Book Review: Trails of Tears: Paths of Beauty

Trails of Tears: Paths of Beauty: The Story of the Navajos and the Cherokees by Joseph Bruchac, National Geographic, Washington, D.C., 2000.

This book incudes some very beautiful photography while telling the story of the Navajo and Cherokee peoples.  It includes the origin stories of both groups, and describes their conflicts and the results.  The Cherokee were betrayed by President Andrew Jackson, who was determined to head the desires of the citizins of Georgia and remove the native Americans to west of the Mississippi.  Many died after they were kept locked up all summer in the heat and then 

  The Navajo for their part have a respected but hated enemy in the person of Kit Carson.  Also General James H Carlton had the idea that he could force the Navajo to make an agricultural paradise at Bosque Redondo.  The military showed no mercy to the Navajo, burning their homes and destroying their food untilProblem the ground was not conducive to agriculture.  It took a couple years and many deaths before he was replaced, and the United States negotiated with the Navajo for their return to their traditional land. 

My problem with this book is it limits he story to two Ngtive American Tribes.  However in terms of the U.S. policy of putting Native Americans on reservations, it seems every tribe has their own sry to tell.  Many have their own trail of tars, such as the Ponca who were forced to Oklahoma from Nebraska, White River and Uncompahgre Ute who were forced from Colorado to Utah, The Hualapai from Arizona who were forced from their traditional area to Fort Mohave where many died due to heat before they were allowed to return, and other easter tribes forced to Oklahoma. 

Book Review: The Southwest Indians: Daily Life in the 1500s

  The Southwest Indians: Daily Life in the 1500s by Mary Englar, Bridgestone Books, Capstone Press, 2006.

Agter reading this short book I was not sure why it had the subtitle, daily life in th 1500s.  The book did not touch the topic at all.  The book does give a pretty good list of tribes living in the Southwest.  It extends into Mexico.  It does include Navajo, Apache, Zuni, Hopi, Hualapai, Yavapai, Mohave, Pima and a few more.  The social structure is similar to that of other Native American groups; groups of families called a clan or a band and a leader called a chief.  Unique in this area is Native American homes made of brick.  You use what you have.  Much of the Southwest is desert and tribes had to make adaptations.  The Navajo raised wool and cotton for fibers for clothing.  The Pueblo traded with others across a wide area.  Popular games were Patol (a game with sticks) and the moccasin game (a hiding game).  Also racing was popular.  Ceremonies were held to honor nature.  The Hopi danced with the kachina dolls to pray for rain and long life.  They passed along oral traditions from one generation to the next.

C.D. Navajo Songs

 Navajo Songs, recorded by Laura Boulton, 1933, 1940, including Ben Hudson Begay, Joe Lee and Pablo and Frank Huerito, Smithsonian Folkways, 1992.

Driving to Las Vegas early in the morning the only radio station that would come in was from Window Rock New Mexico.  They would play country music but they would also play Navajo songs which I enjoyed, even though I did not understand a thing.

This C.D. includes ceremonial songs as well as game songs.  In includes a section from the Yeibichei which is a sacred curing song.  They first call and talking god.  The ceremony includes masked dancers, sand paintings, chanting and high energy dancing.  The goal is to restore balance, harmony and health.  These six songs had the same kind of feel. Also included are corn grinding songs, sway songs, circle dance songs, and moccasin game songs.  Circle dance songs are used for the round dance which can be very powerful.

Native American Book Review: Navajo

Navajo: Native Americans by Sarah Tieck, Big Buddy Books and imprint of Abdo Books, North Mankato, Minnesota, 2015.

This book indicates that the Navajo originally lived in Canada and moved south to the four corners area of the southwest.  The lived in hogans which are circular homes, or octogan or hexagon.  They were formers who raised corn, squash and beans and also fruit such as peaches.  They also would eat small game, prarie dogs, deer, rabbits and mountain goats.  They also raised sheep and goats for meat and milk.  Children learned by watching adults.  Navajo are experts at making jewelry, rugs, baskets and pottery.  Spirit life is very important to them.  Medicine men will make sand art drawings as part of healing.  Story telling is an important part of their culture.  Men and women both tell stories.  A common story is of the windwalker but some Navajo feel it is bad luck to talk of them.

In 1864 the government foced the Navajo to a reservation in New Mexico, Bosque Redondo.  In the march south, and in the heat in New Mexico, about 2000 Navajo died.  Manuelito had to negotiate to get their land back.  They now have a reservation of 24,000 square miles.  Manuelito stress education as important for the Navajo future and there are many educated Navajo.   

Ute Legend: Skinwalker

The Ute legend or myth of the Skinwalker is shared with the Navajo Tribe.  The skinwalker is a half man half animal (wolf, coyote fox or bear).  They may be shape shifters, changing their form.  I assume I heard this story from George Glines, a coworker in Roosevelt and native to the basin.  It seems sightings of the Skinwalker were quite frequent.  These would generally start in the north, White Rocks, follow the White Rocks highway, Fort Duchesne, Randlett, and then Ouray.  The sightings would vary in time making it seem like the Skinwalker was on the move.  I never heard stories of their attacking anyone.  

As I look online it indicates the Skinwalker is a Navajo phenomena.  However there is talk of the Navajo putting a curse on the land, or the Utes placing a curse.  At any rate there were bad feeling between the two groups.  This may have been how Skinwalker Ranch was started.  They say the Utes avoid this area.

Book Review: Phillip Johnston and the Navajo Code Talkers

 Phillip Johnston and the Navajo Code Talkers, Indian Culture Series, Montana Indian Publication Plan.

This is a short book which explains the relationship between Phillip Johnston and the Navajo Code Talkers.  Phillip Johnston grew up among the Navajo, and consequently learned Navajo as a child, a very difficult language.  When WWII started Phillip Johnston was too old to serve as a soldier.  He was aware of issues with secret codes, and the Japanese ease with breaking the codes.  Codes were changed almost daily as a result.  He knew Navajo was a difficult language and came up with the idea of using Navajo speakers, and code to keep messages secret.  It took some time to convince the military he was onto something.  At his own expense he took four Navajo to the Marine Base by San Diego to demonstrate and convince the Marines to use his idea.  The Navajo also had the ability to become code experts.

Johnston was brought back to the Marines to train the Navajo.  The program was highly successful as they were able to communicate.   The survivors of the program received medallions in 1969 at a special meeting.  

Native American Artifacts: Mohave Museum of History and Art

The Mohave Museum of History and Art offers a very good collection of Native American artifacts.  My pictures show only a small sample.  It also has displays talking of the history of the Native American populations in the area.   The displays show many different medium, including beaded moccasins, weaving, basket weaving and pottery.  The displays also represent several different Native American groups.  Most prominent is Hualapai but there are also Navajo and Hopi.  In the doll house collection is a representation of Pocahontas.

Grinding rock

Two depictions of Pocahontas

Navajo blanket

Book review: Native American Scientists

Capstone Short Biographies: Native American Scientists: Fred Begay, Wilfred F. Denetclaw Jr., Frank C. Dukepoo, Clifton Poodry, Jerrel Yakel, by Jetty st. John, Capstone Press, Mankato, MN 1996.
This book may be a bit too young for my taste, but I was interested in the topic.  The five scientist presented all have some similarities, a struggle to get where they are.  Often this struggle was against their own culture, but more often against their own attitude towards education.  Wilfred F. Detenclaw Jr. had to overcome a cultural issue in his education, he was assigned to dissect a cat.  However disturbing a dead animal is taboo to the Navajo, because it will effect the animal's spirit.  Only after talking to a medicine man did he feel comfortable going ahead with the assign, because he had to learn about animals and how they work.  He is a Navajo zoologist.
Frank C. Dukepoo was the victim of a bully.  However he is Hopi, a peaceful people so he didn't fight back, but got even in the classroom.  He received five scholarships, but wasted them away with his lifestyle of non-study.  He then didn't know what to do, but a mento advised him to earn the money he needed and start over.  That he did, and he now teacher biology at a university.
Fred Begay is mixed heritage, Ute and navajo.  He didn't attend school until he was nine, a government school, where he wasn't allowed to use his language or ceremonies, nor go home for two years.  He served in the Korean War flying on rescue missions.  He became a physicists and works at the Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico.  He is working on fusion.
Clifton Poodry is a member of the Seneca Tribe who was thinking of becoming a teacher, but he became so interested in genetics this became his life long pursuit.  He is a bioligist.  He works with Native American youth on pursuing science.
Jerrel Yakel is a California Indian from the Luiseno tribe.  His 8th grade science teacher sparked his interest in science when he was challenged to collect 50 bugs.  He is now a neuroscientist and studies the brain and how it works.  These studies lead to the development of medications for mental and other disorders.

Native American Biography: Hosteen Klah: Navajo Medicine Man and Weaver

Hosteen Klah was a bit of an enigma, as he was a medicine man as well as a weaver.  Medicine Man is generally a male function in the Navajo culture, while weaver was generally a female function.  He combined the two by weaving designs of sacred sand paintings into his weavings.  At the time this was considered sacrilegious by many, and still by some today.  Being a medicine man he was able to do as he wished. Most of the furor would go away after the weavings were sold off the reservation.  He showed weavings at two World Fairs.

Native American Biography: Henry Chee Dodge and Children: Navajo

The family of Henry Chee Dodge was effected by the navajo Wars.  Dodge was a toddler at the time, and his family tried to hide from the soldiers, but they were effected by the scorch earth policy and his family faced hunger.  His father was a captured Mexican, who had died in battles with the New Mexicans.  As his mother was Navajo, Henry was considered Navajo.  His mother gave him up, and his aunt took him in at age five.  They went to live at Fort Defiance and Fort Sumner.  Henry learned an unusual skill.  He learned both Navajo and English and was able to get employment working at Fort Defiance.  He then became official interpreter for the U.S. government.  The government proclaimed him chief of the Navajo, and with a couple medicine men he visited the President.  He would later become an elected member of the Tribal Council and the first elected chairman.  He stressed education and sent his children to Salt Lake City to be educated.  His son Tom also became a tribal chairman, and his son Ben served on the tribal council.


His daughter, Annie Dodge Wauneka, became an health educator.  She had gone to Indian schools, were Native American children were subject to White diseases.  This sparked an interest in health.  When she traveled the reservation with her father she saw conditions in the hogans, where it was difficult to keep clean.  She was the first woman elected to the Navajo tribal Council.  She was an obvious choice to head the Tribal Health Council.  She went to school and received her bachelors in Public Health.  She hosted a radio program in Navajo on health.  She was the first native American to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award for her accomplishments on the Tribal Council and her efforts in public health.  

Native American Biography: Navajo During the Navajo War and Bosque Redondo: Narbona, Manuelito, Delgadito, Barboncito

Manuelito

Manuelito was war chief during the time of the Navajo War.  The Navajo were generally peaceful to the Whites, but this attitude began to change.  Narbona was an influential medicine man who sued for peace when a force from New Mexico came to Navajo country under the command form Colonel John Washington.  After signing the treaty, a volunteer from new Mexico felt he recognized his stolen horse among the Navajo.  He insisted on its return, but the current owner had not stolen the horse.  He left.  Colonel Johnson, siding with the New Mexican said he could take any horse.  So the rest of the Navajo warriors began to flee as well.  Johnson order his troops to open fire.  Seven Navajo were killed, among them Narbona, who was scalped as he lay dying by one of the New Mexico volunteers.   More warlike Navajos such as Manuelito began to have greater influence as a result.  Manuelito was born in southeast Utah and became a war chief when his father-in-law was killed by federal soldiers.
As part of the treaty, the Americans began to establish forts.  One of these was Fort Defiance.  During a time of drought, the Navajo asked the Americans not to grace their animals on prime agricultural land close to the fort.  The Americans insisted and killed several cattle and horses belonging to Manuelito.  The Navajo responded by killing some of the Americans.  This is known as the first battle of Fort Defiance.
In the second battle of Fort Defiance, Manuelito had a group of 1000 attack the fort.  He was helped by Barboncito, and Barboncito's brother Delgadito.  Both Barboncito and Delgadito were medicine men.  Delgadito would learn silversmithing from a Mexican craftsman.  He would also learn metal techniques from an American.  he then turned around and taught others silversmithing and metal work.  This is now the most important source of income to the Navajos.
During early periods of the Civil War, as the attention of many of the federal resources were turned elsewhere, the Navajo were able to increase their raids.  However, in 1864, the governor of New Mexico told all the Navajo chiefs, they must cede their lands and move to Bosque Redondo, and area in New Mexico so named because of a small forest.  This was an area forty square miles on the Pecos River where the Native Americans, Navajo and Apache, were to learn farming.
Kit Carson carried out the campaign to move the Navajo to the reservation; a 300 mile walk from their homeland.  To convince them to go he engaged in a scorched earth policy.  The corn fields and cattle of the Navajo were destroyed, until starvation was the norm.  Slowly the warring parties were forced to surrender first in 1864.  The last was Manuelito in 1866.  They had been told the stay would be for but a few months, but months turned into years.  Many Navajo dyed on "The Long Walk" to the reservation, and many more dyed after arriving their.  The water from the river was brackish, and quickly the wood supply was exhausted.
William Sherman was sent to investigate poor conditions in 1868.  He negotiated a treaty which allowed the Navajo to return to their homeland, the four corners area, but with a reduced size.  Upon given this privilege Barboncito said, "We do not want to go to the right or the left, but straight back to our country."
Ganado Mucho also played a prominent part in first attempted to keep the peace, and then making the march to Bosque Redondo.  He had attempted to move his people north, the the Grand Canyon area but they could not feed themselves, so the surrendered to the army.  During the long walk, two of his daughters were kidnapped by Mexicans; and while at Bosque redondo one of his sons was killed by Comanche.  He was part of the negotiations which allowed the return home of the Navajo.

Book Review: Navajo People

Navajo People: Native American Tribes by Mary Null Boule, Merryant Publishers Inc., 2003.

This is the second of her series I have looked at.  I am disappointed in them both and am not going to look at her books anymore.  Over half the book is taken by a description of Native Americans in general.  She concludes this saying how the Native Americans lived in peace and harmony for thousands of years and then the White man came who rarely even asked permission to take over the land.  I think the author is propagandizing.  These books are not fit for schools.  It appears their production is geared to take advantage of required school reporting on native Americans.  The author’s bias should be left to herself and it was a sad day these books were published.  

I was wondering if I learned anything new.  I liked the description of the hogan and how they are made.  However the author didn't even talk about the matriarchal society nor the clans.

Book Review: Navajo History and Culture

The Navajo History and Culture: Native American Library, Helen Dwyer and D.L. Birchfield, Gareth Steven Publishing, 2012.

This is a good brief introduction to the Navajo People.  It starts with an introduction, and an attempt of explaining where they came from—which I don’t think anyone knows but people theorize the came over the Bering Strait. 

The Navajo Origins Story talks about the “Dene” coming through two previous worlds, which they had to leave when the balance was not right.  They are now in their third world.

In the area where the Navajo lie, are the ruins of the Anasazi.  However, it is generally accepted that they are the ancestors of the Hopi, and not the Navajo.  However the Navajo learned many things from this culture, including the weaving of blankets and farming. 

When the Navajo were under the control of the Spanish and the Mexican government, they were pretty much left alone.  They were too distant to be of much concern.  However, when the United States took over there was more effort on colonizing the area, which lead to conflict between the Navajo and the government.  There were several conflicts, and eventually Kit Carson was commanded to destroy the livelihood of the Navajo.  He did this by burning crops and warring with the Navajo.  The Navajo were forced to submit to the “Long Walk of Death.”  This was a forced march of the Navajo from their native lands to Bosque Redondo in New Mexico, 300 miles away.  However, after about four year, in 1868, the Navajo were able to negotiate a treaty allowing them to return home, where they were on the Navajo Reservation, just much smaller than their original territory. 

Over the years, this land gained wealth through the discovery of oil, as well as uranium  The discover of uranium which had deadly consequences for which they are still trying to clean up.  Other involvement of the Navajo Nation in U.S. history was the contribution of the Navajo code talkers in WWII. 

The Navajo Country is very rural, but very conducive to the raising of sheep.  Sheep are used to provide meet as well as wool.  The Navajo are great weavers and their blankets are much desired.  They are also artisans of silver and their turquoise silver jewelry is also greatly desired. 

However the largest employer in the Navajo Nation is the government, federal and The Navajo Nation.  The Navajo Nation was organized as a need to have someone who could sign off on oil leases in the 1920s. 

The native customs, language and culture are a large part of Navajo live.  Healing ceremonies still take place, and medical offices have facilities for native healers.  The songs and sand paintings can be very complicated, and it takes many years of study to become a healer.  The Navajo have a matriarchal society, the men marrying into the family of the mother-in-law. 

The influence to the Navajo nation extends beyond its own borders, with artists and scientists.  The Navajo nation have their own college and medical facilities, including a native healing school.

Book Review: The Navajo: by Geraldine Woods

The Navajo: by Geraldine Woods, Watts Library, New York, 2002.

This is a very good brief book about the history of the Navajo or Dine which is the Navajo word for the people.  The Navajo represent the largest reservation, and the Native American people with the largest population of over 250,000.  The Navajo had been removed for a time to Bosque Redondo.  Kit Carson and the military lay siege to the Navajo.  They killed many, and destroyed their food supplies, and forced over 10,000 to a reservation in New Mexico.  This is known as the long walk.  During the walk, and the three years of incarceration at Bosque Redondo, over 2000 died.  Barboncito, a leader of the Dine, convinced the government to let them return to their traditional area. 

The Navajo went through a similar period as many other tribes where that attitude was, “Kill the Indian, save the man.”  This resulted in many children being sent to boarding schools where they were not allowed to speak their language or practice their traditions. 

The Navajo were traditional a clan organization, with no central leadership.  However when oil was discovered on the reservation, people need to negotiate with someone to lease the land.  The Navajo Nation was born with tribal council and representatives. 

The Navajo have been very good at sheep raising, and weaving of wool for blankets and clothes.  (At one time the tradition women’s clothing was two blankets sewed together.)  However there was a time when the land was over grazed.  The government stepped in a killed many animals by force.  As a result the heards became stronger.  However there was a period of poverty as the livelihood had been taken away. 

A period of great honor for the Navajo people was WWII.  The Navajo code talkers developed a system of communicating, based ontheir native language, which the Japanese could not break. 

Today the Navajo people struggle with the idea of being part of a modern world, while maintaining their traditions.  Much of the reservation is very isolated, with poor electric and phone service.