Navajo Long Walk

Differences between cultures are not something new. Many of us can still see it in our daily lives. Four hundred years ago two very distinctly different cultures clashed in what we call the American Southwest. The Spanish presence brought new ideas, new culture, and new way of life to the new found Americas much to the demise of the already settled native tribes. Already having controlled much of Mexico and South America, problems were rising in the outskirts of New Spain. Secular and religious authorities were in conflict and the ever growing animosity of its aboriginal tribe made it difficult to maintain Spanish control. Though, for four generations the Spaniards had begun to feel successful in their endeavors of

Navajo culture distinctively took hold in the four corners area of the Colorado Plateau around 100 A.D., although they are believed to have been around for centuries before then. Disliking the term “Navajo Indians”, they refer to themselves as the “Diné” which means “The People” or “Children of the Holy People”.

What molds a nation or group of people? As a member of the Navajo Nation, I’ve wondered how our history has impacted our nation. This research paper is a reflection of my curiosity. Throughout this paper I will explain how The Navajo Long Walk and The 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo contributed in shaping what the Navajo Nation today. During the mid 19th century tensions with the Navajo, U.S. government, and white settlers were tense. The third wave of the Navajo Wars would ultimately lead to the U.S. government’s decision to create a campaign against the Navajo and thus impose the Navajo Long Walk (Brooks 95). General Carleton, a U.S. Army General, had Kit Carson, the well-known Indian fighter, deliver his demands to the Navajo, he said, “Say to them: Go to Bosque Redondo or we will pursue and destroy you. We will not make peace with you on any terms. You have deceived us too often and robbed and murdered our people too long to trust you at large in your own country.” (Acrey 39). Thus, in 1864, Navajo people were forcibly removed by the U.S. federal government from their traditional homelands to eastern New Mexico. U.S. Army records indicate that at least 11,468 Navajos were forced to walk three hundred to five hundred miles to the internment camp called Bosque Redondo (Spanish translation is Round Forest) or Fort Sumner (Cheek 18). For four years, Navajo people were forced to stay in Bosque Redondo where starvation, disease, and restriction of their culture was prevalent.

The Diné means “The People” and it is what the people that we know presently as the Navajo went by. The Red Nation article “Considering a Navajo Name Change: Self-Identification, Land, and Liberation” by Majerle Lister states that “‘Navajo’ is not a Diné word or concept, despite its use as our [the Diné] official name for more than a hundred and fifty years.” This is a clear example of how settler colonialism has impacted the Navajo Nation. Settler colonialism has had an impact in the Peoplehood matrix of the Navajo from language and sacred history to place/territory and ceremonial cycles, yet it has not stop efforts from the Navajo Community to mend the damage that settler colonialism has had on their culture over the years.

It held many struggles and disagreements, which lead to many retaliations, from both the Indians and the settlers. The Indians had been alliances with the white men until the massacre, which stated the settlers betrayal to all tribes.

After the Spanish had settled into the Navajo society, there were some hostility taking place between the two groups and then came along the Americans who then demanded for the land. The Americans had invaded because of the tribal refusal to surrender the land, which was what led to the Long Walks. The Long Walk took place between 1863 and 1864; the goal of the walk to Bosque Redondo was to withdraw the Navajos from their land.

Raiding had been something to Apache had only done once in awhile but now that they couldn’t hunt buffalo any longer raiding became necessary for their survival. The hostility between the Apache and the Spanish settlers increased when New Mexico became a Spanish Colony . From the time of the Spanish colonization until 1886 they were noted for their warlike disposition. According to the written history of whites, Apaches have always been hostile; in truth, serious warlike behavior could usually be attributed to belligerent behavior on the part of the whiteman, or misunderstandings between the two peoples.

(Horwitz,2). Now 547 tribes have to wait around to be able to protect those around them. “Can you imagine responding to call where there is clear evidence of a crime committed by an individual and you cannot arrest them? I think the community felt cheated,” Michael Valenzuela, the police chief of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe (Culp-Ressler,1). The quote shows how hopeless those who would normally have power to help can not, and though Native Americans are suppose to have sovereignty it seems to not be a true sovereign nation. If it is a claimed sovereign nation, then congress has to let them deal with all issues on tribal land no matter what the race and right now that is not happening. Once it does, maybe they can be better off and not have to worry as much.

The natives felt strongly about the issue because Custer was attacking their homes. Now mind you these homes contained women and children, and the army had a custom of having no mercy. The army would kill every single person, including babies.

Historically, the people of the United States and the Native tribes couldn’t live together, they fought because the two sides competed for superiority. The United States Government sought to put an end to the violent clashes with the American people and the Natives tribes. A resolution was the Indian Removal Act, with this, the United States became safer, wealthier, and stronger; And the Natives, which they saw as inferior, would leave. This Act wasn’t easy for the Native tribes, they left the land their ancestors had built them, and experienced a long road ahead of them to rebuild again.

The disproportionate amount of Navajo forced to relocate heightened age-old anxieties between the Navajo and Hopi. The Navajo are still at the center of the relocation controversy as many traditional Dineh families have chosen to remain within the HPL in defiance of 1974's P.L. 93-531.

The Navajo, also known as the Diné, are one of the largest Native American Tribes in the world. Their culture is made up of very distinct and unique characteristics that have been passed down from generation to generation. They have been taught to adapt to their surroundings and to the land. Each moral, standard, belief and value are what make the Navajo so unique to the Native Americans. In the following, their primary mode of subsistence, kinship system, beliefs, values, and economic organizations will be briefly examined to gain a better knowledge of the Navajo culture.

The movie, filmed in 2007, depicts the lives of the Sioux Indians as if they were not a people that mattered. In the movie, they say, “the Indians lived like the poorest of whites.” They were pushed around and told repeatedly they could not stay on their own land. This was due to the Westward Expansion in the United States at the time. By 1876, most of the American Indians had already been forcibly relocated to reservation land. Red Cloud, a Sioux leader, settled with some of his tribe on the Sioux Reservation of the Dakota Territory and took the aid of the US government. When this happened, other Sioux leaders, such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, saw it as a surrender. These leaders refused to assimilate and went on to live life in their traditional way. Unfortunately, this all changed when the US found gold on Sioux land in the Black Hills. The movie tells the story of the Sioux Indians fight to try to remain in control of their own lives and stay on their own land. Then when they no longer can, the movie shows their path to surrendering to the whites and assimilating into the American culture.

The Spanish had been expanding their influence in the new world by conquering the empires and peoples. Soon they would extend northward continuing to claim new land thereby building New Spain. Starting in 1540 the Spanish moved into what would become New Mexico. With the Spanish expansion came soldiers, missionaries, and settlers. These movements would lead to a confrontation between the Pueblo people and the Spaniards known as the “Tiguex War.” The "Tiguex War" was spearheaded by occurred during the winter of 1540-41. Leading the Spaniard troops was Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. The Spanish attacked the 12 tribes of the region leading to a further breakdown of Native and Spanish relations that would continue until 1598. Juan De Onate led a force of over 100 soldiers women children and Priests into the Rio Grande Valley attempting to start a Spanish settlement. The establishment of this new settlement soon leads to another revolt between the Pueblo and the Spaniards. This rebellion is known as the "Tacoma Massacre." Under the command of Juan De Onate, the Spanish soldiers killed and enslaved hundreds of Natives. Onate also ordered the right foot to be removed from the 24

The world view of the Navajo who had lived for many centuries on the high Colorado Plateau was one of living in balance with all of nature, as the stewards of their vast homeland which covered parts of four modern states. They had no concept of religion as being something separate from living day to day and prayed to many spirits. It was also a matriarchal society and had no single powerful leader as their pastoral lifestyle living in scattered independent family groups require no such entity. This brought them repeatedly into conflict with Spanish, Mexicans and increasingly by the mid-nineteenth century, Americans as these practices were contrary to their male dominated religiously monolithic societal values. The long standing history