Canada :
99-609: Cummings Mesa is a summit (elevation 6,214 feet [1,894 m]) on the Navajo Nation in northern Coconino County , Arizona and southern San Juan , Utah in the western United States , about 6 miles (9.7 km) west-southwest of Navajo Mountain . Cummings Mesa was named for Byron H. Cummings, a scientist who worked in the area. 37°0′N 111°3′W / 37.000°N 111.050°W / 37.000; -111.050 Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( Navajo : Naabeehó Bináhásdzo ), also known as Navajoland ,
198-765: A Native American people of the Southwestern United States . With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members as of 2021 , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States; additionally, the Navajo Nation has the largest reservation in the country. The reservation straddles the Four Corners region and covers more than 27,325 square miles (70,770 square kilometers) of land in Arizona , Utah , and New Mexico . The Navajo Reservation
297-408: A Navajo and his three wives to come in and then arrested them for having a plural marriage. A small group of Navajos used force to free the women and retreated to Beautiful Mountain with 30 or 40 sympathizers. They refused to surrender to the agent, and local law enforcement and military refused the agent's request for an armed engagement. General Scott arrived, and with the help of Henry Chee Dodge ,
396-457: A bigger burden, fertility is so highly valued that males are expected to provide economic resources (known as bridewealth ). Corn is a symbol of fertility in Navajo culture as they eat white corn in the wedding ceremonies. It is considered to be immoral and/or stealing if one does not provide for the other in that premarital or marital relationship. A hogan , the traditional Navajo home, is built as
495-518: A hogan. According to Kehoe, this style of housing is distinctive to the Navajos. She writes, "Even today, a solidly constructed, log-walled Hogan is preferred by many Navajo families." Most Navajo members today live in apartments and houses in urban areas. Those who practice the Navajo religion regard the hogan as sacred. The religious song " The Blessingway " ( hózhǫ́ǫ́jí ) describes the first hogan as being built by Coyote with help from Beavers to be
594-497: A leader among the Navajo, defused the situation. During the time on the reservation, the Navajo tribe was forced to assimilate into white society. Navajo children were sent to boarding schools within the reservation and off the reservation. The first Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school opened at Fort Defiance in 1870 and led the way for eight others to be established. Many older Navajos were against this education and would hide their children to keep them from being taken. Once
693-520: A long relationship with Pueblo people and a willingness to incorporate Puebloan ideas and linguistic variance. There were long-established trading practices between the groups. Mid-16th century Spanish records recount that the Pueblo exchanged maize and woven cotton goods for bison meat, hides, and stone from Athabaskans traveling to the pueblos or living nearby. In the 18th century, the Spanish reported that
792-496: A loose alliance to fight Apache and Comanche bands for the next 20 years. During this time there were relatively minor raids by Navajo bands and Spanish citizens against each other. In 1800, Governor Chacon led 500 men to the Tunicha Mountains against the Navajo. Twenty Navajo chiefs asked for peace. In 1804 and 1805, the Navajo and Spaniards mounted major expeditions against each others' settlements. In May 1805, another peace
891-575: A mediation-style process. While the people were held at Bosque Redondo, the U.S. Army handled severe crimes. Lesser crimes and disputes remained in the purview of the villages' chiefs. After the Navajo return from Bosque Redondo in 1868, listed criminal offenses were handled by the US Indian Agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs with support of the U.S. Army, while lesser disputes remained under Navajo control. In 1892, BIA Agent David L. Shipley established
990-645: A precautionary measure to protect citizens and the Navajos from each other. However, the Spanish/Mexican-Navajo pattern of raids and expeditions continued. Over 400 New Mexican militia conducted a campaign against the Navajo, against the wishes of the Territorial Governor, in 1860–61. They killed Navajo warriors, captured women and children for slaves, and destroyed crops and dwellings. The Navajos call this period Naahondzood , "the fearing time." In 1861, Brigadier-General James H. Carleton , Commander of
1089-528: A proposal by the BIA that segregated units be created for the Indians. The Navajos gained firsthand experience with how they could assimilate into the modern world, and many did not return to the overcrowded reservation, which had few jobs. Four hundred Navajo code talkers played a famous role during World War II by relaying radio messages using their own language. The Japanese were unable to understand or decode it. In
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#17328516539601188-585: A proposal to change the official designation from "Navajo" to "Diné" , a traditional name for the people. Some people said that Diné represented the people in their time of suffering before the Long Walk , and that Navajo is the appropriate designation for the future. In the Navajo language , Diné means "the People", a term used in many languages as an endonym . Among the Navajo populace, both terms are employed. In 2017,
1287-604: A result, General Vogel recommended their recruitment into the USMC code talker program. Each Navajo went through a basic boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot , San Diego before being assigned to Field Signal Battalion training at Camp Pendleton . Once the code talkers completed training in the States, they were sent to the Pacific for assignment to the Marine combat divisions. With that said, there
1386-419: A shelter for either a man or a woman. Male hogans are square or conical with a distinct rectangular entrance, while a female hogan is an eight-sided house. Hogans are made of logs and covered in mud, with the door always facing east to welcome the sun each morning. Navajos also have several types of hogans for lodging and ceremonial use. Ceremonies, such as healing ceremonies or the kinaaldá , take place inside
1485-473: A source of prestige. Also during this period, under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, the federal government was encouraging tribes to revive their governments according to constitutional models shaped after that of the United States. Because of the outrage and discontent about the herd issues, the Navajo voters did not trust the language of the proposed initial constitution outlined in
1584-557: A time when the Dust Bowl was endangering the Great Plains, the government decided that the land of the Navajo Nation could support only a fixed number of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses. The Federal government believed that land erosion was worsening in the area and the only solution was to reduce the number of livestock. In 1933, John Collier was appointed commissioner of the BIA. In many ways, he worked to reform government relations with
1683-543: A voluntary basis, at market rates, through this program if their tribe participated. Through March 2017, under the Tribal Nations Buy-Back Program, individual Navajo members received $ 104 million for purchase of their interests in land; 155,503 acres were returned to the Navajo Nation for its territory by the Department of Interior under this program. In the traditional Navajo culture, local leadership
1782-401: Is a system of clans or K’é that defines relationships between individuals and families. The clan system is exogamous : people can only marry (or date) partners outside their own clans, which for this purpose include the clans of their four grandparents. Some Navajos favor their children to marry into their father's clan. While clans are associated with a geographical area, the area is not for
1881-470: Is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona , northwestern New Mexico , and southeastern Utah . The seat of government is located in Window Rock, Arizona . At roughly 17,544,500 acres (71,000 km ; 27,413 sq mi), the Navajo Nation is the largest Indian reservation in the United States, exceeding that of ten U.S. states . It
1980-672: Is available on the Navajo Nation Office of Legislative Services, as well as a section for amendments beginning from January 2014 to December 2022. There is a map that outlines the boundaries of the Navajo Nation, available on the Navajo Land Department's Website. Also, see Dine Land Use's website for the history of the Navajo Nation's land base. Lands within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation are composed of Public, Tribal Trust, Tribal Fee, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Private, State, and BIA Indian Allotment Lands. Within
2079-400: Is called the "checkerboard area". It resulted in the loss of much Navajo land. In the southeastern area of the reservation, the Navajo Nation has purchased some ranches, which it refers to as its Nahata Dził , or New Lands. These lands are leased to Navajo individuals, livestock companies, and grazing associations. In 1996, Elouise Cobell ( Blackfeet ) filed a class action lawsuit against
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#17328516539602178-450: Is closely related to the languages of the Apache ; the Navajo and Apache are believed to have migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska , where the majority of Athabaskan speakers reside. Additionally, some Navajo know Navajo Sign Language , which is either a dialect or daughter of Plains Sign Talk . Some also know Plains Sign Talk itself. Southern Athabaskan peoples, including
2277-469: Is one of the few reservations whose lands overlap the nation's traditional homelands. In 2010, the reservation was home to 173,667 out of 332,129 Navajo tribal members; the remaining 158,462 tribal members lived outside the reservation, in urban areas (26%), border towns (10%), and elsewhere in the U.S. (17%). In 2020, the number of tribal members increased to 399,494, surpassing the Cherokee Nation as
2376-414: Is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia . The Navajo language is spoken throughout the region, and most Navajo also speak English. The states with the largest Navajo populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (108,305). More than three quarters of the enrolled Navajo population resides in these two states. Besides being enrolled in the Navajo Nation , some Navajo people are citizens of
2475-401: The 37th parallel in the north; the southern border as a line running through Fort Defiance ; the eastern border as a line running through Fort Lyon ; and in the west as longitude 109° 30′. As drafted in 1868, the boundaries were defined as: the following district of country, to wit: bounded on the north by the 37th degree of north latitude, south by an east and west line passing through
2574-520: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) attempted to mitigate environmental damage due to over-grazing on reservations. Significant pushback was given by the Navajo, who did not feel that they had been sufficiently consulted before the measures were implemented. BIA Superintendent John Collier 's attempt to reduce livestock herd size affected responses to his other efforts to improve conditions for Native Americans. The herds had been central to Navajo culture, and were
2673-653: The Indian Rights Association denounced Collier as a 'dictator' and accused him of a "near reign of terror" on the Navajo reservation. Dippie adds that "He became an object of 'burning hatred' among the very people whose problems so preoccupied him." The long-term result was strong Navajo opposition to Collier's Indian New Deal. Many Navajo young people moved to cities to work in urban factories during World War II. Many Navajo men volunteered for military service in keeping with their warrior culture, and they served in integrated units. The War Department in 1940 rejected
2772-575: The Meriam Report was published in 1929 by the Secretary of Interior, Hubert Work . This report discussed Indian boarding schools as being inadequate in terms of diet, medical services, dormitory overcrowding, undereducated teachers, restrictive discipline, and manual labor by the students to keep the school running. This report was the precursor to education reforms initiated under President Franklin D. Roosevelt , under which two new schools were built on
2871-725: The Tewa language , meaning a large area of cultivated lands. By the 1640s, the Spanish began using the term Navajo to refer to the Diné. During the 1670s, the Spanish wrote that the Diné lived in a region known as Dinétah , about 60 miles (97 km) west of the Rio Chama Valley region. In the 1770s, the Spanish sent military expeditions against the Navajo in the Mount Taylor and Chuska Mountain regions of New Mexico. The Spanish, Navajo and Hopi continued to trade with each other and formed
2970-637: The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe . It is a repository for sound recordings, manuscripts, paintings, and sandpainting tapestries of the Navajos. It also featured exhibits to express the beauty, dignity, and logic of the Navajo religion. When Klah met Cabot in 1921, he witnessed decades of efforts by the US government and missionaries to assimilate the Navajos into mainstream society. The museum
3069-561: The federally recognized Colorado River Indian Tribes . The Navajo are speakers of a Na-Dené Southern Athabaskan language which they call Diné bizaad (lit. 'People's language'). The term Navajo comes from Spanish missionaries and historians who referred to the Pueblo Indians through this term, although they referred to themselves as the Diné, meaning '(the) people'. The language comprises two geographic, mutually intelligible dialects. It
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3168-680: The "Navajo Nation Supreme Court", and redefined "Trial Courts of the Navajo Tribe" as "District Courts of the Navajo Nation". Navajo courts are governed by Title 7, "Courts and Procedures", of the Navajo Tribal Code. From 1988 to 2006, there were seven judicial districts and two satellite courts. As of 2010 , there are ten judicial districts, centered respectively in Alamo (Alamo/Tó'hajiilee) , Aneth , Chinle , Crownpoint , Dilkon , Kayenta , Ramah , Shiprock , Tuba City and Window Rock . All of
3267-417: The 1940s, large quantities of uranium were discovered in Navajo land. From then into the early 21st century, the U.S. allowed mining without sufficient environmental protection for workers, waterways, and land. The Navajos have claimed high rates of death and illness from lung disease and cancer resulting from environmental contamination. Since the 1970s, legislation has helped to regulate the industry and reduce
3366-399: The 4,000 to 5,000 people. Large-scale crop failure and disease were also endemic during this time, as were raids by other tribes and white civilians. Some Navajos froze in the winter because they could make only poor shelters from the few materials they were given. This period is known among the Navajos as "The Fearing Time". In addition, a small group of Mescalero Apache , longtime enemies of
3465-618: The Arizona and Utah portions of the Navajo Nation, there are a few private and BIA Indian Allotments in comparison to New Mexico's portion, which consists of a checkerboard pattern of all the aforementioned lands. The Eastern Agency, as it is referred to, consists of primarily Tribal Fee, BIA Indian Allotments, and BLM Lands. Although there are more Tribal Fee Lands in New Mexico, the Navajo Nation government intends to convert most or all Tribal Fee Lands to Tribal Trust, which has some benefits according to
3564-404: The Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Title II Amendment of 1989 established the Navajo Nation government as a three-part system (changes to the judicial branch had already begun in 1958). Two branches are independent of the council (where all government decision making was centralized before the change). The president and vice-president are elected every four years. The Executive nominates judges of
3663-638: The Diné is integral to their society. The system has rules of behavior that extend to the manner of refined culture that the Navajo people call "walking in beauty". The philosophy and clan system were established long before the Spanish colonial occupation of Dinétah, through to July 25, 1868, when Congress ratified the Navajo Treaty with President Andrew Johnson , signed by Barboncito , Armijo , and other chiefs and headmen present at Bosque Redondo , New Mexico. The Navajo people have continued to transform their conceptual understandings of government since signing
3762-522: The District Courts, and the Supreme Court. The nation consists of several divisions, departments, offices, and programs as established by law. In 2006, a committee for a "Navajo Constitution" began advocating for a Navajo constitutional convention. The committee's goal was to have representation from every chapter on the Navajo Nation represented at a constitutional convention. The committee proposed
3861-498: The Federal District of New Mexico, initiated a series of military actions against the Navajos and Apaches. Colonel Kit Carson was at the new Fort Wingate with Army troops and volunteer New Mexico militia. Carleton ordered Carson to kill Mescalero Apache men and destroy any Mescalero property he could find. Carleton believed these harsh tactics would bring any Indian Tribe under control. The Mescalero surrendered and were sent to
3960-624: The Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the council. As of 2006, 44 chapters were LGA certified. The Navajo Nation is divided into five agencies. The seat of government is located at the Navajo Governmental Campus in Window Rock/ Tségháhoodzání . These agencies are composed of several chapters each, and reflect the five Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agencies created in the early formation of
4059-637: The Interior for Secretarial Review , through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Most conflicts and controversies between the federal government of the United States and the Nation are settled by negotiations outlined in political agreements. The Navajo Nation Code consists of codified rules and laws of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation Code has 26 titles, covering subjects from the Navajo Nation Government to Commerce and Trade to Water. The 2010 version
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4158-528: The Native American tribes, but the reduction program was devastating for the Navajo, for whom their livestock was so important. The government set land capacity in terms of "sheep units". In 1930 the Navajos grazed 1,100,000 mature sheep units. These sheep provided half the cash income for the individual Navajo. Collier's solution was to first launch a voluntary reduction program, which was made mandatory two years later in 1935. The government paid for part of
4257-639: The Navajo Court of Indian Offenses and appointed judges. Previously, judicial authority was exercised by the Indian Agent. In 1950, the Navajo Tribal Council decided that judges should be elected. By the time of the judicial reorganization of 1958, the council had determined that, due to problems with delayed decisions and partisan politics, appointment was a better method of selecting judges. The president makes appointments, subject to confirmation by
4356-469: The Navajo Nation Council consisted of 88 representatives. The Navajo voted for the change in an effort to have a more efficient government and to curb tribal government corruption associated with council members who established secure seats. In 1927, agents of the U.S. federal government initiated a new form of local government entities called Chapters , modeled after jurisdictional governments in
4455-453: The Navajo Nation Council rejected legislation to change the name to "Diné Nation", citing potential "confusion and frustration among Navajo citizens and non-Navajos". In Navajo, the geographic entity with its legally defined borders is known as Naabeehó Bináhásdzo . This contrasts with Diné Bikéyah and Naabeehó Bikéyah for the general idea of "Navajoland". Neither of these terms should be confused with Dinétah ,
4554-484: The Navajo Nation Council; however, the president is limited to the list of names vetted by the Judiciary Committee of the council. The current judicial system for the Navajo Nation was created by the Navajo Tribal Council on 16 October 1958. It established a separate branch of government, the "Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation Government", which became effective 1 April 1959. The Navajo Court of Indian Offenses
4653-717: The Navajo Nation. The five agencies within the Navajo Nation are Chinle Agency in Chinle, Arizona; Eastern Navajo Agency in Crownpoint, New Mexico; Western Navajo Agency in Tuba City, Arizona ; Fort Defiance Agency in Fort Defiance, Arizona ; and Shiprock Agency in Shiprock, New Mexico . The BIA agencies provide various technical services under direction of the BIA's Navajo Area Office at Gallup, New Mexico . Agencies are divided into chapters as
4752-591: The Navajo Tribal Court of Appeals. Subsequently, the Supreme Judicial Council was criticized for bringing politics directly into the judicial system and undermining "impartiality, fairness and equal protection". In December 1985, the Navajo Tribal Council passed the Judicial Reform Act of 1985, which eliminated the Supreme Judicial Council. It redefined the "Navajo Tribal Court of Appeals" as
4851-600: The Navajo maintained large herds of livestock and cultivated large crop areas. Western historians believe that the Spanish before 1600 referred to the Navajo as Apaches or Quechos . Fray Geronimo de Zarate-Salmeron, who was in Jemez in 1622, used Apachu de Nabajo in the 1620s to refer to the people in the Chama Valley region, east of the San Juan River and northwest of present-day Santa Fe, New Mexico . Navahu comes from
4950-688: The Navajo reservation. But Rough Rock Day School was run in the same militaristic style as Fort Defiance and did not implement educational reforms. Navajo accounts of the Evangelical Missionary School portray it as having a family-like atmosphere with home-cooked meals, new or gently used clothing, humane treatment, and a Navajo-based curriculum. Educators found the Evangelical Missionary School curriculum to be much more beneficial for Navajo children. In 1937, Boston heiress Mary Cabot Wheelright and Navajo singer and medicine man Hastiin Klah founded
5049-624: The Navajo were largely hunters and gatherers . Later, they adopted farming from Pueblo people , growing mainly the traditional Native American " Three Sisters " of corn , beans , and squash . They adopted herding sheep and goats from the Spaniards as a main source of trade and food. Meat became essential in the Navajo diet. Sheep became a form of currency and familial status. Women began to spin and weave wool into blankets and clothing; they created items of highly valued artistic expression, which were also traded and sold. Oral history indicates
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#17328516539605148-563: The Navajo, are thought to have descended from a southward migration of Athabaskan peoples from subarctic North America around 1,000 years ago. It has been suggested that the Navajo and Apaches may have migrated due to the effects of a volcanic explosion in the Saint Elias Mountains of Alaska around 803 AD. Part of the migration was along the Rocky Mountains before arriving in the present-day southwest United States. Initially,
5247-472: The Navajo. In 1849, the military governor of New Mexico, Colonel John MacRae Washington —accompanied by John S. Calhoun, an Indian agent—led 400 soldiers into the Navajo country, penetrating Canyon de Chelly . He signed a treaty with two Navajo leaders: Mariano Martinez as Head Chief and Chapitone as Second Chief. The treaty acknowledged the transfer of jurisdiction from the United Mexican States to
5346-464: The Navajo. The US government made leases for livestock grazing, took land for railroad development, and permitted mining on Navajo land without consulting the tribe. In 1883, Lt. Parker, accompanied by 10 enlisted men and two scouts, went up the San Juan River to separate the Navajos and citizens who had encroached on Navajo land. In the same year, Lt. Lockett, with the aid of 42 enlisted soldiers,
5445-561: The Navajos came in or were found. Some lived near the San Juan River, some beyond the Hopi villages, and others lived with Apache bands. Beginning in the spring of 1864, the Army forced around 9,000 Navajo men, women, and children to walk over 300 miles (480 km) to Fort Sumner , New Mexico, for internment at Bosque Redondo. The internment was disastrous for the Navajo, as the government failed to provide enough water, wood, provisions, and livestock for
5544-514: The Navajos had been relocated to the area, which resulted in conflicts. In 1868, the Treaty of Bosque Redondo was negotiated between Navajo leaders and the federal government allowing the surviving Navajos to return to a reservation on a portion of their former homeland. The United States military continued to maintain forts on the Navajo reservation in the years after the Long Walk. From 1873 to 1895,
5643-470: The Treaty of 1868. Social, cultural, and political academics continue to debate the nature of modern Navajo governance and how it has evolved to include the systems and economies of the "western world". In the mid-19th century, primarily in the 1860s, most of the Navajo were forced to abandon their homes due to a series of military campaigns by the U.S. Army conducted with a scorched-earth policy and sanctioned by
5742-513: The Tribal Council to establish the current judicial, legislative, and executive model. This was a departure from the system of "Council and Chairmanship" from the previous government body. Conceptual additions were made to the language of Navajo Nation Code Title II, and the acts expanded the new government on April 1, 1990. Qualifications for the position of president include fluency in the Navajo language (this has seldom been enforced and in 2015
5841-528: The U.S. government. The Army burned their homes and agricultural fields, and stole or killed livestock, to weaken and starve the Navajo into submission. In 1864, the main body of Navajo, numbering 8,000 adults and children, were marched 300 miles (500 km) on the Long Walk to imprisonment in Bosque Redondo. The Treaty of 1868 established the "Navajo Indian Reservation" and the Navajo people left Bosque Redondo for this territory. The borders were defined as
5940-455: The U.S., it has since expanded several times since its formation, reaching its current boundaries in 1934. In English , the official name for the area was "Navajo Indian Reservation", as outlined in Article II of the 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo . On April 15, 1969, the tribe changed its official name to the "Navajo Nation", which is displayed on its seal. In 1994, the Tribal Council rejected
6039-402: The US such as counties or townships. Each chapter elected officers and followed parliamentary procedures. By 1933, more than 100 chapters operated across the Navajo Nation. The chapters served as liaisons between the Navajo and the federal governments, respectively. They also acted as voting precincts for the election of tribal council delegates. They served as forums for local tribal leaders but
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#17328516539606138-496: The United States. The treaty allowed forts and trading posts to be built on Navajo land. In exchange, the United States, promised "such donations [and] such other liberal and humane measures, as [it] may deem meet and proper." While en route to sign this treaty, the prominent Navajo peace leader Narbona, was killed, causing hostility between the treaty parties. During the next 10 years, the U.S. established forts on traditional Navajo territory. Military records cite this development as
6237-467: The arrangement led to a gradual end in Navajo raids, as the tribe was able to increase their livestock and crops. Also, the tribe gained an increase in the size of the Navajo reservation from 3.5 million acres (14,000 km ; 5,500 sq mi) to 16 million acres (65,000 km ; 25,000 sq mi) as it stands today. But economic conflicts with non-Navajos continued for many years as civilians and companies exploited resources assigned to
6336-509: The chapters had no authority within the structure of the Navajo Nation government. In 1998, the Navajo Tribal Council passed the "Local Governance Act" (LGA), which expanded the political roles of the existing 110 chapters. It authorized them to make decisions on behalf of the chapter members and to take over certain roles previously delegated to the council and executive branches. This included entering into intergovernmental agreements with federal, state and tribal entities, subject to approval by
6435-653: The children arrived at the boarding school, their lives changed dramatically. European Americans taught the classes under an English-only curriculum and punished any student caught speaking Navajo. The children were under militaristic discipline, run by the Siláo . In multiple interviews, subjects recalled being captured and disciplined by the Siláo if they tried to run away. Other conditions included inadequate food, overcrowding, required manual labor in kitchens, fields, and boiler rooms; and military-style uniforms and haircuts. Change did not occur in these boarding schools until after
6534-474: The command of Captain John Reid, who journeyed deep into Navajo country and contacted him, Narbona and other Navajos negotiated a treaty of peace with Colonel Alexander Doniphan at Bear Springs, Ojo del Oso (later the site of Fort Wingate ). This agreement was not honored by some Navajo, nor by some New Mexicans. The Navajos raided New Mexican livestock, and New Mexicans took women, children, and livestock from
6633-471: The convention be held in the traditional naachid /modern chapter house format, where every member of the nation wishing to participate may do so through their home chapters. The committee was formed by former Navajo leaders Kelsey Begaye , Peterson Zah , Peter MacDonald , Ivan Gamble (a writer/social activist), and other local political activists. Prior to Long Walk of the Navajo , judicial powers were exercised by peace chiefs ( Hózhǫ́ǫ́jí Naatʼááh ) in
6732-454: The council changed the law to repeal this requirement). Term limits allow only two consecutive terms. The Navajo Nation Council, formerly the Navajo Tribal Council, is the legislative branch of the Navajo Nation. As of 2010 , the Navajo Nation Council consists of 24 delegates, representing the 110 chapters, elected every four years by registered Navajo voters. Prior to the November 2010 election,
6831-602: The design of the Navajo Nation's flag by a dark-brown rectangle. As no physical boundaries or signposts were set in place, many Navajo ignored these formal boundaries and returned to where they had been living prior to the U.S. occupation. A significant number of Navajo had never lived in the Hwéeldi (near Fort Sumner). They remained or moved near the Little Colorado and Colorado rivers, on Naatsisʼáán ( Navajo Mountain ), and some lived with Apache bands. The first expansion of
6930-424: The districts also have family courts, which have jurisdiction over domestic relations, civil relief in domestic violence, child custody and protection, name changes, quiet title, and probate. As of 2010 , there were 17 trial judges presiding in the Navajo district and family courts. The Navajo Nation Presidency, in its current form, was created on December 15, 1989, after directives from the federal government guided
7029-515: The exclusive use of any one clan. Members of a clan may live hundreds of miles apart but still have a clan bond. Historically, the structure of the Navajo society is largely a matrilineal system, in which the family of the women owned livestock, dwellings, planting areas, and livestock grazing areas. Once married, a Navajo man would follow a matrilocal residence and live with his bride in her dwelling and near her mother's family. Daughters (or, if necessary, other female relatives) were traditionally
7128-462: The federal government on behalf of an estimated 250,000–500,000 plaintiffs, Native Americans whose trust accounts did not reflect an accurate accounting of money owed them under leases or fees on trust lands. The settlement of Cobell v. Salazar in 2009 included a provision for a nearly $ 2 billion fund for the government to buy fractionated interests and restore land to tribal reservations. Individuals could sell their fractionated land interests on
7227-409: The ground and then met with several hundred Navajos at Houcks Tank. Rancher Bennett, whose horse was allegedly stolen, told Kerr that his horses were stolen by the three whites to catch a horse thief. In the same year, Lt. Scott went to the San Juan River with two scouts and 21 enlisted men. The Navajos believed Scott was there to drive off the whites who had settled on the reservation and had fenced off
7326-617: The largest tribal group by enrollment. The U.S. gained ownership of what is today Navajoland in 1848 following the Mexican-American War. The reservation was first established in 1868 within New Mexico Territory , initially spanning roughly 3,300,000 acres (13,000 km ); it subsequently straddled what became the Arizona–New Mexico border in 1912, when the states were admitted to the union. Unlike many reservations in
7425-413: The legislation. This contributed to their rejection of the first version of a proposed tribal constitution. In the various attempts since, members found the process to be too cumbersome and a potential threat to tribal self-determination. The constitution was supposed to be reviewed and approved by BIA. The earliest efforts were rejected primarily because segments of the tribe did not find enough freedom in
7524-463: The local towns surrounding the Navajo reservations contributed to residents becoming bilingual; however Navajo was still the primary language spoken at home. The Navajo Livestock Reduction was imposed upon the Navajo Nation by the federal government starting in 1933, during the Great Depression . Under various forms, it continued into the 1950s. Worried about large herds in the arid climate, at
7623-500: The military employed Navajos as "Indian Scouts" at Fort Wingate to help their regular units. During this period, Chief Manuelito founded the Navajo Tribal Police . It operated from 1872 to 1875 as an anti-raid task force working to maintain the peaceful terms of the 1868 Navajo treaty. By treaty, the Navajos were allowed to leave the reservation for trade, with permission from the military or local Indian agent . Eventually,
7722-550: The new reservation called Bosque Redondo . In 1863, Carleton ordered Carson to use the same tactics on the Navajo. Carson and his force swept through Navajo land, killing Navajos and destroying crops and dwellings, fouling wells, and capturing livestock. Facing starvation and death, Navajo groups came to Fort Defiance for relief. On July 20, 1863, the first of many groups departed to join the Mescalero at Bosque Redondo. Other groups continued to come in through 1864. However, not all
7821-420: The ones who received the generational property inheritance. In cases of marital separation, women would maintain the property and children. Children are "born to" and belong to the mother's clan, and are "born for" the father's clan. The mother's eldest brother has a strong role in her children's lives. As adults, men represent their mother's clan in tribal politics. Traditionally, there are four clans said to be
7920-451: The orders of the President, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in, the territory described in this article. Though the treaty had provided for one hundred miles by one hundred miles in the New Mexico Territory , the size of the territory was 3,328,302 acres (13,470 km ; 5,200 sq mi) —slightly more than half. This initial piece of land is represented in
8019-559: The original ones, given to the Navajo from Asdzą́ą́ Nádleehé or Changing Woman. Today there are more than 100 clans, some of which include other Native nations, such as Naashtʼézhí diné’e referring to the Zuni , of the Naashgalí diné’é , referring to the Mescalero Apache. Men and women are seen as contemporary equals as both males and females are needed to reproduce. Although women may carry
8118-529: The pattern of small family farms common among Americans. This was intended to extinguish tribal land claims for such territory. The land allocated to these Navajo heads of household was initially not considered part of the reservation. Further, the federal government determined that land "left over" after all members had received allotments was to be considered "surplus" and available for sale to non-Native Americans. The allotment program continued until 1934. Today, this patchwork of reservation and non-reservation land
8217-473: The proposed forms of government. In 1935 they feared that the proposed government would hinder development and recovery of their livestock industries; in 1953 they worried about restrictions on development of mineral resources. They continued a government based on traditional models, with headmen chosen by clan groups. The Navajo Nation must submit all proposed laws to the United States Secretary of
8316-513: The region around Aneth, Utah in 1905 was confirmed by Congress in 1933. The eastern border was shaped primarily as a result of allotments of land to individual Navajo households under the Dawes Act of 1887. This experiment was designed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American culture. The federal government proposed to divide communal lands into plots assignable to heads of household – tribal members – for their subsistence farming, in
8415-628: The respect of all Americans. The name "Navajo" comes from the late 18th century via the Spanish (Apaches de) Navajó "(Apaches of) Navajó", which was derived from the Tewa navahū "farm fields adjoining a valley". The Navajos call themselves Diné . Like other Apacheans , the Navajos were semi-nomadic from the 16th through the 20th centuries. Their extended kinship groups had seasonal dwelling areas to accommodate livestock, agriculture, and gathering practices. As part of their traditional economy, Navajo groups may have formed trading or raiding parties, traveling relatively long distances. There
8514-510: The river from the Navajo. Scott found evidence of many non-Navajo ranches. Only three were active, and the owners wanted payment for their improvements before leaving. Scott ejected them. In 1890, a local rancher refused to pay the Navajos a fine for livestock. The Navajos tried to collect it, and whites in southern Colorado and Utah claimed that 9,000 of the Navajos were on a warpath. A small military detachment out of Fort Wingate restored white citizens to order. In 1913, an Indian agent ordered
8613-586: The site of old Fort Defiance, in Canon Bonito, east by the parallel of longitude which, if prolonged south, would pass through old Fort Lyon, or the Ojo-de-oso, Bear Spring, and west by a parallel of longitude about 109º 30' west of Greenwich, provided it embraces the outlet of the Canon-de-Chilly [Canyon de Chelly], which canyon is to be all included in this reservation, shall be, and the same hereby, set apart for
8712-453: The smallest political unit, similar to municipalities or small U.S. counties. The Navajo capital city of Window Rock is located in the chapter of St. Michaels, Arizona . The Navajo Nation also operates executive offices in Washington, DC to facilitate government-to-government relations and for lobbying services and congressional relations. Navajo people The Navajo or Diné , are
8811-405: The term used for the traditional homeland of the Navajo. This is located in the area among the four sacred Navajo mountains of Dookʼoʼoosłííd ( San Francisco Peaks ), Dibé Ntsaa ( Hesperus Mountain ), Sisnaajiní ( Blanca Peak ), and Tsoodził ( Mount Taylor ). The Navajo people 's tradition of governance is rooted in their clans and oral history. The clan system of
8910-441: The territory occurred on October 28, 1878, when President Rutherford Hayes signed an executive order pushing the reservation boundary 20 miles (32 km) to the west. Further additions followed throughout the late 19th and early 20th century (see map). Most of these additions were achieved through executive orders, some of which were confirmed by acts of Congress. For example, President Theodore Roosevelt 's executive order to add
9009-543: The toll. The Navajo Code Talkers played a significant role in USMC history. Using their own language they utilized a military code; for example, the Navajo word "turtle" represented a tank. In 1942, Marine staff officers composed several combat simulations and the Navajo translated it and transmitted it in their dialect to another Navajo on the other line. This Navajo then translated it back into English faster than any other cryptographic facility, which demonstrated their efficacy. As
9108-544: The use and occupation of the Navajo tribe of Indians, and for such other friendly tribes or individual Indians as from time to time they may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit among them; and the United States agrees that no persons except those herein so authorized to do, and except such officers, soldiers agents, and employees of the Government, or of the Indians, as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties imposed by law, or
9207-484: The value of each animal, but it did nothing to compensate for the loss of future yearly income for so many Navajo. In the matrilineal and matrilocal world of the Navajo, women were especially hurt, as many lost their only source of income with the reduction of livestock herds. The Navajos did not understand why their centuries-old practices of raising livestock should change. They were united in opposition but they were unable to stop it. Historian Brian Dippie notes that
9306-406: Was eliminated; the sitting judges became judges in the new system. The resolution established "Trial Courts of the Navajo Tribe" and the "Navajo Tribal Court of Appeals", which was the highest tribal court and its only appellate court. In 1978, the Navajo Tribal Council established a "Supreme Judicial Council", a political body rather than a court. On a discretionary basis, it could hear appeals from
9405-551: Was established. Similar patterns of peace-making, raiding, and trading among the Navajo, Spaniards, Apache, Comanche, and Hopi continued until the arrival of Americans in 1846. The Navajos encountered the United States Army in 1846 when General Stephen W. Kearny invaded Santa Fe with 1,600 men during the Mexican–American War . On November 21, 1846, following an invitation from a small party of American soldiers under
9504-614: Was founded to preserve the religion and traditions of the Navajo, which Klah was sure would otherwise soon be lost forever. The result of these boarding schools led to much language loss within the Navajo Nation. After the Second World War, the Meriam Report funded more children to attend these schools with six times as many children attending boarding school than before the War. English as the primary language spoken at these schools as well as
9603-460: Was joined by Lt. Holomon at Navajo Springs . Evidently, citizens of the surnames Houck and/or Owens had murdered a Navajo chief's son, and 100 armed Navajo warriors were looking for them. In 1887, citizens Palmer, Lockhart, and King fabricated a charge of horse stealing and randomly attacked a dwelling on the reservation. Two Navajo men and all three whites died as a result, but a woman and a child survived. Capt. Kerr (with two Navajo scouts) examined
9702-479: Was never a crack in the Navajo language, it was never deciphered. It is known that many more Navajos volunteered to become code talkers than could be accepted; however, an undetermined number of other Navajos served as Marines in the war, but not as code talkers. These achievements of the Navajo Code Talkers have resulted in an honorable chapter in USMC history. Their patriotism and honor inevitably earned them
9801-402: Was organized around clans , which are matrilineal kinship groups. Children are considered born into the mother's family and gain their social status from her and her clan. Her eldest brother traditionally has a strong influence on rearing the children. The clan leadership have served as a de facto government on the local level of the Navajo Nation. In 1933, during the Great Depression ,
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