Navajo Indians

Navajo Indians

Introduction

The Navajo are indigenous nation U.S. largest, has about 298,000 for individuals. They live in the Southwestern United States spread across the states of Arizona , New Mexico , Utah and Colorado , along with 37 Navajos living in Chihuahua and Sonora , northern Mexico . Navajo is the name given them by the first Spanish explorers to call them "Apaches of Navajo Indians." They were nomads, and identified as enemies of the sedentary tribes of the Spanish, Mexicans and Anglos (Iverson, 2008). Currently they are mixed with other ethnicities, including white. To them belongs the largest single reserve of any Native American group, to cover over 60,704 square kilometers. Speaking group Athapascan , originate in Canada and emigrated to the American Southwest to the thirteenth century.

During the Second World War , several thousand Navajos joined the U.S. Armed Forces, which were often used as radio operators speaking their native language, which was impossible to understand the Japanese (Franciscan, 2007). This has been reflected in cinema in several films, including notably Windtalkers with Nicolas Cage starring. At present, the capital of the Navajo is in Window Rock , Arizona . They are involved in a wide variety of economic enterprises including farming, mining and production and sale of carpet weaving, pottery and jewelery typical.

History

When the Navajos and Apaches from Canada moved coming to the Southwest, is unclear. There in the north, most other Athabaskan-speaking tribes of Indians still live today, it was probably 900-1000 AD These early Navajo Apaches were probably similar to today as the modern Navajo, because this greatly by the Pueblo Indians were affected. Contacts to the Navajo Pueblo Indians are at least of 17 Century evidence of, as some refugees from the Rio Grande pueblos after the Spanish defeat of the Pueblo revolt came to the Navajo. In the 18th Century left some Hopi mesas because of drought and famine her to live among the Navajo, particularly in the Canyon de Chelly in northeastern Arizona (Fishler, 2009).

History in the 19th Century

When the government of the United States annexed the territory of the Navajo in 1849, they were feared as a number of warlike and aggressive groups. For many years the government tried in vain to halt the raids stop to allow the establishment of American and Mexican farmers.

In 1851, with Fort Defiance founded the first American military post in the Navajo country. During the American Civil War was the government in Washington that the territories of Arizona and New Mexico remained in the Union (Brugge, 2008). So should transport routes and communication links to and from California to remain open. Therefore, had the attacks, especially on the part of the Mescalero and Navajo are finished. The Mescalero were 1862, to Fort Sumner and Bosque Redondo on the Pecos River resettled.

History in the 20th Century

In the early 20th Century has increased the reserve and the living conditions improved. For their craftsmanship as the Navajo weavers and silversmiths are ...