NAVAJO INDIANS. An important tribe of the Athapascan stock of Indians, now on a reservation of about 9,503,763 acres in north eastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah. at an average elevation of 6,000 feet above sea-level. According to Fray Alonso Benavides (1630), the word *Navajo" means grandes," 'great planted fields," and the name was never applied, to the Navajo by themselves, their own tribal designation being ((Dine." There is no evidence that the Navajos were seen by the Spanish ex plorers of the Southwest in the 16th century, although the latter passed through their present territory in 1540, 1583 and 1598; it is therefore believed that at this early period they were an insignificant agricultural tribe, but gradually in creased in population largely through the adop tion of natives of both allied and other during succeeding years. Their territory is en tirely within the arid region and their lands are chiefly desert; but in the canons and about the bases of the mesas that abound in their terri tory, horticulture is practised through deep planting in the sandy soil, while in the valley of the Rio San Juan, which is the largest stream in their country, farming is carried on to a greater extent. Agriculture, however, forms but a meagre part of the Navajo's sub sistence, his livelihood being gained principally from the flocks and herds, of which, in 1902, there were 380,000 sheep and 67,000 goats, the former of which, besides furnishing the chief food supply, netted $150,000 in wool and blan kets. These blankets, which have become cele brated, are woven by the women on simple looms and in pleasing and sometimes intricate designs of various colors. Formerly native dyes of rare delicacy of tone were employed, but in recent years these have given way to glaring aniline colors, and the decorative pat terns have also been largely modified to meet the demands of the white man, so that as speci mens of aboriginal handiwork very few of the Navajo blankets now woven are comparable with those formerly made. The Navajos also weave belts, garters and saddle-girths, and make a few excellent baskets, mostly for ceremonial use. Some of the men are expert silversmiths.
Although more closely related in language to the Apaches than to any other tribe, the Navajos are greatly mixed, embodying elements of Pueblo, Shoshonean, Yuman and even of Spanish blood; hence there is perhaps a greater variety in their physical features than among most Indian tribes.
The typical Navajo dwelling is a conical framework of logs or sticks covered with brush, bark or grass, and earth, with a smoke-hole at the apex and a doorway in one side. Rude shel ters with open fronts are erected for use in summer. If a person dies in a house the latter is believed to become haunted and is hence forth tabooed.
Dr. Washington Matthews, United States army, who has studied the inner life of the tribe, discovered the existence of 51 clans, grouped into about a dozen phratries, which latter, however, are probably not homogeneous organizations as among some Indians. A Navajo belongs to the clan of his mother, and a man may not marry a woman belonging to his own clan; or, as a rule, one of his own phratry. The religion of the Navajo is elaborate and complicated. They have a great many cere monies, most of which are performed for heal ing the sick, but others are conducted to ensure success in planting, harvesting, building, war, nubility, marriage, travel and for bringing rain. Sacrifice, elaborate dry paintings with sand and pigments, masquerade, dancing, prayer and song are the elements of the ceremonies, the gods being personated by the masked performers.
Almost from the beginning of the 17th cen tury the Navajos were enemies of the sedentary tribes and of the Spanish colonists, and although they were never so predatory and warlike as their Apache cousins, the Spanish villages and Pueblo settlements suffered almost •continuously from their raids up to the time of the conquest of New Mexico by American forces in 1846, followed by the establishment of military posts throughout the Southwest. Treaties were made
with the tribe in 1846, 1848 and 1849, but they were of no avail in keeping in check their dep redations, which continued at intervals until 1858, expeditions meanwhile being led against them. In the year last named the Navajos killed a negro servant at Fort Defiance, as a direct result of which it became necessary to wage warfare against the Indians from August until December, during which 50 Navajos were killed and a large tr of sheep and other stock lost. Another tre,cy was signed, but dur ing 1860 the depredations continued, and an other expedition was led against them, but with out success. In April the natives boldly attacked Fort Defiance, but were repulsed. In the winter of 1860-61 an active campaign was made against them, and although practically their only loss was in sheep, they were compelled to sue for peace in I•ebruary 1861, when an armistice of a year was agreed to, during which the troops were withdrawn. In a dispute over a horserace at Fort Fauntkroy (near the present Fort Win gate), New Mexico, a dozen Navajos were brutally Emboldened by the withdrawal of the troops on account of the Civil Vvar, the Indians resumed their raids. which they contin ued almost uninterruptedly until 1863, when Col. Christopher ("Kit") Carson began opera tions against them and a plan was formulated to transfer the Navajos from their old haunts to Fort Sumner, at the Bosque Redondo, on the Pecos River, in eastern New Mexico. It was determined that all who refused to go after 20 July would be regarded as hostile and be treated accordingly, yet by the close of the year only 200 prisoners were at Fort Sumner or on the way thither. Early in 1864 Carson made a cam paign to the Canon de Chelly, in the heart of the Navajo country in northeastern Arizona, where he killed 23 and captured over 200 of the In dians. This taught the latter a lesson, so that by the close of 1864 more than 7,000 of the tribe were held as prisoners at the Bosque Redondo. These.were increased to 8,491 in 1865, Lilt it was supposed that this number did not r 'present more than half of the tribe. The exiciriment, however, proved a failure, so that a I ter the death of about a thousand of the Indians, the escape of others and an expenditure of about a million dollars in their support in a region ill adapted to their progress, the remainder, num bering were removed to their old country in July 1868, r n appropriation of $422,000 hav ing been made in that year to give them a new start. Since that time the Navajos have been peaceable and industrious. They make good laborers and are slowly developing agricultural pursuits. In 1902 they had 8,000 acres under cultivation, which yielded 1,200 bushels of wheat, 700 bushels of oats, etc., and 3,000 bushels of corn. They earned in addition a quarter of a million dollars by the product of their labor, and besides the sheep and goats above mentioned owned 47,260 horses, mules and burros, and 8,000 cattle. There are also four sectarian mis sions and two misAon schools on or near the reservation. In 1890 a partial census showed 17,204 Navajos; that of 1900, over 20,000; and a rough estimate of the Indian office in 1906, over 28,500. Since then the tribe is believed to have increased.
Hollister, The Navajo and his Blanket> (1903) ; Hrdlicka, on the Navajo? (American Anthropologist, Vol. II, 1900) ; Hughes, J. T., (Doniphan's Expedi tion' (Cincinnati 1848) ; James, G. W., 'Indian Blankets and their Makers' (Chicago 1914); Lipps, O. H., The Navajos' (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1909) ; Mathews, C., The Indian Fairy Book' (New York 1856) ; Matthews, W., The Night Chant' (New York 1902) ; 'Navajo Legends' (New York 1897) ; 'Navajo Myths, Prayers and Songs' (Berkeley 1907) ; 'A Two faced Navajo Blanket' (American Anthropolo gist, Vol. II, 1900) ; Mindeleff, 'Navajo Houses? (Report, Bureau of American Ethnology 1901). Consult also 'Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico' (Bureau of American Eth nology, Bulletin 30, Washington 1910).