Essay on The Navajo Indians

Submitted By chasebaliles
Words: 1327
Pages: 6
Open Document
Navajo Indians 1

The Navajo Indians
ANT101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Instructor: Professor Heywood
July 10, 2013

Navajo Indians 2 The Navajo Indians are considered to be the largest tribe of all Native American Indians within the United States. Among the Navajo culture their primary mode of subsistence are pastoralists. In this paper I will discuss the Navajo’s beliefs and values, sickness and healing as well as their social organization. “Pastoralists are those who regularly move in search of naturally occurring grass and water.”
(Nowak & Laird, 2010). The Navajo being a pastoral society as their main source of subsistence meant the use of farming to produce corn and raising of livestock, primarily sheep. These were techniques the Navajo learned after raiding Pueblo villages. Once both cultures were integrated, these techniques became important for survival and economic foundation. The shift to a pastoral and agricultural lifestyle created many opportunities which made it possible for the Navajo to become one of the most modernized societies in the United States. Having a new lifestyle and way of living, the Navajo were considered nomads because they often traveled from one area to another due to the change of season. Traveling during season changes resulted in abandoning and rebuilding of shelters repeatedly. The Navajo people have a very spiritual way of life and base their way of living around a spiritual essence. Being a spiritual people, the Navajo give thanks daily for their food as well as the land where they reside. The Navajo base their life on a belief that both the physical and spiritual world are blended together and that all things on earth are alive and sacred. The Navajo believe the creator placed them in the middle of four mountains that represented the four cardinal directions. Among these four cardinal directions, is where the Holy Ones are believed to have lived and that they are attracted to them by prayers, songs, stories as well as their paintings.
Navajo Indians 3
The Navajo believe that the Holy people have the power to aid or to harm the Earth People, which are the Navajo or otherwise known as the Dine. There is also the belief that the use of baskets and weaving came from the first man and women from the Holy ones, for ceremonial purposes. One item the Navajo valued was Turquoise. When the Navajo learned silversmith work, they combined the turquoise with the beauty of silver. This jewelry was often large and set with turquoise as the stone. The size and detail was said to reflect the owner’s wealth and their status. Turquoise and other gem stones are an important part of Navajo silversmiths they focus more on the detail and designs made with silver. Along with jewelry making the Navajo also valued basketry, pottery and sand painting. The baskets were used as to carry such things as water, food and other things meant for trading. The pottery was used to cook with as well as to store things such as food and water. Healing of illnesses by the Navajo was performed by ceremonies. Some of the ceremonies were called, chants, sings, or ways. Sand painting ceremonies were helot to either cure an illness and also to ensure ones general wellbeing. During these ceremonies, there were some that could last up to nine nights, however, most only lasted one day. These ceremonies are conducted by a practitioner, “priest”, that had the highest training and they are called a hatta[ii. In definition this means a singer or chanter.
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on The Navajo Indians

Navajo Indians Clothing

The Navajo Indians lived in huts called Hogan’s these Hogan’s were made out of clay bark and sticks. The Hogan's faced the east so it would Bring the Navajos living in the Hogan good blessings. Early navajo Indians wore clothing made from deer hides. Woven cloth or knitted wool was used in later years also something similar to a poncho was worn in later years as well,called a squaw-dress . They also wore colorful blankets as sashes. The Navajo indians were known for being fierce warriors…

Words 536 - Pages 3

The Navajo Code Talker

The Navajo Language On September 11, 2001 the world watched as the lives of many regardless of age, race, gender, and ethnicity changed as we witnessed a terror attack unfold on our homeland, the United States of America. The graphic images of the twin towers collapsing and an airline jet plane crashing into the Pentagon portrayed an image of what the American Indian’s must have seen as the Unites States Government (USG) made advances on their ancestral lands, threatening their very livelihood…

Words 2827 - Pages 12

Navajo Code Talkers Research Paper

Navajo Code Talkers were a valuable asset to the United States during World War II. They are the reason America won World War II. These Indians were remembered as brilliant men and women. They were remembered to be very polite to everyone, even if they had been mistreated. Before the Navajo Indians helped the Americans they were much mistreated. They changed the face of war in battles. Without the Navajo Code Talkers we might not have won World War II. The Navajo Indians were much abused. It was…

Words 500 - Pages 2

Bosque Redondo Case Study

finalize the pacification of Native American threats to American ambitions and interests in the Southwest. The Navajo were one such tribal power which Carleton sought to break. Under Carleton a series of wars and a harsh process of removal to Bosque Redondo would become known as the “Long Walk.” The Long Walk would reduce the tribe to such a state that in 1868 the government would allow interned Navajo to return to their lands, no longer considering them a threat to American ambitions in the Southwest. The…

Words 4945 - Pages 20

Essay on Some Moral Minima

The Culture of the Navajo ANT101 Professor Colin Garretson 1/7/2013 Eileen Marie Coppula The culture of the Navajo Native American history stretches back many centuries and continues till present day. There are many tribes along with their populations that domesticated and left their mark in forms of artifacts, customs and documentation made by white explorers. Although…

Words 1301 - Pages 6

Essay about Indian Struggles

Indian Country- Southern plains: Kiowas shared lands with Comanches Northern plains: Sioux, Blackfeet, and Crows Southwest: Apaches Treaty of Fort Laramie was taken back by other new treaties. The government forced American Indians to give up their land and move to reservations. Bureau of Indian Affairs- worked closely with US army, where the administering of the reservations took place. Years of Struggle- Some Indian groups fought back. Some 20,000 US Army troops were fighting…

Words 371 - Pages 2

Navajo Code Talkers

Talkers" are Navajo Indians who were trained to fight and send radio codes to other Code Talkers. The Code Talkers were fluent in the Navajo language and were fast at translating the Navajo code. They were brought from the reserves and learned (for what may be their first time) what was outside of their home. They learned discipline, the code, and were ready for war. The Code Talkers proved they were invaluable to victory with their amazing efficiency. One funny thing is, the Navajo were sometimes…

Words 630 - Pages 3

Secret Codes Analysis

wars. The passage, Navajo Code Talkers, the article, “American Indians in the United States Army”, and the passage “What’s So Special About Secret Codes?”, all inform the reader about the use of secret codes. Each author uses different information to convey the purpose of their writing. First off, the passage, Navajo Code Talkers, informs the reader about how the Navajo created secret codes. The author informs how Navajos were not told anything. The text states, “The Navajo code project was top…

Words 464 - Pages 2

Navajo Native Americans Research Paper

language, and beliefs but they all shared the same time era. The Navajo Native Americans were a particularly interesting group of people that existed in this time. The Navajo people were a group of Native Americans that thrived Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. They were the largest tribe of Native Americans so they stretched out over 27,000 square miles and had an estimated 300,000 tribe members living on it. The places the Navajos lived were know to have extremely cold winters and very hot summers…

Words 590 - Pages 3

Native American's in Wwii Essay

percent as volunteers. During World War II, Native Americans fought in both theatres of war (European and Pacific), yet their contributions have often gone unnoticed. More specifically, the code talkers or “wind talkers”, who were primarily of Navajo descent, played a pivotal role in supporting Allied operations in the Pacific and have never truly been given the credit they deserve. The Native American war response following Pearl Harbor was very surprising, partially due to the tensions…

Words 1524 - Pages 7