Navajo Tribe Life

When the colonists began to arrive in America they were surprised to find that the land was already occupied by various Natives. Because the lives of 16th century Natives was very different from what

Wisdom can be accumulated throughout a lifetime and passed along to someone else, if they are willing to listen. Thus, lessons learned by a parent can be passed to their child becoming generational knowledge. Similarly, cultures have oral myths and legends for the same purpose. One such example is the Navajo Origin Legend, used to preserve Navajo culture and the history, to teach about relationships with nature and between people, and entertains and amuses the listeners. Contained within the Navajo Origin Legend is a repetitive incremental development of the Navajo people and the world the live in.

The Chippewa Tribe Tepees are spreaded throughout the grassy land, families are rolling up their homes to look for food. These people moved around searching for food and a good hunting place. These people are called the Chippewa or Ojibwa Indians which means “puckered up” because of their moccasins tops being sewn together (Ditchfield 8). They live around the Great Lakes in North America and some parts of Canada (9).

The Navajo Tribe The Navajo Tribe resides in Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. They are one of the most well known tribes because of their history. They are also one of the most creative tribes and have items they have made that are very popular today. Navajo jewelry is recognizable and distinguishable by the turquoise stone that is in all of it.

The Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the nation with a little over 300,000 members on the largest reservation. The Navajo nation today has dealt with the consequences of mining uranium, limited housing development on their land, and contaminated water resources.

The Navajo Nation Division of Social Services (NDSS) intake form is used by three agencies under the NDSS umbrella for various services including child welfare for reservation residents, Indian Child Welfare for ICWA/state collaboration, local and off reservation adoption, as well as clinical treatment services. The intake form was developed in 2011 with the intent to gather and report Adoption, Foster Care, Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS) data to the federal government and modified in 2015 to become more streamlined with NDSS’ electronic case management system. The latest revision incorporates various data elements needed to satisfy specific statistical requirements with NDSS’ various funding providers and grantees.

The Navajos came into the Southwest sometime around the 16th century, they were a small group of hunting and gathering people. We know them as Navajo but they would call themselves Diné, which stood for “The People”. “The Navajo are Athapaskan speakers whose language is similar to that of the Apache” (Arizona Board of Regents). They have a broad culture and were known for the ability to survive and adapt really well, especially to local cultures. There primary mode of subsistence is Pastoralists, they utilize farming as a key mode for living. Looking ahead we will gain in depth more knowledge and understanding about the Navajo culture; what were their beliefs, kinship, social organization and more.

lack of food at Bosque Redondo was caused in part by the inability of the ...

According to the history of the Navajo Tribe, the Holy People lived in the underworld and helped by guiding the First Man and First Woman to earth (McCoy 1988). The Holy People are said to be attracted to songs, dances, and chants during the ceremony along with the creation of Sandpainting. The Sandpainting is used in the healing process of the ceremony to draw a picture that tells a story of the Holy People. The Navajo culture have amazed so many people to how beautifully constructed the rituals are performed.

Every culture has their own way of life, their own religious beliefs, their own marriage beliefs, their own values and feelings on life and the options it has to offer. Each culture has their own way to run things within their own government, and own way to keep their economy up to their standards. Also each culture and society have their own primary mode of subsistence that makes them unique. Among the Navajo culture their primary mode of subsistence are pastoralists.   Pastoralists have an impact on different aspects with in the culture.   The aspects that I will be discussing will be the Navajo’s beliefs and values, economic organization, gender relations and sickness and healing.

Chester is confused when it comes to religion. After being taught his whole life about Navajo beliefs he is now being introduced to Christianity. This is very confusing for him because as is his begin presented with all this new information, for example the birth of jesus, the trinity, saints, and sacraments. While learning this he beings to question if a navajo belongs at a “white man’s church”. He questions this because of the differences between the two religions; christianity as chester says stands in awe over the creation of the world by god, whereas the navajo focuses on forming a relationship with nature. Because of this when the children are forced to choose between the two religions, they could not. (Nez & Avila, 2011).

The legends said that in the morning on the twelfth day, the Navajo people washed themselves thoroughly. The men and women dried their bodies with different cornmeal. When they were done they could hear their Gods coming in the distance. Their Gods were: White Body, Black Body, Blue and Yellow Body. The Gods carried buckskin and ears of corn when they arrived.

According, to the lecture the story is told in third person omniscient, and we get more than Ayah, the old woman is capable of giving. Additionally, the old woman and her husband live in railroad boxcars, and story has little action, as the history of the Navajo Indian is interpreted in this short story by the old woman. Moreover, the old woman recalls the taking away of children from their parents and placing them in BIA schools. In contrast, she commence to reminiscence about her husband Chato, a demoralized laborer with no insurance, and no job security. Nonetheless, he is an alcoholic that spends his money at the bar with a bad memory, and the old woman hates him.

The Navajo economy depended on two primary sources-agriculture learned from the pueblo peoples and livestock such as sheep, goats, and horses obtained initially form the Spaniards. Because the San Juan River was one of the few reliable sources of water in Navajo territory, during the summer months

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.