Diné, the People
The Navajo Tribe today is the second largest Indian tribe in
the United States with more than 219,198 enrolled tribal members. Navajos live
in almost every part of the country but most live on the Navajo Reservation,
which is located in the northern parts of New Mexico and Arizona and southern
Utah and is about the same size as West Virginia.
The Navajo call themselves, "Diné" or "the
People." To become enrolled, a person needs at least 1/4 Navajo ancestry
plus at least one parent with 1/2 Navajo ancestry and also an enrolled
member of the Navajo Tribe. The verifying certificate is called a "CIB"
or "Certificate of Indian Blood," which is used as a birth certificate
as well as for official tribal enrollment.
Navajo legend says the Diné emerged from the underground within
the Southwest and that the Holy People placed them within four sacred mountains
where the Navajo Reservation is today so that the people would continually receive
the necessities of life, clouds, trees and rain. To live here, is to live in
harmony with Mother Nature.
However, anthropologists say generally that the Navajo came
across the Bering Straits in early times, but perhaps somewhat later than other
tribes who also live in the Southwest. Linguists call the Navajo Athabaskans
along with the Apache in Arizona and many tribes in Alaska and Western
Canada. All of these peoples speak languages related to Navajo.
The Diné first came into written history during the 14th and
early 15th centuries while living along the Colorado-New Mexico boundary, between
the Chama and upper San Juan Rivers. They were aggressive and powerful
nomads who relied on hunting for their livelihood. From there the
Navajo moved south and west into what is now called Navajo Country.
In the 1600's the Navajo acquired horses, sheep, and goats from
the Spaniards, and they learned how to work with metal and wool. For
the next 200 years, they lived quietly by hunting, trapping, farming
and raising livestock on a diet mainly of corn, beans, squash, pine
nuts, cactus fruit, wild potatoes, greens, seeds, and wild and domestic
meats. The women made fine pottery and basketry and learned blanket
and sash weaving from the Pueblos, but soon added their own imaginative
designs and natural dyes. Much of today's culture which makes the
Navajo the people who they are now was acquired by being adaptable,
copying a great deal from neighbors, and improving on everything
they copied.
According to legend, there were first just four Navajo clans.
But the people created new ones as their numbers increased, so now there are more
than 60 clans. Since marriage within one's clan has been and is still regarded as
incest, it can be understood why the Navajo "population explosion"
necessitated the adding of new clans. Some take names from neighboring
ethnic groups and originated when people from those groups were adopted, leading
to establishment of today's Mescalero Apache, Jemz (Pueblo), Mexican, Tewa
(Pueblo), Ute, Zia (Pueblo), and Zuni (Pueblo) clans.
Navajo society is matrilineal. When children are born, they
become members of their mother's clan as well as members of their mother's and
father's extended family who belong to both the mother's and father's
clan. When young couples marry, they reside near the residence of
the wife's mother. However, husbands must avoid contact with their
mother-in-laws unless a special ceremony is performed. Otherwise,
husbands never to go into the same room with, or look at or talk
to their mother-in-laws.
Until the coming of the United States, the Diné remained
semi-nomadic and Navajo country was a dangerous place for everybody but except
Navajos. Although they lived in loosely defined areas, the Navajo
traveled far and wide all over their country, raiding one day and
appearing miles away the next. They had no friends among other tribes,
and regarded American settlers as enemies. Everyone's hands were
against the Navajo, who retaliated with all their strength.
The United States first encountered the Diné during the
winter of 1846. Colonel Doniphan and 350 soldiers met with Navajo leaders at Bear
Springs (later called Fort Wingate), and signed a nominal treaty.
Since there was no acknowledged head leader, the band leaders who
signed took responsibility for their own people only, a fact
not understood by the Army, which held all Navajo responsible for
the treaty promises made by all bands. This led to misunderstandings,
retaliation, and more raids over the next 20 years.
Following the Civil War, the United States decided to round
up the Navajo and send them to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. There they were to be
taught English, farming, and other skills for U. S. citizenship.
Colonel Kit Carson had the task of locating the Navajo and he captured
approximately 8,000. But some hid in such places as Canyon de Chelly,
from where they defied troops to dislodge them. It became necessary
to destroy Navajo sheep, cornfields, and orchards, and literally
starve them into submission. Even then, some did not surrender.
Bands of people fled to Navajo Mountain, Arizona and other Far Western
and Northern parts of the Navajo Reservation, where they hid and
eluded troops until they were finally left undetected.
Those who lived at Fort Sumner found little to their liking.
Food, clothing, and shelter were scarce and there was not enough wood to build homes
and fires against the cold winters and chilly summer nights. The
water was bad and old enemies, such as the Comanche, raided them
at every chance because Fort Sumner was in Comanche country and
the Comanche did not like Navajos living there. Also, the Navajo
had no heart to succeed at something they bitterly detested.
In 1868 after four heartbreaking years, the Navajo petitioned
the U.S. Peace Commission for permission to return. General Sherman and
the Navajo leaders met and signed a treaty allowing the Navajo to
return to their reservation homeland of three and a half million
acres and live in peace with their neighbors. The government also
agreed to provide 30,000 head of sheep and goats and one teacher
for every 30 children.
Freed from captivity, the Diné walked back and started anew,
but troubles continued. The Navajo wanted local day schools, not boarding schools,
so their children could be educated while living at home. But oftentimes
this was not possible due to the remoteness of most Navajo homes.
Enemy tribes continued raiding and Army contractors cheated the
Navajo out of promised food and supplies. But as in times past,
they relied on stamina, the will to work and adapt, and the desire
to succeed.
Until World War II, the Navajo lived much as they did in
the old days-- making their living by herding sheep, weaving rugs,
growing melons and squash, and silver-smith plus a little railroad
work nearby. But with the demands of war, some 15,000 Navajos worked
for the railroads and war industries and some 3,500 joined the Army,
Navy, and Marines, including the Navajo "Code Talkers"
who made an outstanding contribution in winning the war against
Japan.
Secure communications were essential, especially with troops
spread over vast areas. Because the United States was able to break the Japanese
communication codes, the U. S. hoped Japan would be unable to do
the same. Therefore, U. S. commanders and cryptographers sought
a perfect code, one that could not be broken under any circumstances.
At that time, the Navajo language was still one of the worlds "hidden
Languages" with virtually no written form, alphabet, or other
symbols, and it was spoken only among the Navajo where the many
clans had several dialect variations. Only a few non-Navajos were
fluent in the language and they were mostly anthropologists and
missionaries.
One such Anglo (as Navajo describe people of European
background) was Philip Johnston, a missionary's son raised on the Navajo Reservation
who had Navajo playmates from an early age. Johnston spoke Navajo
fluently and knew Navajo culture and traditions. He served in World
War I, studied Civil Engineering, and then worked in Los Angeles
where he also lectured about Navajo life. Shortly after the onset
of war with Japan, he learned of the U. S. Military's attempt to
develop a code with American Indian signalmen, so he conceived the
idea of Navajos using groups of words as specific codes. On February
11, 1942, Johnston told Marine Lieutenant Colonel James E. Jones
at Camp Elliott, a signal officer, that he believed the Navajo language
could guarantee secure radio and wire voice transmission for Marine
Corps communications. A demonstration soon confirmed the usefulness
of Johnston's idea.
Three months later, with approval by the Navajo Tribal Council,
the Marines began recruiting young Navajo men at Window Rock, Arizona. Recruits
had to be fluent in both English and Navajo, in good physical condition,
and age 18, but some younger ones enlisted by lying about their
age. By August 1943, 191 Navajo men had joined the Marines for the
code talker program, which involved an estimated 374 to 420 individuals.
In the established Navajo code, clan names represented various
Marine Corps units, names of birds like "chicken hawk" denoted
airplanes, the commanding general was "war chief," and
a major general was "two star." Alternate terms were provided
in the code letters frequently repeated in the English language.
For example, each letter of the alphabet was given three different
forms: "ant," "ax," and "apple," were
the forms of the letter "A." For "B," the words
were "badger," "bear," and "barrel,"
and so on for the alphabet. All code talkers had to memorize both
primary and alternate code terms because printed materials could
not be carried into combat areas for fear of them falling into enemy
hands and compromise the whole program.
Several times Marine commands received messages advising of
captured Japanese wearing Marine uniforms and identification tags but investigations
showed that some prisoners were actually Navajo Code Talkers in
Marine units. Other cases of mistaken identity happened, especially
when Army units fought alongside Marines as these soldiers knew
nothing about the Navajo! Today the Code Talkers' legacy lives on
through their many sons and daughters who carry on the heritage
of service and loyalty to their country.
After the war, the Diné population continued to boom as young
men and women returned to the reservation and to start new families under
better living conditions. Schools, hospitals, paved roads, and electric
power lines crisscrossed the reservation and many now enjoy telephones
and televisions. While a number now live in towns, most still live
miles from their closest neighbors in either traditional "hogans"
or trailers or small houses with only two or three rooms and windows.
Almost all of the 45,000 Navajo children attend school (boarding,
public, or parochial) on or near the reservation, but many still
leave home to attend because of the remoteness of their families.
Each year over 1,000 students also take advantage of higher education
with the tribe's $25 million scholarship fund and related federal
grants. The U. S. Public Health Service contributes to healthier
lives as well by maintaining five hospitals and several Health Clinics
across the reservation.
Today, the Navajo economy is diverse. Livestock graze on
15,000,000 acres of rangeland and crops are raised on 16,500 acres of farm land.
Oil, gas, coal, and uranium companies employ hundreds of tribal
members and pay substantial royalties for extracting energy resources
on millions acres. Tourists come to camp, fish, and enjoy the natural
beauty of Canyon de Chelly, the Chuska Mountains, Monument Valley,
and Lake Powell as well as patronize motels, restaurants, and arts
and crafts shops. Window Rock, the tribe’s capital, and Shiprock
have modern shopping facilities.
The Diné government has modernized as well with a "Tribal
Council" as the legislature and a "Tribal Chairman" as the chief
executive officer. With substantial income from energy leases the
annual budget exceeds $25 million per year but unlike many other
tribes, the Navajo do not dole money out to individual members.
Rather, the tribal government plans community projects to benefit
the people as a whole such as building numerous community centers
throughout the reservation as gathering places for grassroots political
meetings and social events.
Tribal members selected the Navajo Tribe’s Great Seal
and Flag in two competitions with numerous entries. John Claw Jr. of Many Farms,
Arizona, designed the Great Seal and Jay R. Degroat of Mariano Lake,
Arizona, designed the flag. The Navajo Tribal Council officially
adopted the Great Seal on January 18, 1952 and the Flag on May 21,
1968.
From past to present, Diné history is filled with accounts
of the people doing things together and keeping their unique way of life. Many
stories tell how Navajo life evolved and about Holy People continually
intervening in their daily lives. Elderly grandparents, parents,
and medicine men tell the children stories about their clan’s
past and those of the entire people. The stories are told orally
for the children to remember and to tell to their own children in
the future.
The Diné saga is one of the most interesting puzzles among Indians.
While other tribes have disappeared, the Navajo are growing, increasing
three times faster than the United States as a whole. While others
no longer speak their native language, the Navajo speak their mother
tongue fluently with a number speaking little English. Other tribes
have lost most of their homeland, but the Navajo have increased
theirs four times from three and a half million acres in 1868 to
almost 16 million today. In all areas, the Diné have pressed on
with high objectives and determination to assure a bright future
for themselves in modern America.
Bibliography:
1. Promoting Wellness in the
Classroom Shiprock Health Promotion Northern Navajo Medical Center, Shiprock, New
Mexico, 1997-1998
2. Title IX - Indian Education,
Navajo Studies Curriculum, Chinle Unified School District No. 24, Chinle,
Arizona.
3. Charlie, Karla 8z Moorehead, Dr.
Annette, Navajo Cultural Handbook, Farmington Municipal Schools #5 Title
IX, Indian Education Program, P. O. Box 5850 Farmington New Mexico, 1995
4. Kawano, Kenji, Warriors Navajo
Code Talkers, Northland Publishing Co., Flagstaff, Arizona, 1990.
5. Spizziri, Linda, Southwest
Indians, Spizzirri Publishing Inc., Raid City South Dakota, 1986.
6. Lapahe, Harrison Jr., American
Indian Genealogy, Navajo Census Roll, visited July 11, 2000, http://www.lapahie.com/Dine_Census.cfm.
7. Native American Tribes Population
Rankings Indian Tribes Ranking, visited July 11, 2000, http://www.americanwest.com/pages/indrank.htm.
8. Navajo Changes Taken from 3-23
74-76 A History of the Navajo People Produced by Title IV, B Navajo Materials
Development Project Rough Rock Demonstration School Rough Rock, Arizona http://www.lapahie.com/
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