Timeline
1581-1583: First Spanish contact with Navajos
-With the first contact between another culture, Navajo's were forced to melt into Spanish culture and forget all about their own culture and traditions.
1805: Massacre at Canyon de Chelly
-Spanish soldiers kill more than 100 Navajo women, children, and elders hiding in a cave
1963: The Navajo Long Walk
-Scorched Earth Campaign conducted by Kit Carson against the Navajo. Captives are force-marched on the Long Walk to Fort Sumner, 350 miles east in New Mexico, and many died. Many Navajo people died from diseases, lack of nutrition, and weather related causes. If a person was considered "dead weight" they would be shot and be left to die. This event in our History is very devastating to many people and we are told not to go to Fort Sumner ever because our ancestors were put through pain there.
1868: Treaty of Bosque Redondo creates a Navajo Reservation
-Between Navajo Wars, a treaty is created to create peace between Navajo's and their enemies. Navajo's were granted an amount of land that is near their home place (Dinetah). The US government does not have control over the Navajo reservation
1942-1945: Marine Navajo Code Talkers in World War II
-Navajo Marines use their language as a battlefield code, which the enemy is unable to decipher. With 29 original code talkers picked to help defeat the Japanese in WWII, the Navajo Language was used as a secret code. Young Navajo men were drafted from the Navajo Reservation; these men had to be fluent in Navajo and was ready to fight in battle if needed. Today, none of the original Code Talkers are alive; CHester Nez was the last and he passed away in June 2014.
1968: Navajo Community College, the first Native-operated college opens
-Navajo's education is rising with this being the first college to open on the reservation. Children on the reservation want to be closer to home and within the 4 sacred mountains so the school opening is a big deal.
2000: President Clinton approves the Congressional Medals for World War II Code Talkers
-For the hard work from the Code Talkers, President George W. Bush presented the Code Talkers with their medals in 2001. The Code Talkers were still unable to talk about the things that happened while making the code for the WWII defeat.
-With the first contact between another culture, Navajo's were forced to melt into Spanish culture and forget all about their own culture and traditions.
1805: Massacre at Canyon de Chelly
-Spanish soldiers kill more than 100 Navajo women, children, and elders hiding in a cave
1963: The Navajo Long Walk
-Scorched Earth Campaign conducted by Kit Carson against the Navajo. Captives are force-marched on the Long Walk to Fort Sumner, 350 miles east in New Mexico, and many died. Many Navajo people died from diseases, lack of nutrition, and weather related causes. If a person was considered "dead weight" they would be shot and be left to die. This event in our History is very devastating to many people and we are told not to go to Fort Sumner ever because our ancestors were put through pain there.
1868: Treaty of Bosque Redondo creates a Navajo Reservation
-Between Navajo Wars, a treaty is created to create peace between Navajo's and their enemies. Navajo's were granted an amount of land that is near their home place (Dinetah). The US government does not have control over the Navajo reservation
1942-1945: Marine Navajo Code Talkers in World War II
-Navajo Marines use their language as a battlefield code, which the enemy is unable to decipher. With 29 original code talkers picked to help defeat the Japanese in WWII, the Navajo Language was used as a secret code. Young Navajo men were drafted from the Navajo Reservation; these men had to be fluent in Navajo and was ready to fight in battle if needed. Today, none of the original Code Talkers are alive; CHester Nez was the last and he passed away in June 2014.
1968: Navajo Community College, the first Native-operated college opens
-Navajo's education is rising with this being the first college to open on the reservation. Children on the reservation want to be closer to home and within the 4 sacred mountains so the school opening is a big deal.
2000: President Clinton approves the Congressional Medals for World War II Code Talkers
-For the hard work from the Code Talkers, President George W. Bush presented the Code Talkers with their medals in 2001. The Code Talkers were still unable to talk about the things that happened while making the code for the WWII defeat.
The importance of these events best describes the Navajo Reservation as a whole. Through the first contact with Spanish conquistadors, the Navajo people went through harsh living conditions. Being forced outside of the 4 sacred mountains and having to walk down to Fort Sumner (~300 miles) was just a part of Navajo History. Many Navajo people died with the harsh living conditions that outsiders put them through but today, Navajo's are one of the biggest Native American Tribes in the United States. The history is the past and nothing can be done about it now, but I pray and hope that no other tribe or culture goes through what the Navajo's went through long ago.
Work Cited:
Navajo History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://navajopeople.org/navajo-history.htm
Navajo History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://navajopeople.org/navajo-history.htm
Religion
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. It is believed that centuries ago the Holy People taught the Diné how to live the right way and to conduct their many acts of everyday life. They were taught to live in harmony with Mother Earth, Father Sky and the many other elements such as man, animals, plants, and insects (Navajo Cultural History and Legends).
Navajo gods and other supernatural powers are many and varied. Most important among them are a group of anthropomorphic deities, and especially Changing Woman or Spider Woman, the consort of the Sun God, and her twin sons, the Monster Slayers. Other supernatural powers include animal, bird, and reptile spirits, and natural phenomena or wind, weather, light and darkness, celestial bodies, and monsters. There is a special class of deities, the Yei, who can be summoned by masked dancers to be present when major ceremonies are in progress. Most of the Navajo deities can be either beneficial or harmful to the Earth Surface People, depending on their caprice or on how they are approached. Navajo mythology is enormously rich and poetically expressive. According to basic cosmological belief, all of existence is divided between the Holy People (supernaturals) and the Earth Surface People. The Holy People passed through a succession of underworlds, each of which was destroyed by a flood, until they arrived in the present world. Here they created First Man and First Woman, the ancestors of all the Earth Surface People. The Holy People gave to the Earth Surface People all the practical and ritual knowledge necessary for their survival in this world and then moved away to dwell in other realms above the earth. However, they remain keenly interested in the day-to-day doings of the Earth Surface People, and constant attention to ceremonies and taboos is required in order to keep in harmony with them. The condition of hozoji, or being in harmony with the supernatural powers, is the single most important ideal sought by the Navajo people (Countries and their Cultures).
When disorder evolves in a Navajo's life, such as an illness, medicine men use herbs, prayers, songs and ceremonies to help cure patients. Some tribal members choose to be cured at the many hospitals on the Navajo Nation. Some will seek the assistance of a traditional Navajo medicine man. A qualified medicine man is a unique individual bestowed with supernatural powers to diagnose a person's problem and to heal or cure an illness and restore harmony to the patient.There are more than 50 different kinds of ceremonies that may be used in the Navajo culture--all performed at various times for a specific reason. Some ceremonies last several hours, while others may last as long as nine days (Navajo Cultural History and Legends).
Within the Navajo Culture, younger generations are being less exposed to religion. With social development and technology advancing, it is harder to get young children to be invested to be interested in their culture and religion. Religion still plays a huge role in other generations but Navajo religion needs to still be practiced to keep the tradition going.
The Holy People put four sacred mountains in four different directions, Mt. Blanca to the east, Mt. Taylor to the south, San Francisco Peak to the west, and Mt. Hesperus to the north near Durango, Colorado, thus creating Navajo land. The four directions are represented by four colors: White Shell represents the east, Turquoise the south, Yellow Abalone the west, and Jet Black the north.The number four permeates traditional Navajo philosophy. In the Navajo culture there are four directions, four seasons, the first four clans and four colors that are associated with the four sacred mountains. In most Navajo rituals there are four songs and multiples thereof, as well as many other symbolic uses of four (Navajo Cultural History and Legends).
With the Navajo Nation government, there is still a huge role that ties into religion. Since within the government, all people must need to know some sort of Navajo language to be qualified to have a job. If a person knows Navajo language at a proficiency level, I should automatically assume that they know things about their religion. Our government emphasizes Navajo religion to their workers and to their people who live within the Navajo reservation.
My concluding thoughts about NAC is that it is very traditional and well respected by many Navajo people. Although I did not grow up very traditionally, I much respect the religion very much and would like to learn more about it. I do not want my Navajo culture/religion to fade away from so I will have to do my very best in trying to save it. Navajo culture/religion is practiced in many places of the Navajo Reservation and much of the practices are very traditional and different based on where the location is. Every religion should be respected and I much respect my Navajo religion even though I do not practice is in my everyday life.
Navajo gods and other supernatural powers are many and varied. Most important among them are a group of anthropomorphic deities, and especially Changing Woman or Spider Woman, the consort of the Sun God, and her twin sons, the Monster Slayers. Other supernatural powers include animal, bird, and reptile spirits, and natural phenomena or wind, weather, light and darkness, celestial bodies, and monsters. There is a special class of deities, the Yei, who can be summoned by masked dancers to be present when major ceremonies are in progress. Most of the Navajo deities can be either beneficial or harmful to the Earth Surface People, depending on their caprice or on how they are approached. Navajo mythology is enormously rich and poetically expressive. According to basic cosmological belief, all of existence is divided between the Holy People (supernaturals) and the Earth Surface People. The Holy People passed through a succession of underworlds, each of which was destroyed by a flood, until they arrived in the present world. Here they created First Man and First Woman, the ancestors of all the Earth Surface People. The Holy People gave to the Earth Surface People all the practical and ritual knowledge necessary for their survival in this world and then moved away to dwell in other realms above the earth. However, they remain keenly interested in the day-to-day doings of the Earth Surface People, and constant attention to ceremonies and taboos is required in order to keep in harmony with them. The condition of hozoji, or being in harmony with the supernatural powers, is the single most important ideal sought by the Navajo people (Countries and their Cultures).
When disorder evolves in a Navajo's life, such as an illness, medicine men use herbs, prayers, songs and ceremonies to help cure patients. Some tribal members choose to be cured at the many hospitals on the Navajo Nation. Some will seek the assistance of a traditional Navajo medicine man. A qualified medicine man is a unique individual bestowed with supernatural powers to diagnose a person's problem and to heal or cure an illness and restore harmony to the patient.There are more than 50 different kinds of ceremonies that may be used in the Navajo culture--all performed at various times for a specific reason. Some ceremonies last several hours, while others may last as long as nine days (Navajo Cultural History and Legends).
Within the Navajo Culture, younger generations are being less exposed to religion. With social development and technology advancing, it is harder to get young children to be invested to be interested in their culture and religion. Religion still plays a huge role in other generations but Navajo religion needs to still be practiced to keep the tradition going.
The Holy People put four sacred mountains in four different directions, Mt. Blanca to the east, Mt. Taylor to the south, San Francisco Peak to the west, and Mt. Hesperus to the north near Durango, Colorado, thus creating Navajo land. The four directions are represented by four colors: White Shell represents the east, Turquoise the south, Yellow Abalone the west, and Jet Black the north.The number four permeates traditional Navajo philosophy. In the Navajo culture there are four directions, four seasons, the first four clans and four colors that are associated with the four sacred mountains. In most Navajo rituals there are four songs and multiples thereof, as well as many other symbolic uses of four (Navajo Cultural History and Legends).
With the Navajo Nation government, there is still a huge role that ties into religion. Since within the government, all people must need to know some sort of Navajo language to be qualified to have a job. If a person knows Navajo language at a proficiency level, I should automatically assume that they know things about their religion. Our government emphasizes Navajo religion to their workers and to their people who live within the Navajo reservation.
My concluding thoughts about NAC is that it is very traditional and well respected by many Navajo people. Although I did not grow up very traditionally, I much respect the religion very much and would like to learn more about it. I do not want my Navajo culture/religion to fade away from so I will have to do my very best in trying to save it. Navajo culture/religion is practiced in many places of the Navajo Reservation and much of the practices are very traditional and different based on where the location is. Every religion should be respected and I much respect my Navajo religion even though I do not practice is in my everyday life.
Works Cited
Countries and Their Cultures. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Navajo-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html
Navajo Cultural History and Legends. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.redshift.com/~bcbelknap/natani/navajovalues.htm
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