more at http://quickfound.net/ "Culture and life of Dine' people in the 1950s." Public domain film from the Prelinger Archive, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_people The Navajo (Navajo: Diné or Naabeehó) of the Southwestern United States are the largest federally recognized tribe of the United States of America with 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body, which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the Four Corners area of the United States. The Navajo language is spoken throughout the region with most Navajo capable of speaking English as well. As of 2010, the states with the largest Navajo populations are Arizona (140,263), and New Mexico (108,306). Over three-quarters of the Navajo population reside in these two states... Until contact with Pueblos and the Spanish, the Navajo were largely hunters and gatherers. The tribe adopted crop farming techniques from the Pueblo peoples, growing mainly corn, beans, and squash. When the Spanish arrived, the Navajo began herding sheep and goats as a main source of trade and food with meat becoming an essential component of the Navajo diet. Sheep, also became a form of currency and status symbol among the Navajo based on the overall quantity of herds a family maintained. In addition, the practice of spinning and weaving wool into blankets and clothing became common and eventually developed into a form of highly valued artistic expression. The Navajo are speakers of a Na-Dené Southern Athabaskan languages known as Diné bizaad (lit. 'People's language'). The language comprises two geographic, mutually intelligible dialects. It is closely related to the Apache language as the Navajo and Apache are believed to have migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska, where the majority of Athabaskan speakers reside. It has been suggested that speakers of various other Athabaskan languages located in Canada can still comprehend the Navajo language despite the geographic and linguistic derivation of the languages... The Navajo came into official contact with the United States of America in 1846, when General Stephen W. Kearny invaded Santa Fe with 1,600 men during the Mexican American War. In 1846, following an invitation from a small party of American soldiers under the command of Captain John Reid who journeyed deep into Navajo country and contacted him, Narbona and other Navajos negotiated a treaty of peace with Colonel Alexander Doniphan on November 21, 1846, at Bear Springs, Ojo del Oso (later the site of Fort Wingate). The treaty was not honored by many young Navajo raiders who continued to steal livestock from New Mexican villages and herders. New Mexicans, on their part, together with Utes, continued to raid Navajo country stealing livestock and taking women and children for sale as slaves... In the 1940s, during World War II, the United States denied the Navajo welfare relief because of the Navajos' communal society. Eventually, in December 1947, the Navajos were provided relief in the post-war period to relieve the hunger that they had had to endure for many years. Navajo Code Talkers played an important role during World War II by communicating information which was unable to be understood by the enemy. In the 1940s, large quantities of uranium were discovered in Navajo land. From then into the early 21st century, the US allowed mining without sufficient environmental protection for workers, waterways and land. The Navajo have claimed high rates of death and illness from lung disease and cancer resulting from environmental contamination. Since the 1970s, legislation has helped to regulate the industry and reduce the toll, but the government has not offered holistic and comprehensive compensation is yet forthcoming... A hogan, the traditional Navajo home, is either built as a shelter for a man or for a woman. Male hogans are square or conical with a distinct rectangular entrance, while a female hogan is an eight-sided house. Both are made of wood and covered in mud, with the door always facing east to welcome the sun each morning. The Navajo construct hogans out of poles and brush covered with earth... Silversmithing is an important art form among Navajo. Atsidi Sani (c. 1830--c. 1918) is considered to be the first Navajo silversmith. He learned silversmithing from a Mexican man called Nakai Tsosi ("Thin Mexican") around 1878 and began teaching other Navajos how to work with silver...

• published: 07 Jul 2013
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