to a portion of their traditional homelands. Attempts were being made to round up tribal groups in an effort to solve the “Indian problem” by creating reservations. In 1863, the dispossession of their lands was a major blow to the Navajo. The U.S. government was trying to prevent raids inter-tribally and on encroaching settlers. In addition, whites suspected that there were valuable minerals [Page 903]on Diné lands. Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson was called in with his army to defeat the Navajo. Carson commanded his soldiers to shoot on sight men, women, and children. He also wiped out the Diné food supply, burning crops, killing domesticated animals, and torching houses. In February of 1864, the Navajo began to turn themselves in to army forts in surrender.

...