Diné

A History of the Navajos

Peter Iverson

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Year: 2002
• ISBN:
  9780826327161
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

This comprehensive narrative traces the history of the Navajos from their origins to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Based on extensive archival research, traditional accounts, interviews, historic and contemporary photographs, and firsthand observation, it provides a detailed, up-to-date portrait of the Diné past and present that will be essential for scholars, students, and interested general readers, both Navajo and non-Navajo.

As Iverson points out, Navajo identity is rooted in the land bordered by the four sacred mountains. At the same time, the Navajos have always incorporated new elements, new peoples, and new ways of doing things. The author explains how the Diné remember past promises, recall past sacrifices, and continue to build upon past achievements to construct and sustain North America's largest native community. Provided is a concise and provocative analysis of Navajo origins and their relations with the Spanish, with other Indian communities, and with the first Anglo-Americans in the Southwest. Following an insightful account of the traumatic Long Walk era and of key developments following the return from exile at Fort Sumner, the author considers the major themes and events of the twentieth century, including political leadership, livestock reduction, the Code Talkers, schools, health care, government, economic development, the arts, and athletics.

Monty Roessel (Navajo), an outstanding photographer, is Executive Director of the Rough Rock Community School. He has written and provided photographs for award-winning books for young people.

1

“Black Clouds Will Rise”: To 1846

After we get back to our country it will brighten up again and the Navajos will be as happy as the land, black clouds will rise and there will be plenty of rain.

—Barboncito, 1868

BEGINNINGS

It begins with the land. It begins with the first light of morning. It begins with the white shell mountain. It begins with spring.

Luci Tapahonso writes:

Hayoolkaalgo Sisnajini nihi neel’iih leh.

Blanca Peak is adorned with white shell.

Blanca Peak is adorned with morning light. . . .

She is the brightness of spring.

She is Changing Woman returned. . . .

Because of her we think and create

Because of her we make songs.

Because of her, the designs appear as we weave.

Because of her, we tell stories and laugh.¹

Before this land, this light, this mountain, this season, there could be no Diné. So rooted in this particular place, this extraordinary environment, are the Navajos that one cannot imagine them elsewhere. The mountains are placed there for the Diné; they are to live within these mountains.

But one can imagine a certain scene, a vital moment in their history. It is the summer of 1868. Most of the Diné are in exile—incarcerated on a decidedly different earth hundreds of miles from their homeland. Their leaders are negotiating with federal representatives about their future residence. Barboncito declares: “Our grandfathers had no idea of living in any country except our own. . . . When the Navajos were first created four mountains and four rivers were pointed out to us, inside of which we should live, that was to be our country and was given to us by the first woman of the Navajo tribe.”

General William Tecumseh Sherman raises the possibility of sending the people to Indian Territory. Barboncito responds: “I hope to God you will not ask me to go to any other country except my own.” When the Navajos eventually persuade the government negotiators to allow them to go home, they are overjoyed. Barboncito says: “After we get back to our country it will brighten up again and the Navajos will be as happy as the land, black clouds will rise and there will be plenty of rain.”² As the people made their way back toward their home country, the old men and the old women began to weep with gladness when they first saw Tsoodził (Mount Taylor), the sacred mountain that marks the southern Navajo boundary. They had returned to Diné Bikéyah—the Navajo country—where the Holy People wished them to live. The agreement forged at Fort Sumner—the Treaty of 1868—clearly marked a major turning point in Navajo history. Had the Navajos been coerced into permanent exile in Oklahoma, their history would have been decidedly different.

That is, in fact, what their traditional oral histories proclaim. Through consideration of these stories one can begin to gain an essential appreciation for the nature of Diné identity and understand why the Navajos have been so tenacious in the defense of their land. This chapter thus begins with a brief summary of some central elements of these stories and then traces the history of the Diné in the American Southwest to 1846. In this overview one may see fundamental qualities of the people: adaptation, incorporation, and continuation.

THE EMERGENCE

The stories say that the Navajos emerged into this world after a long and difficult journey that took them from the First World (the Black World) to the Second World (the Blue World) to the Third World (the Yellow World) to the Fourth World (the Glittering World). First Man (Áłtsé Hastiin) and First Woman (Áłtsé Asdzą́ą́) are formed in the Black World, which also contained various Insect Beings.

Quarreling in the Black World among the Insect Beings forces them to climb to the Blue World, where Blue Birds (Dólii), Blue Hawks (Ginitsoh Dootł’izhí), Blue Jays (Jigí), and Blue Herons (Táłtl’ááh Ha’alééh) resided, together with other Insect Beings. First Man and First Woman soon discovered different animals, including Wolves (Ma’iitsoh), Wildcats (Nashdoiłbáhí), Badgers (Nahashch’id), Kit Foxes (Ma’iiłtsooí), and Mountain Lions (Nashdoitsoh).³

Once again, quarreling forced another migration, this time to the Yellow World. Here the mischievous Coyote causes problems for one and all that eventually lead to a flood that carries everyone to the Glittering World, the site of the six mountains: in the east (Blanca Peak or Sis Naajiní), the south (Mount Taylor or Tsoodził), the west (San Francisco Peaks or Dook’o’oosłííd), the north (Mount Hesperus or Dibe Nitsaa), the center (Huerfano Mountain or Dził Na’oodiłii), and the east of center (Gobernador Knob or Ch’ool’į́’į́). The first four mountains also were associated with a particular color and a particular season. They were the four sacred mountains that mark the traditional boundaries of Diné Bikéyah.

Sacred Mountain of the East: Sis Naajiní, Blanca Peak, Colorado. Photograph by Monty Roessel.

Sacred Mountain of the South: Tsoodził, Mount Taylor, New Mexico. Photograph by Monty Roessel.

Sacred Mountain of the West: Dook’o’oosłííd, San Francisco Peaks, Arizona. Photograph by Monty Roessel.

Sacred Mountain of the North: Dibé Nitsaa, Hesperus Peak, Colorado. Photograph by Monty Roessel.

Now the world as the Navajos would know it continued to be shaped. The stories tell of the first hogan being constructed, the first sweat bath being taken, the four seasons being established, day and night being created, the stars being placed in the sky, and the sun and the moon coming into existence. The Glittering World encompasses both beauty and difficulty. In one episode after another, listeners hear the consequences of improper behavior, and learn about the difficulties that may ensue through carelessness or thoughtlessness. The people had to learn as well about planning and resourcefulness in order for them to survive.⁴

During this time Changing Woman (Asdzáá Nádleehí) is born. Discovered on top of Gobernador Knob, she grew in twelve days to womanhood. The first puberty ceremony (Kinaaldá) was conducted for her, with many of the Holy People (Diyin Dine’é) participating. Talking God (Haashch’éíłti’í) conducted the final night ceremony, when he presented the twelve Hogan songs (Hooghan Biyiin) still employed today. According to Navajo elder Mike Mitchell, this ceremony represents the original Blessingway.⁵

Changing Woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to twin boys, who become known as Born for Water (Tóbájíshchíní) and Monster (or Enemy) Slayer (Nayee’ Neizghání). The twins embark upon a long and dangerous journey, filled with challenges that call upon them to employ all the good qualities emphasized in Navajo life. They visit their father, the Sun Bearer, who gives them weapons to employ against the monsters then plaguing the people. The twins return to kill One Walking Giant (Ye’iitsoh Ła’í Naagháíí), whose dried blood may be seen in the form of the lava flow near Tsoodził. They also slay Tsé Nináhálééh, the Monster Bird who lived on top of Shiprock (Tsé bit ’ aí, or “Winged Rock”).⁶

Although these exploits relieved the Diné of much suffering, the people needed additional help to improve their lives. Some Navajo accounts credit Changing Woman with the creation of livestock, while other stories have the twin boys returning to see the Sun Bearer, who gave them livestock as well as special prayers and medicine songs to be used for proper care of these animals. Regardless of how they were obtained, the horses are of four colors, each linked with one of the seasons and one of the sacred mountains: white, blue (or turquoise), yellow (or red), and black. Changing Woman is also important for her role in creating the first Navajo clans. She rubbed the skin from her breast, her back, and from under her arms to create Kiiyaa’áanii (Towering House), Honágháhnii (One Walks Around You), Tódích’íi’nii (Bitter Water), and Hashtł’ishnii (Mud) clans. Eventually there would be sixty clans, with perhaps a third of them tied to peoples of Puebloan descent. The clan system is matrilineal, with the individual inheriting his or her clan from his or her mother.⁷

Changing Woman, Born for Water, and Monster Slayer are central figures in Navajo history and culture. Diné traditional scholar Harry Walters concludes: “Their exploits and heroic deeds set order, balance and harmony in the world. Changing Woman’s gift of mother’s instinct and affection are the basis for the matrilineal clan system. The exploits of Monster Slayer and Born for Water are the basis for Navajo healing and protection ceremonials. The accomplishments of all three, mothers and sons, defined new terms and set standards of behavior on how the people should live and what to expect of life.”⁸

A proper life embodies hózhǫ́, defined by anthropologist Charlotte Frisbie as “continual good health, harmony, peace, beauty, good fortune, balance, and positive events in the lives of self and relatives.”⁹ If chaos had prevailed prior to the fourth world, the Blessingway ceremony opens the way to an era Walters terms the Hózhǫ́ǫ́jí period. The onset of this era is tied to increased contact between and among peoples of Athabaskan and Pueblo heritage. This is the foundation for the way of life that will become known as the Navajo. Blessingway is the fundamental informing and organizational force in Navajo ceremonialism. The standard anthropological analysis posits its formulation well after European contact, with significant evolution in the 1700s, when in the wake of the Spanish return in 1692 Puebloan peoples fled their home country and often joined Navajo communities. Walters disagrees, contending that the absence of extended references to livestock in the core ceremonial tales and the emphasis on corn and corn pollen speak to an aboriginal origin.

Thus, the Blessingway ceremonial’s adaptation and development are tied to a time of extended contact with Puebloan peoples, whereas the roots of the Enemy Way ceremonial may be linked to contact with people who have ties to the southern Plains, especially the Plains Apaches and the Comanches. Walters sees Plains elements in the Enemy Way, citing “the use of scalps, give-aways, name-calling songs, and the round dance.” Not all Diné share this perspective, but this observation is indicative of the new questions being raised about the evolution of Navajo culture.¹⁰

The Navajo traditional accounts do not contradict all of the archaeological or linguistic research that has been carried out over the past century. Navajos do not necessarily deny a connection with other Native peoples who speak a version of a language that has been classified as belonging to the Athabaskan (or Athapaskan) language category. The journey delineated in the traditional stories is not unlike the journey that non-Navajo archaeologists and linguists insist the Diné took from northwestern Canada and Alaska. There are, however, significant differences in some elements of Navajo traditional stories and the stories told by academic archaeologists and anthropologists.

The site of the first Kinaaldá: Dził Na’oodiłii, Huerfano Mounta...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Illustrations & Maps
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. “Black Clouds Will Rise”: To 1846
• 2. “We Must Never Forget”: 1846–1868
• 3. “Our Beloved Country”: 1868–1901
• 4. “A Short Rope”: 1901–1923
• 5. “Our People Cried”: 1923–1941
• 6. “We Have an Opportunity”: 1941–1962
• 7. “We Stand Together”: 1962–1982
• 8. “We Survive as a People”: 1982–2002
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Treaty of 1868
• Notes
• Selected Readings
• Index