Essay about History of the Navajo Tribe

The Navajo creation story explains that medicine was brought to the people by an ancient owl. This owl sent down a magic bundle containing the powers of healing to the new world. For thousands of years Navajo people have used this knowledge to heal and live in harmony with each other. As a product of two worlds, Dr. Lori Alvord was one of the first people to combine modern medicine with Navajo beliefs by overcoming cultural differences.

The Huichol Indians are an indigenous group that lives “in the Sierra Madre Mountains of northwestern Mexico” (Woolcott). The Huichol religion is an animistic religion. According to Dr. Pamela Lindell, animistic religions are “religions that believe that all of nature – humans, animals, plants, rocks, the ocean, etc. - is animated by spirits and souls” (“Professor’s Notes 2” 3). To better understand the Huichol Indians and their religion, this paper examines Huichol myth, symbolism, rituals, religious specialists, and deities from various anthropological perspectives.

The Navajo religion is being Navajo. Religion is something that you live every day (Young, 2001, p. 233).

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”.

Have you ever wonder how the world was created from another culture’s perspective? Native Americans used creation myths to explained to their people how the world was developed overtime. Creation myths are a big part of the Native American culture. they have been passed down from generation to generation. In the creation myths, harmony with nature, rituals, and strong social values are shown in each myths. The purpose of having strong social value in these myths is to teach younger Native Americans valuable lesson if they ever do something bad. These myths reveals how the rituals were created and their intentions for doing it. Creation myths has harmony with nature in it to show a very close kinship between them

One is called the Blessing Way that helps to guide them in the ways of Happiness and Wisdom. The other is called Enemy way, which is to eliminate ghosts and discourage evil spirits. “Their way of life is based on a belief that the physical and spiritual world blend together and everything on earth is alive and sacred (thinkquest.org, 2012).” Turquois would be considered a strong value to the Navajo mainly because it has strong religious significance. They also believe that the first man and women from the holy people used baskets and weaving for ceremonial purposes. “The Navajo also known as the Diné believe there are two classes of beings: the Earth People and the Holy People. The Holy People are believed to have the power to aid or harm the Earth People. Since Earth People of the Diné are an integral part of the universe, they must do everything they can to maintain harmony or balance on Mother Earth (Navajovalues.com, 2012 ).”

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.

The Navajo began taking Hopi rangeland to graze their livestock, farm fields and water resources, as well as planning constant raids against some of the Hopi villages. The Hopi were then forced to battle the Navajo for their survival in a long period of fighting that would last them until 1824. In 1848 the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe de Hidalgo, changing the jurisdiction under which the Hopi lands were governed once again, after the area became part of the United States white settlers began to explore the area in large groups. In 1870, the U.S. government placed claim to the lands of the Hopi leaving them to once again to fight to save their lands. Until they were forced onto the reservation in Black Mesa in 1882 where most Hopi still live to this day. Once on the reservation, the U.S. government spent years attempting to eliminate the way Hopi practiced their culture and religion. Children were sent off to school, while boys and men were forced to cut their hair a certain way. When most of the Hopi tribe refused to change their ways, this resulted in the imprisonment of Chief Lomahongyoma and eighteen other Hopi Indians being placed in Alcatraz for their resistance to the "forced culture.” From January 3rd to August 7, 1895, the group was imprisoned for their resistance to farm on individual plots away from the mesas and for refusing to send their children to government boarding schools.

America wasn’t always a safe place for the Native Americans, their resources ran scarce as all their crops began to die out. The Mexicans raided their camps and stole the some of Native people, for slave labor. Eventually, the Americans came only to side with the Mexicans because of the language barrier. The Mexicans took their advantage of being able to communicate with the Americans and told them that the Navajos were dangerous people. The Americans believed them, they ordered for the Navajo people to stop raiding the slave traders. Many chiefs refused to sign the agreement, leading America to declare war on the Navajos. Kaii's uncle informed him that the Americans burned their crops, killed their livestocks and cut down their peach trees, “they drove our people to exile. They sent us on the Long Walk.” A walk of a hundreds miles, to a place called Fort Sumner. Many people

Residing in the Southwest United States, the Navajo Indian tribe is one of the largest tribes in America today. In their own language, they refer to themselves as Diné which means “the people”. They are an old tribe with descendants tracing their roots back to the thirteenth century. The first contact that the Navajos had with white settlers was during the Mexican American War in 1846. The United States conducted peaceful relations with the Navajo for over fifteen years. Forts were built to help protect the Navajo from Spanish/Mexican raids on the Navajo’s cattle. Eventually, a new military commander, James H. Carleton, was named in New Mexico and he began to raid Navajo lands with a vengeance. He ordered the Navajo to surrender. When

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.

When the deadline for the surrender passed he ordered Carson and his force of militia to carry out a scorched campaign against the Navajo, a policy which was eagerly applied by the militia, private citizens and the Navajo traditional enemies like the Ute and Zuñi. Their food stores and livestock were destroyed or confiscated, their homes burned and their orchards chopped down or the trees girdled. Any who resisted were either killed or captured and many women and children were taken as slaves by Mexican and Indians of other tribes. Nearly starving, many of the more destitute Navajo surrendered by January 1864 and a majority had surrendered and been moved to the reservation by the following year.

It is clear from these beliefs that spirituality and religion played a major role in the Aboriginal culture. There were many myths and rituals connected to both the tribe's ancestors and the creators of the world, none of whom ever died but merged with the natural world and thus remained a part of the present. These myths and rituals, signifying communion with nature and the past, were known as the Dreaming or the Dreamtime, and reflected a belief in the continuity of existence and harmony with the world.

The roots and customs of Native American tribes run deep. A feeling of respect and tradition is in the air. Every little detail has meaning and a certain level of pride and of importance to each individual taking part in the ceremony. According to Access

The Navajo do not use the names of the dead and speak carefully about as to not upset their soul. In addition, when they said not to send the body back home many people may see this is strange. They believe that after death the soul is released and thus the body is rendered useless. Silko does a wonderful job delineating Navajo culture. Ayah is tied to the earth and she twists it to protect her.