Navajo Indians History

The Navajo Indians history is indeed and interesting one. The Navajo religion and culture is so different then what the Europeans were used to.

The Navajo migrated from Canada to the southwestern states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico around 1400 AD.

When the Navajos’ arrived they became nomads constantly raiding their new Indian neighbors the Ute Tribe and the Pueblo. In time they picked up the knowledge to grow corn and beans from the Pueblo Indians and became farmers.

When the Spanish arrived in 1541 it had a big affect of the Navajo Indians history. They where introduced to sheep and other livestock animals. With that they quickly switched from farming to herding animals.

Unfortunately the Navajo raidings never ended. The Navajo continued to attack the nearby Indian tribes as well as the new Spanish settlers. This caused the Spanish to create an offensive against the tribe during the early 1800s.

When the territory became part of the US in 1863 the US government along with some Spanish men, and Indians from the Ute and Pueblo tribes combined forces to push the Navajos onto a reservation at Bosque Redono .

In 1868 the Navajo Chief Barboncito agreed to discontinue the raidings in exchange for letting their people stay in their sacred lands.

In WW2 the Navajo language had a very famous impact in the pacific. The Japanese continued to break every code that the US could come up with. The solution, use the Navajo language. The language is so complex that the Japanese were unable to crack it and it became a major factor for many of our victories in the Pacific.

The Navajo Culture Lives on today. Many young Navajo Indians still raise sheep and practice the old religion.

Navajo Food

If you where to sit down at a table containing a variety of Navajo food you would be able to see things like Wheat Bread, Cereal, Navajo cake, Rosted Corn, Onions, a variety of berries as well as goats’ milk and goats’ cheese.

The Navajo also had a huge appetite for sheep. Every part of the sheep is eaten including the internal organs.

Navajo Religion

The Navajo region focuses more on land then on people. According to Navajo beliefs land is holy and it is the Job of every man to protect and preserve it.

The Navajo religion tells of a time when the Creator developed a sacred land between 4 mountains, Black Perk, Hesperus Peak, Mount Taylor, and San Francisco Peaks. It is said that the Creator gave the Navajo people the instructions to never go past these mountains.

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