A History of the Navajo

• Introduction
• Chapter 1 The Emergence: Creation Stories and the First Worlds
• Chapter 2 Dinétah: The Ancestral Homelands
• Chapter 3 Arrival of the Spanish: First Encounters and New Realities
• Chapter 4 The Pueblo Revolt and its Aftermath: An Alliance for Freedom
• Chapter 5 The Pastoral Economy: Sheep, Horses, and a New Way of Life
• Chapter 6 Conflict with Settlers: The Mexican and Early American Eras
• Chapter 7 The Scorched Earth: Kit Carson's Campaign
• Chapter 8 The Long Walk: A Forced March to Bosque Redondo
• Chapter 9 Life at Hwéeldi: The Fort Sumner Internment
• Chapter 10 The Treaty of 1868: A Promise to Return Home
• Chapter 11 Rebuilding a Nation: The Early Reservation Years
• Chapter 12 The Expansion of the Reservation: Reclaiming the Land
• Chapter 13 The Rise of the Trading Posts: A New Economic Landscape
• Chapter 14 The Livestock Reduction Program: A Traumatic blow to Navajo life
• Chapter 15 The Navajo Code Talkers: A Secret Weapon in World War II
• Chapter 16 The Post-War Years: Off-Reservation Employment and Urban Migration
• Chapter 17 The Discovery of Resources: Oil, Gas, and Uranium
• Chapter 18 The Establishment of the Navajo Nation Government
• Chapter 19 Education and Assimilation: The Boarding School Experience
• Chapter 20 The Fight for Sovereignty and Self-Determination
• Chapter 21 The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute: A Century of Conflict
• Chapter 22 Health and Environmental Crises: The Legacy of Uranium Mining
• Chapter 23 The Water Crisis: A Fight for a Vital Resource
• Chapter 24 A Thriving Culture: The Modern Navajo Arts and Traditions
• Chapter 25 The Navajo Nation Today: Challenges and Triumphs in the 21st Century

To understand the story of the Navajo people is to understand a story of resilience, adaptation, and an unbreakable connection to the land. It is the history of a people who call themselves the Diné, a simple and powerful name that translates to "The People." Theirs is a narrative that unfolds across a vast and dramatic landscape, a homeland known as Diné Bikéyah, or "the People's sacred lands." This territory, marked by four sacred mountains that define its boundaries, is more than just geography; it is the spiritual and physical heart of their identity, the place where their creation stories are made manifest. The Navajo Nation today covers over 27,000 square miles, stretching across parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, making it the largest reservation in the United States. It is a land of stark beauty, of soaring mesas, deep canyons, and sun-drenched deserts, a landscape that has shaped the character and the history of the Diné for centuries.

This book charts the course of that history, a journey that begins not with written records, but with the profound origin stories of the Emergence. These sacred narratives describe the passage of the Holy People through a series of lower worlds, culminating in their arrival in the current world, the Earth-Surface World. This is where their story truly begins, in the ancestral lands of Dinétah in what is now northwestern New Mexico, where a distinct Navajo culture began to flourish centuries ago. Here, the Diné were not passive inhabitants of the land but active shapers of their world, developing complex social structures, trade networks with their Pueblo neighbors, and a unique way of life that was both deeply spiritual and eminently practical.

The story of the Diné is also a story of encounters and the profound and often violent changes they brought. The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century marked a pivotal turning point, introducing new elements that would irrevocably alter the course of Navajo history. Horses, sheep, and goats were incorporated into their society, transforming them into a formidable pastoral people and shifting their economic and social dynamics. This era also brought conflict, as Spanish and later Mexican efforts to control the region led to cycles of raiding, warfare, and an insidious slave trade that targeted Navajo women and children. Yet, through it all, the Diné adapted, absorbed new technologies and ideas, and fiercely maintained their autonomy.

The mid-19th century brought a new and more relentless power into their world: the United States. The period following the Mexican-American War in 1848 initiated the most traumatic chapter in Navajo history. Decades of escalating conflict, fueled by the westward expansion of American settlers, culminated in the brutal "Scorched Earth" campaign led by Colonel Kit Carson. This was not merely a military action but a systematic effort to destroy the very foundation of Navajo life by burning their fields, slaughtering their livestock, and demolishing their homes. The campaign achieved its grim objective, starving the Diné into submission.

What followed was the Long Walk of 1864, a forced march of some 300 miles that drove thousands of Navajo men, women, and children from their homeland to a desolate internment camp at Bosque Redondo, New Mexico, a place they called Hwéeldi. The four years of imprisonment were marked by disease, starvation, and despair. Yet, even in this darkest of times, their spirit was not extinguished. The resilience of the Diné shone through, and their leaders tirelessly negotiated for a return to their ancestral lands. In 1868, they achieved what no other Native nation did: they signed a treaty with the United States government that allowed them to go home. The Treaty of 1868 established the Navajo Reservation, securing a fraction of their original lands but providing a foundation upon which to rebuild their shattered world.

The return from Hwéeldi was not an end to their struggles but the beginning of a new and challenging era. The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a time of profound adjustment and change. The establishment of trading posts created a new economic reality, linking the Navajo economy to the broader American market through the trade of wool, rugs, and silverwork. The reservation itself expanded through subsequent legislative acts and executive orders, though the process was often fraught with conflict. However, this period also brought new forms of federal control and policies aimed at assimilation, most notably the traumatic experience of government-run boarding schools and the devastating Livestock Reduction Program of the 1930s, which struck at the heart of their pastoral economy and cultural identity.

Throughout these trials, the Diné continued to demonstrate their remarkable capacity for adaptation and service. During World War II, a group of Navajo men created an unbreakable code based on their complex, unwritten language, becoming the famed Navajo Code Talkers. These men served with distinction in the Pacific theater, and their secret weapon proved vital to the American war effort, saving countless lives. The post-war years brought further changes, with many Navajos seeking off-reservation employment and migrating to urban centers, while the discovery of oil, gas, and uranium on their lands brought both wealth and new challenges, including long-term health and environmental crises.

Central to the modern history of the Diné has been the drive for sovereignty and self-determination. The establishment of the Navajo Nation government in 1923, initially to manage resource leases, has evolved into the largest and most sophisticated tribal government in the United States. This political evolution has been the vehicle for navigating complex issues ranging from long-standing land disputes with the neighboring Hopi tribe to critical battles over water rights, education, and healthcare. At the core of this entire historical journey is an enduring cultural philosophy known as Hózhó. This complex concept, which embodies the ideals of balance, harmony, beauty, and order, is not simply a religious or spiritual belief but a guide for living. It is the pursuit of Hózhó—of being in right relations with oneself, the community, the natural world, and the spiritual realm—that has provided the Diné with the strength and perspective to navigate centuries of upheaval.

The story you are about to read is a chronicle of this journey. It is a history of a people who emerged from other worlds, who adapted to the arrival of new peoples and new technologies, who endured forced removal from their sacred lands, and who not only survived but forged a vibrant, modern nation. It is a story of conflict and accommodation, of tradition and innovation, and above all, of the unyielding spirit of the Diné and their enduring quest to walk in beauty.

Before history, there is the story. For the Diné, the foundation of their world rests not upon a single moment of creation, but on a long, arduous, and lesson-filled journey upward through a series of lower worlds. This narrative, the Diné Bahaneʼ, or "Story of the People," is an epic account of emergence, a sacred oral tradition that explains not only where the Navajo came from, but more importantly, how they learned to live. It is a story of trial and error, of harmony sought and discord created, establishing the foundational principles that guide Diné life to this day. There is no single, canonical text of this story; it exists in many variations, as is the nature of a living oral history passed down through generations of storytellers, each account emphasizing different facets of the same essential truths.

The journey begins in the First World, Niʼ Hodiłhił, the Black World. According to the stories, this initial realm was a small, dark island floating in the midst of four seas. The beings who inhabited it were not yet fully formed; they are often described as the Air-Spirit People, insect-like beings who were precursors to the life that would follow. Here, in the darkness, the supernatural beings First Man, or Áłtsé Hastiin, and First Woman, or Áłtsé Asdzą́ą́, came into existence. Their creation itself speaks to a universe built on balanced duality. The union of a Black Cloud and a White Cloud in the east brought forth First Man, and with him, a perfect ear of white corn. In the west, a Blue Cloud and a Yellow Cloud met to form First Woman, and with her came a perfect ear of yellow corn, along with turquoise and white shell.

Also present in this primordial world were other powerful beings, including two very different Coyotes. One was the Great-Coyote-Who-Was-Formed-in-the-Water, a being who possessed great knowledge. The other was First Angry, a coyote who introduced witchcraft and discord into the world. It was this discord that ultimately made the First World uninhabitable. The Air-Spirit People, perhaps influenced by First Angry, became jealous and began to fight amongst themselves. The chaos grew so great that the rulers of the four seas—Blue Heron, Frog, White Thunder, and Big Water Creature—told the inhabitants that they must leave. And so, they ascended, some flying, others climbing, through an opening in the east into the next world.

Their arrival brought them to the Second World, Niʼ Hodootłʼizh, the Blue World. This realm was inhabited by beings with blue-gray fur and various blue-hued birds, including swallows, jays, and hawks. For a time, there was harmony. The newcomers were welcomed by the Swallow Chief, and they coexisted peacefully for twenty-three days. However, the pattern of transgression repeated itself. One of the beings from the First World committed an offense against the wife of the Swallow Chief, breaking the harmony and trust that had been established. Having overstayed their welcome, the people were once again expelled. To facilitate their journey, First Man fashioned a wand from jet and other sacred materials, which they used to climb upward through an opening in the south.

The Third World, Niʼ Hałtsooí, was the Yellow World. It was a larger and more complex place, with two great rivers, one male and one female, that crossed in the center. Here, too, were six sacred mountains, the precursors to the mountains that would later define the Navajo homeland. The inhabitants of this world included the Grasshopper People. For the first time, the journeyers began to establish a more settled existence. It was in the Yellow World that First Woman gave birth to twins, the first of five pairs who would become important figures. It was also here that the Holy People, or Diyin Dinéʼé—figures like Talking God and Black God—began to interact more directly with the nascent people, teaching them crucial prayers and ceremonies.

Yet, this world also held its own form of chaos, and its agent was, once again, a coyote. In some versions of the story, a significant conflict arose between the sexes. First Man and First Woman argued over their respective importance, leading to a period of separation. The men lived on one side of the great river and the women on the other. This separation, this imbalance, had dire consequences, leading to the creation of monsters, the Naayééʼ, who would later plague the world. The ultimate undoing of life in the Third World, however, came from an act of pure mischief. Coyote, ever the trickster, stole two children from Tééhoołtsódii, the Big Water Creature. In retaliation, the creature unleashed a great flood that threatened to drown everyone.

Scrambling to escape the rising waters, the people sought a way to ascend. First Man planted a series of reeds, hoping one would grow tall enough to reach the sky of the world above. A giant reed finally pierced the dome, and the people climbed frantically inside, sealing the opening behind them with mud to hold back the floodwaters. The waters rose so fast that the turkey was the last one to get in, and the foam of the floodwaters lapped at his tail, which is why the tips of a turkey's tail feathers are white to this day. They had escaped, but only just barely, emerging into the final, definitive world.

They arrived in the Fourth World, also called Niʼ Halgai (the White World) or the Glittering World, only to find it was a vast, watery expanse. They had emerged onto a small, muddy island. Looking down through the hole in the reed, they could see the floodwaters still churning below. The enraged head of the Big Water Creature pushed its way through the opening, lightning flashing from its horns. It was only when First Angry Coyote was persuaded to return the stolen children, along with a basket of turquoise, that the creature subsided and the waters of the lower world receded. The people were safe, but they were stranded. To make the land habitable, First Man summoned the Holy People, who used their powers to drain the water and shape the landscape, creating the world as it is known today.

With the waters drained, the real work of creation could begin. This was the world where all the lessons of the lower worlds would be put into practice. It was a world of stark beauty and immense potential, but it was not yet complete. There was no sun, no moon, no stars. Working inside the first hogan—a sacred dwelling First Man and First Woman built according to the instructions of the Holy People—they began to order the cosmos. They laid out a buckskin and carefully planned the placement of the sun and moon. Turquoise Boy was asked to become the sun, and White Shell Girl agreed to become the moon, each beginning their celestial journey.

Next, they turned their attention to the stars. The Holy People began to place them in the sky with great care, creating orderly constellations that would serve as guides and tell stories. But Coyote, ever impatient and believing things were moving too slowly, grabbed a corner of the buckskin and flung the remaining stars into the sky, creating the chaotic and scattered patterns of the Milky Way. In another impulsive act, Coyote is also credited with introducing death into the world. He tossed a stone into a lake, declaring that if it floated, the dead would return to life, but if it sank, death would be permanent. The stone sank, and so mortality was sealed as a feature of existence in the Glittering World.

One of the most essential acts of creation in the Fourth World was the establishment of its sacred geography. First Man had carried soil from the six mountains of the Third World with him during the emergence. He and the Holy People used this soil to recreate the mountains, placing them at the four cardinal directions to define and protect the land of the Diné. In the east, they raised Sisnaajiní, the White Shell Mountain (Blanca Peak). In the south stood Tsoodził, the Turquoise Mountain (Mount Taylor). To the west, they placed Dookʼoʼoosłííd, the Abalone Shell Mountain (San Francisco Peaks). And in the north, they set Dibé Nitsaa, the Big Sheep Mountain (Hesperus Peak). These Four Sacred Mountains form the boundaries of Diné Bikéyah, the Navajo homeland, and are central to Diné identity and spiritual life.

Though the world was now ordered with a sun, moon, stars, and sacred boundaries, it was not yet safe. The period of imbalance and separation in the Third World had given rise to the Naayééʼ, terrible monsters that roamed the land, killing the newly created Earth People. These were not simple beasts but personifications of chaos and evil, such as Yeitso, a giant who devoured people, and the Monster Eagle, who snatched victims from the ground. To save humanity, a hero was needed. That hero would be found in the miraculous birth of one of the most revered figures in the Diné pantheon: Asdzą́ą́ Nádleehé, or Changing Woman.

Changing Woman was found as a baby by First Man and First Woman. She matured with supernatural speed, reaching puberty in just twelve days. Her first Kinaaldá, a puberty ceremony that is still practiced for young Navajo women today, marked a pivotal moment. After this ceremony, she was visited by the Sun, Jóhonaaʼéí, and conceived a child. She later conceived another child with Water. These children were the Hero Twins: Naayééʼ Neizghání (Monster Slayer) and Tóbájíshchíní (Born for Water). Raised to be the saviors of their people, the twins embarked on a perilous journey to the house of their father, the Sun, to ask for weapons to fight the monsters.

The journey was filled with trials designed to test their worthiness, but with help from figures like Spider Woman, they succeeded. The Sun, convinced of their divine heritage, armed them with lightning bolts, stone knives, and magical flint armor. Monster Slayer, the elder and more aggressive twin, took the lead in battle, while Born for Water provided support and protection. Together, they hunted and destroyed the Naayééʼ one by one. The petrified remains of the slain monsters are said to form many of the distinctive geological features of the Navajo landscape today, such as the lava flows near Mount Taylor, which are believed to be the dried blood of the giant Yeitso.

With the monsters defeated, the world was finally safe for humanity. The final and most crucial act of creation could now take place: the formation of the Diné themselves. This task fell to Changing Woman, who had moved to a home in the west. Feeling lonely, she decided to create companions. From pieces of her own skin—rubbed from her breast, her back, and under her arms—she formed the first four couples. These four pairs became the ancestors of the four original Navajo clans. This act established the matrilineal structure of Diné society, in which clan identity is passed down through the mother, in honor of Changing Woman, the ultimate matriarch.

The entire epic of the Emergence, from the discord in the Black World to the creation of the clans in the Glittering World, serves as a profound cosmological charter. It explains the origins of the world, the reasons for mortality, and the sources of both good and evil. More than that, it provides a blueprint for living. The repeated cycle of chaos followed by a restoration of order underscores the central Diné philosophical concept of Hózhó. Hózhó is a complex idea that encompasses beauty, harmony, balance, and health. The story teaches that disharmony—whether through fighting, adultery, or theft—inevitably leads to disaster, while right living, ceremony, and respect for the Holy People can restore balance. The Emergence is not just a story of the past; it is a timeless guide to maintaining Hózhó in the present.