Subsistence

The Navajos or Diné mainly eat corn. The corn is prepared in different forms. They boil it, fry it, turn it into corn meal, or tortillas. They also eat wild plants such as greens from beeweed, seeds from the hedge mustard, pig weed, and mountain grass. They also eat tubers of wild onion, prickly pear, grapes, currants, chokecherries, sumac, rose, raspberries, acorns,and walnuts. 

One important food is the pinyon nut which is their major source of income. They gather these seeds around June and July while men hoe gardens. Another food source that is part of their diet are small wild potatoes no bigger than a hickory nut,  and yucca. The wild potatoes are served as fresh vegetables and because of their bitter taste they add clay seasoning. The yucca's are mad into cake and the next day are mixed in with water to make syrups. 

Some meals they usually prepared were mutton with sumac berry soup, and goat meat with corn meal. They liked goat because the meat was tough and it "seems like you're getting more to eat if it's tough"

woman grinding sumac berries for sumac berry soup

Some food items that the Navajo tribe started to incorporate in their diet after the Europeans came were mutton, fried bread, and coffee with goat milk and sugar. They also made coffee bean porridge. They disliked pork because at first they did not know how to cook it hence making them sick. They also didn't like dairy European dairy products. 

Navajo Food
2013 Navajo People - The Diné
http://navajopeople.org/navajo-food.htm accessed April 15, 2014

The Diné and their beliefs

The Diné, or the Navajo Earth people, believe in the existence of two types of people- the Holy people and the Earth people. The Holy people, analogous to what we refer to as “god” or “gods”, are believed to be powerful. The Earth people are kind of seen as responsible for the Earth and sustaining its peace and balance. The number four and harmony with the elements are a very important part of the Navajo beliefs. For example, four seasons, four directions, four sacred mountains, etc. The Earth people were also taught by the Holy people to always maintain harmony and balance with the elements such as Mother Earth or Father Sky. The Diné also perform over fifty ceremonies for many different purposes.

Navajo Cultural History and Legends
2002 Navajo Beliefs. Electronic document,
http://www.navajovalues.com/natani/navajovalues.htm
accessed April 14, 2014

Language

Yá'át'ééh!
Welcome!



The name "Navajo" comes from the late 18th century from the Spanish (Apaches de) Navajo "(Apaches of) Navajo," which came from the Tewa navahu meaning, fields adjoining a ravine." The Navajo call themselves the Dine', which means "The people." Most Navajo speak English as well as their language, Diné bizaad (meaning People's Language). The Navajo language has between 120,000 and 170,700 speakers, more than any other Native American language in the country. A factor that separates them and suggests their affinity to east Asia languages is that they are tonal. When they speak words with different tones, even with the same phonemes, they have different meanings. This difference makes learning the language for outsiders extremely different.

The Navajo language is famous for it's influence on World War II. At first, the Navajo started working with the army, but their efforts weren't completely utilized until they started working with the marines. The Indian recruits were given basic training and training in advanced infantry before given their task. They had to create a code to transfer military terms and phrases into the Navajo language. They made them as straightforward as possible so they could prove useful under combat conditions that required rapid receiving and translating. Words that with directly associated with nature or their common life were picked for simplicity. Navajos could encode, transmit, and decode a three-line English message in 20 seconds. Machines from that time took 30 minutes to do the same job. In all, about 400 Navajo people were trained as code talkers. The Navajo's codes proved vital to our success in winning the war. The Japanese never once broke their code.

 

Navajo People

2011[1994] Navajo Language. Electronic document, http://navajopeople.org/navajo-language.htm, accessed March 23, 2014.

 

Navajo Nation Department of Information Technology

2011 Navajo Nation. Electronic document, http://www.navajo-nsn.gov, accessed February 21, 2014.

 

Culture and the ‘white man’ influence

The Navajo Native American Indians were indigenous tribes that originate from Arizona or southwest. Through much investigating they concluded that first clan of the Navajo created by the gods in Arizona or Utah 500 years ago; originally named Diné also known as "the people". And even after being placed in a reservation they are one of the few Indian tribes still growing. Over time the Navajos were influenced by the Spanish when it came to the way they herd sheep. With European inventions it made their work less laborious. They herded their sheep with machine made cloths and machines. They also raised corn, beans, squash, and melons. These jobs were put in charge by the men. They were stereotypically not lazy and would spend their days cultivating crops, herding cattle and fetching water with springs or streams nearest to them; which sometimes was around 5 miles away. Inventions by the 'white man' made their cultivating a little easier.

Comparatively women had a higher position and influence among the Navajos. They are the sole manager of their abode. Which is name the Hogan; a small home “made out of logs branches grass and earth.” They are so low that the average man could not stand inside. They also had cooking duties where they made their child observe at a young age to catch up on things and then eventually help. They were specialized in creating meals that had the basis of corn such as corn meals. But instead of serving it in crude pottery like usual they were influenced by the Spanish to begin using metal pots and inexpensive dishes. This shows that the Spanish had influences in their cooking techniques and serving. 

  

The children had pets of all kind and that was usually their source of entertainment. They used them for companionship and as their toy. But they Europeans would say things such as “this boy is too young to have acquired the patience which we associate with his race" to create a negative stigma around the Navajo children. Despite that the children still played with their pets but now it was seen negatively. As they got to the age of seven or eight the children start to learn the methods in which their ancestors used to sustain themselves. For boys they started learning archery and began to ride horses in order to learn how to herd sheep and gain experience to own his own future flock. Even if they were sent to a boarding school their parents would take care of their sheep and when he comes back to the reservation he became a Shepard as his people have been for over 3 centuries. So the Spanish did not take away their culture but impeded in their traditions.

As a family they liked to go on trips to the trading post as a family outing.  The trader depended on his reputation for fair dealings and was licensed by the Indian bureau which is regulated by laws created by the Europeans. Creating a laws to regulate the Navajo trading systems shows how the Europeans used their imperialist powers to manipulate the Navajo's economics and trading. 

The Navajos were also known for their artistic side. They created silver jewelry that is still created similarly to this day. Silversmiths learned their art through the Spaniard but they were so good that they surpassed them and are considered to be the best silversmiths in the world. They also created created rugs and blanket designs that were world famous.  They created weaves made out of cotton and wool by first cleaning out the cotton or wool with a metal brush. The metal brush allowed for the excess dirt and grainy materials to come out and become clean. Afterwards they would use a spindle to create a long, and thin yarn-like string. Then they colored it and let it dry. At first they used plants and minerals as dye processors but they started to use man-made commercial dyes that were easier to use and the old techniques were forgotten.

Over the years the Navajo tribe has preserved most of their culture but they adapted to Eastern influence and molded it into their own. Not to say that the Europeans did them good by giving them machinery and inventions to help them cultivate but it did quicken the way they worked and introduced the manipulation of materials such as silver and bowls. The Spanish had a great impact on Navajo culture. 

The Navajo Indian
1945 Coronet Instructional Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Ur-Jw66G4, accessed March 28, 2014

The Navajo Today
2004 The Navajo Nation http://www.navajobusiness.com/fastFacts/Culture.htm accessed March 28, 2014

The Navajo Indian: profile of Navajo social life and culture, 1945

The Navajo Indian
1945 Coronet Instructional Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Ur-Jw66G4, accessed March 28, 2014

What is the Navajo word of the day?

Find out here: Word of the day!

The last of the Navajos to live at Wupatki National Monument?

Casey Capachi
2014 The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/03/26/the-last-of-the-navajos-to-live-at-wupatki-national-monument/
accessed March 26, 2014