Navajo People

Navajo People


The Navajo tribe live on the Hopi reservation. The reservation is located in a part of north western New Mexico, the north eastern corner of Arizona, and a small portion of south western Utah. The land of the reservation is full of deserts, making it hard to farm. The Navajo land also has large mountains, and deep canyons. The capital of the Navajo nation is Window Rock, Arizona.


The Navajo people’s roots can be traced back to Northern Asia, in the Siberian region. They traveled to North America by the Bering Strait around 2,000 years ago. The Navajo are closely related to the Apache People, for they share the same language and some beliefs. The Navajo people were farmers. They were called “Apache de Nabaju” by Spanish Conquistadors, which means “The Apaches of Cultivated Fields”. Farming was not the only skill they practiced. The Pueblo Indians taught them weaving, The Spaniards taught them about raising sheep, and the Mexican Artisans taught them Silversmithing.


A Navajo house is called a hogan. In early days, the hogan was a hole in the ground with leaves used for the roof. Eventually the hogan was built on top of the ground. A Hogan has a total of six sides, made of logs, with a flat roof made of earth, twigs, and a variety of other vegetation and ground cover. At the very top of the hogan is a hole, so smoke can filter out when a camp fire is burning. The only entrance to the hogan is in the front, and is covered with a rug like blanket. The entrance of the hogan is always facing the east, due to tradition. A Hogan can be large enough to contain beds, chairs, tables, stoves, and windows too. Tradition dictates that men enter hogans only from the left side of the entrance, and women enter from the right.


The Navajo learned to farm from the Pueblo Indians. Since the Navajo lived in sandy and dry areas, they had a specific method of growing their crops. They planted their crops deep...

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