The Navajo Tribe originated within North New Mexico. Within time, the Navajo Tribe settled in many different locations within the Southwest.

The Navajo Tribe depended on their lands to hunt, later on adapting crop farming. The tribe soon started to gather squash, beans, and corn.

Within the tribe, they had spiritual beliefs. Art and weaving is a big symbolic meaning to the Navajo Tribe. The spiritual belief of weaving came from a spider lady on top of a mountain, the teachings were brought down to the women of the tribe. Their art and weaving are unique, becoming symbolic till this day.

No parts of the tribe had made official contact with the United States government until 1846, when a general invaded New Mexico during the Mexican American War. Besides a peace treaty, raids from both sides, Americans and Tribe, had complex issues.

Within 1861, a general in New Mexico launched military raids against the Navajo people. New Mexican militia volunteers and the general went through the Navajo Tribe’s land, killing the people, burning crops and destroying home land.

The dark time in Navajo Indian tribe history, the government brought Navajo enemies such as the Mescalero Apache to their land, which caused a number of conflicts between the tribe. Around the 1920-1960’s, the Navajo Nation were declared as the “Navajo Indian Reservation.”

Citation:

Navajoindian.net. (2020). Navajo Indian Tribe History. [online] Available at: http://www.navajoindian.net/navajo-indian-tribe-history/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].

The Navajo tribe’s way contains no concept for religion as an activity which is separate from daily life. All living things such as people, plants, animals, mountains, and the Earth itself are connected. Each being is infused with its own spirit, or ‘inner form’, which gives it life and purpose within an orderly and interconnected universe. The inter relatedness of all creation is recognized through daily prayer offerings and systems of ceremonies. The purpose of Navajo life is to maintain balance between the individual and the universe and to live in harmony with nature and the Creator. Navajos must perform their religious practices on the specific, time honored areas which they inhabit.

The souls of the dead go to another part of the universe where they have a new existence carrying on everyday activities like they were still alive. They are all just in a different world. Songs, chants, prayers, and other ceremonies, and sand paintings also form part of the complicated religious rituals, and a large body of mythology exists.

Sand paintings are used for healing ceremonies by the Navajo Medicine Men. The sand paintings were made on the floor of the tepees and hogans. The sick person was placed in the middle and a medicine man would perform the healing. It was believed that the sand would absorb the sickness and the patient would gain power to heal himself. The people of the Southwest had full-time religious leaders with shrines or temple buildings.

The Navajo Tribe, like many other tribes have experienced culture changes throughout their entire history. Whether it be environmentally, style, or features, the culture has adapted throughout their time.

The Navajo People’s cultural change has been from a combination of commerce and trade. Such as with the Pueblo, Apache, Ute, Comanche and Spanish peoples and from their running feuds with the Hopi. This has all been set in their changes, while inspiring environment of the Southwest United States .

The Navajo people were nomadic in nature until they had other cultures influence their existence. Now, modern day Navajo people are an agriculturalist people. In the earlier times of the Navajo, they were more like the contemporary Apache, being gathers and hunters. With this type of lifestyle, they were considered a nomadic people. They moved from place to place without really setting up a permanent dwelling. When the Navajo migrated from Canada a cultural change occurred that made the Navajo who they are today.

In the older times, the Pueblo Indians taught them how to cultivate the land and grow beans, corn and squash. This led to the Navajo to a horticultural society. Then back into the modern times, farming has been supplemented by herding of sheep, goats, and cattle.

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