Transcript Navajo Indians - California State University, San Bernardino

Navajo Indians
1850-1930
• Amy Bates
• Gaby Fonseca
• Kathy Buxton
• Diana Kuch
• Tory Cohn
• Hillary Thomas
• Alison Viefhaus
Study Guide
page 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
What is the name of the spiritual force that the Navajo’s believe
in?
What is viewed as the power of the Almighty?
When is a Kinaalda held in a Navajo girl’s life?
Why is a girls attitude so important during the Kinaalda?
What happened to children during the genocidal push on
Navajos?
What was “The Long Walk”?
When was the New Treaty signed, releasing the Navajos?
What are two traditional games that Navajo children played?
At the age of five, what were Navajo children given by their
parents?
Study Guide
page 2
10. What is the other name that the Navajos are known
by?
11. By making the Navajo children learn and speak in only
English, what was the main affect on their Native
language?
12. What is the name of the first art school founded in
1930 for Native Americans?
13. What were sandpaintings done for?
14. Why was the bear hardly ever killed and eaten in the
Navajo culture?
15. What season did Navajo men go on hunting
expeditions and why?
16. How old were Navajo boys when they started to hunt?
?
• What is the other name that the Navajos
are known by?
Background Information
• The name Navajo generally meaning “Takers of
the field” were given their name by the Tewa
people. The Navajo are also referred to as Diné,
meaning “The People”.
• There are different spellings for both of these
terms, including Navaho and Dineh.
• The Navajo belong to the linguistic group known
as the Athapaskan.
• The Navajo Indians are Southwestern Indians
located the regions of Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico, and Utah.
?
•
•
What is the name of the spiritual force
that the Navajo’s believe in?
What is viewed as the power of the
Almighty?
The Almighty
• The Navajo Indians believe in the
Almighty.
• The Almighty is a spiritual force that is the
source of life.
– It is not pictured as a man in the sky
– It is formless and exist in the universe.
Prayer
• The Sun
– Viewed as the power of the Almighty
– Is not worshiped
– Is prayed to because it is a symbol of the
Almighty.
Afterlife
• Navajo Indians do not pay much attention
to the afterlife.
• After death, the soul roams around into a
different universe.
• The soul carries on with everyday
activities like he or she used to do when
they were alive.
• Same life—different universe.
?
•
•
When is a Kinaalda held in a Navajo
girl’s life?
Why is a girls attitude so important
during the Kinaalda?
Ceremony of Kinaalda
• Ceremony for a Navajo girl whose first menstrual cycle
has begun.
• Dramatic four day and night ceremony is held in her
honor.
• She becomes a tribal symbol for fertility
• There are many rituals connected to the Kinaalda.
• Most Navajo girls will marry within the year after the
Kinaalda ceremony.
• HAIR BRUSHING Resembles “The Changing Woman”
and purification of the young woman.
• DRESSING in clothing and jewelry that belongs to her
family is believed that it will bring her wealth and
success.
• LIFTING follows the dressing and is believed that the girl will
conceive and have babies.
• MOLDING is done to make the girl beautiful and shapely. This must
be done by a woman who has wealth, prosperity, good character,
health and strength.
• RACING is done to improve the leg muscles and to make her body
strong, supple and energetic. It is thought that those that run with
her will receive great blessings.
• CORN GRINDING is another very important part of this ceremony.
It is possibly the greatest test of the four day, because it is believed
that it insures that her future will be strong and industrious.
Throughout her Kinaalda the girl is not allowed to eat anything that
is not made of corn or she will become lazy, ugly, wrinkled and weak
and unable to perform her duties.
• ‘ALKAAN is sweetened corn bread that is baked as an offering to
the sun. The ‘Alkaan is then cut and everyone is given piece. It is
believed that the cake must be shared with everyone or the girl will
become a selfish person. It is believed that if the girl eats her own
cake that her teeth will fall out, and she will get old right away.
• BRUSHING AND PAINTING is done after the ‘Alkaan is served.
The girls’ hair is brushed again. She is then painted with paint made
of white shells and represents “The Changing Woman”.
• The completion of the Kinaalda is followed by Navajo ceremonial
practices of a four day period of ceremonial quiet. Ideally the girl will
reflect on the events of the four day ceremony and what has been
taught to her. A girls attitude is extremely important during the
ceremony because it is believed that their adult personality will be
determined by the mannerisms and actions displayed during the
Kinaalda.
?
•
•
•
What happened to children during the
genocidal push on Navajos?
What was “The Long Walk”?
When was the new Treaty signed,
releasing the Navajos?
Major Events
• Early 1850’s
– Culture clashes reached a violent peak with Hispanic,
Navajo, Mescalero, Ute and Anglo peoples all
struggling for survival.
– The first U.S. Army outpost on Navajo territory was
built and named Fort Defiance.
• 1860’s
– Thousands of Navajo’s attacked Fort Defiance, but
failed to dislodge the army.
• 1860-1868
– Women and children of the tribes were stolen and
sold as slaves.
Major Events cont.
• 1862
– Kit Carleson, under the orders of General
James Carleton began a genocidal push
against Navajo and Apache.
– All male Navajos were to surrender or be
shot.
– Those who surrendered were taken to Fort
Sumner in Eastern New Mexico.
• This was known as “The Long Walk” because the
trek was 300 miles long.
Major Events cont.
• Late 1863- December 1864
– 8,354 Navajos surrendered.
– Navajos were quickly transferred across New
Mexico Territory. (The Long Walk)
– The aged, weak, children, and pregnant
women who could not keep up were shot.
– Exposure and dysentery took hundreds of
more lives.
– Final death count was about 3,000 Navajos
Major Events cont.
• 1868
– U.S. admits “failure at civilizing” the Navajo
and General Carleton was discharged for
tyranny.
• June 1, 1868
– A new treaty was signed releasing the Navajo
back to the reservation sites although many
chose to return to their original homes.
?
• Why was the bear hardly ever killed and
eaten in the Navajo culture?
• What season did Navajo men go on
hunting expeditions and why?
• How old were Navajo boys when they
started to hunt?
Making a Living
• The Navajo economy from the 1600’s to the mid
1900’s depended on agriculture and livestock.
• During the summer months the Navajo planted
corn, beans, and squash on the floodplains and
tributaries of the San Juan River, while they
raised their sheep, horses, and goats in the
mountains.
• Winter camps were at a lower elevation where
they could be more protected from the elements.
• During this period the expression “making a
living” referred to collecting enough food to stay
alive.
Agriculture
• Beans, corn, and squash were staples to the
Navajo people.
• Any and every kind of seed and root that could
be used, was used for something.
• Planting and cultivating was a family job. The
men would start digging holes and or rows, and
the women and children would follow behind
dropping seeds into the soil and then covering
them up.
• While men were away hunting, women would do
their part, by digging up roots or shaking tiny
seeds from wild plants.
Hunting
• Every man and boy was expected to become a hunter.
• Boys as young as four were busy setting traps for rats
and gophers. It was not until they reached the age of 18
that they were aloud to accompany their tribe on hunting
expeditions.
• Men would be away on hunting expeditions for months at
time, mostly in the Autumn season. The Autumn season
was the best for hunting because it was this time that the
animals were the fattest and could provide the most food
and supplies.
• The meat of the animal was eaten, their teeth were used
to make jewelry, their bones were used to make spears
and digging and hunting tools, and their fur was used to
make blankets and coats.
The Bear
• The Navajo killed and ate almost every animal.
• One of the only exceptions was the Bear. The bear was
seen as almost human because it could walk on it’s hind
legs and use its paws like a man.
• The only time a bear was killed was when it’s skin was
needed for a ceremony, or when the Navajo people were
starving and could find no other food.
• When the bear was killed, the person killing it spoke to it
first to explain why they must be killed and then the bear
was prayed for. When it was killed, it was clubbed so no
blood would be drawn.
Harder Times
• After the Navajo were permitted to return to their
homeland after the long walk to Fort Sumner,
agriculture was not the same.
• Because the Navajo were given small pieces of
land, overgrazing and soil erosion became
problems. This led to the reduction of livestock.
• This reduction depressed a lot of the Navajo
because their wealth was measured in sheep
and many were led to slaughter their herds in
order to “make a living”.
?
• By making the Navajo children learn and
speak in only English, what was the main
affect on their Native language?
Education
• Navajo children were traditionally educated by
their parents and fellow tribes people.
• Their education was started as soon as they
could walk and they were treated like adults.
• The children were taught to act like elders in the
tribe. They were taught how to get food, tribal
customs, and the history of their people.
• Children were taught orally.
– That is how they learned the Athapaskan language.
• Indian children were starting to be educated by
the Government in this time period. The Indian
children were taken off of the reservation and
sent to boarding schools. This was done to
civilize the children and to teach them English.
• The schools were to teach the children how to
speak, read and write English. They wanted
English to replace their Native Language. This
lead to the decline of the native language of
Indians and of their customs.
• In 1903 the government had made plans to build
a school near the Navajo Reservation. This
received a favorable response from the Navajos
because they would no longer lose their children
to the boarding schools, which were much
further away.
• The Government agreed to build the facility
because they were guaranteed that one hundred
students would be enrolled there.
• The construction started on the facility in 1905
and was open for enrollment on September 1,
1906.
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
• One of the boarding schools that Indian children,
including Navajo children, were sent to was the
Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.
• The school was funded by Richard Pratt in 1879,
with the thought of assimilating Indian children
by taking them to the boarding school.
• The children were taught manners, job skills,
and how they should dress. School was
conducted in military style, where they were
given ranks, marched, and performed drills.
• The students hair was cut on the first day of
school and they were given uniforms.
• The children learned academics the first half of
the day, and trades the second half.
• During the time period of 1879-1918 the Carlisle
schools had a wide variety of students from
different tribes including 43 Navajo children.
• The tradition of the boarding schools forcing
assimilation to the boarding schools had started
to change by the 1930’s. At this time, they were
no longer forcing students to assimilate.
?
•
•
What are two traditional games that
Navajo children played?
At the age of five, what were Navajo
children given by their parents?
Work and Play
• The Navajo were good and loving parents. They seldom
punished their children.
• However, Navajo children were scarcely spoiled.
• Children grew up around many relatives from whom they
learned practical skills for providing for themselves and
they also received instruction in the customs of their
people.
• Once children were old enough, they were expected to
help around the Hogan (house), carrying firewood or
tending to the sheep.
• At the age of five, each Navajo child is given a lamb that
they are to take care of. The lamb is entirely their
responsibility and they must care for all aspects of this
lamb.
String Games
• Navajo children had few toys so they became quite
resourceful in inventing their own games. There were
also traditional games that the Navajo children played as
well.
• String games were very prevalent for the Navajo. These
string games were played during the winter only because
the winter season is when spiders hibernate.
• It was believed if anyone played a string game outside of
the winter season, they would either be struck by
lightning, fall off of a horse, or be urinated upon by
spiders.
• There are roughly 75 figures that can be made from
these string games, ranging from stars, to birds, to
rockets, arrows, and so on.
The Shoe Game
• The shoe game is another traditional Navajo game.
• In this game many shoes are hidden in a box of sand
with only the tops of the shoes in view.
• Children were split into teams and each team was to
hide a yucca ball in one of the shoes.
• The other team guesses which shoe the ball is in. If they
are correct, then they get to hide the ball and receive
yucca branches which are essentially points.
• If they guess incorrectly, the team that hid the yucca ball
receives yucca branches.
• Once all of the yucca branches are gone, they are
counted up to determine the winning team.
?
• What is the name of the first art school
founded in 1930 for Native Americans?
• What were sandpaintings done for?
Arts and Crafts (general info.)
• Navajo learned weaving, making cloth, and art from the
Pueblo Indians.
• They used sheep to make clothes, blankets, and rugs.
They use natural vegetable dyes still today.
• Their art uses symbols and signs that represent their
ideas, beliefs, dreams, and visions.
• Turquoise was mined by the southwestern tribes. It is
the stone of happiness, health and good fortune.
• Navajo are known for their silverwork that they learned
from the Mexicans.
Pottery
• Pottery was made for domestic use for many years.
• From trading posts, Navajos obtained better utensils made from
metal and glass.
• The necessity of pottery declined as a household good.
• In 1930 a revival movement of pottery making attracted European
and American attention.
• Young women became disinterested in learning pottery making skills
from their mothers.
• Lucy Leuppe McKelvey is a well-known potter that makes large
vessels with geometric designs and life-form figures.
• Lucy feels pottery making is very personal and has taught her 3
daughters pottery making in order to keep the Navajo tradition alive.
Rugs
• All Navajo rugs are considered tapestries due to the
tightness of the weave.
• “Ganado rug is viewed as the classic Navajo rug. It has
a bold red background, accented by a central diamond
shape with a black, white and gray design of zigzags,
geometric patterns and crosses are at the corners.
• Navajo weaving is predominately created by women and
only a few males.
• Some younger people are learning that art of weaving
and others go into other fields.
• The future of Navajo weaving is unknown.
Sandpaintings
• Made on the floor of the hogan (dwelling) by the
medicine man (chanter)
• Considered an important sacred object that depicts a
scene of the Holy Ones.
• Achieved by sprinkling dry sand, colored with natural
pigments like ground shell, charcoal, and pollen
• Used ceremonially to cure a patient from sickness,
• There are only about 700 medicine men and women
today.
• Not many young people are interested in becoming
chanters.
• As a result, ceremonial sandpaintings are becoming
extinct.
Art Schools
• 1910-1920
– White anthropoligists and school teachers commissioned
southwest Indians to illustrate traditional culture.
– Some teachers even encouraged native students to experiment
with White artistic media.
– Native American watercolorists influenced nearby tribes when
the experiment continued at the Santa Fe Indian School
• 1930
– Founding of “The Studio” the first art school for Native Americans
by Dorothy Dunn.
– Dunn influenced her students to adopt a flat, two dimensional
‘Indian’ style and taught them to use pastels.
– Two famous Navajo artists from this school are Harrison Begay
and Andrew Tsinajinnie.
The End
Thank you for watching and
listening!
Works Cited
Amy Bates
• Allen, T.D. Navahos Have Five Fingers, University of
Oklahoma Press: Norman 1963
• Arizona State University, Fall 2001,
http://www.asu.edu/lib/archives/boardingschools.html
• Carlisle Indian School,
http://home.epix.net/~landis/main.html
• Handbook of North American Indians Vol. 7, Northwest
Coast, 1990
• McPherson, Robert S. The Northern Navajo Frontier
1860-1900: Expansion Through Adversity, University of
New Mexico Press, 1988
Amy Bates cont.
• Readers Digest, America’s Fascinating
Indian Heritage, The Readers Digest Inc.
New York, 1978
• White, John Manchip Everyday Life of the
North American Indian, Holmes & Meier
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Kathy Buxton
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• “Southwest Art”. Art, Pottery, Baskets, & Jewelry.
1/16/2005.
http://inkido.indiana.edu/w310work/romac/art.htm
Tory Cohn
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Cowendish Corp. 1999
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Jersey: 1992
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Curriculum Center. 1980
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Gaby Fonseca
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University of Virginia. 19 Jan. 2005
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/naspirit.ht
ml
• Eck, Pam. Religion. 15 April 1998. IUPUI 16 Jan 2005.
http://inkidon.indiana.edu/w310work/romac/swrelig.htm
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Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000
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• Sullivan, Lawrence E. Native Religions and Cultures of
North America. New York: Continuum International, 2000
Diana Kuch
• Coolidge, Dane. Under the Sun: Novel of the Navajo Exile in 186369. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1927
• Coolidge, Dane and Mary. The Navajo Indians. New York:
Houghton Mifflin, 1930
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Gannon, 1975.
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Element Distributions: XVI (1941) Pp. 21-90
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Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1948
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1977
Hillary Thomas
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and Land. Tsaile, Arizona: Navajo Community
College Press, 1989
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Genesis. University of California Press, 1998
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Albuquerque, New Mexico: Avanyu Publishing,
Inc., 1989
• Smith, Michael L.
http://www.ausbcomp.com/redman/navajo.htm
• 1998
Alison Viefhaus
• Hill, W. W. The Agricultural and Hunting Methods of the Navaho
Indians. London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1938
• Iverson, Peter. Diné: A History of the Navajos. Albuquerque, New
Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.
• McPherson, Robert S. Navajo Indians. Utah History Encyclopedia.
26 January 2005.
http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/n/NAVAJOINDIANS.html
• McPherson, Robert S. The Northern Navajo Frontier 1860-1900:
Expansion through Adversity. University of New Mexico Press, 1988
• Underhill, Ruth M. Here Come the Navaho!. United States: Bureau
of Indian Affairs, 1953
• Underhill, Ruth M. The Navajos. University of Oklahoma Press:
Norman, 1956