Navajo Indians See the Importance of Supporting their Families and Communities

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The Navajo nation is the largest U.S Indian tribe. It has more than 250,000 people. They are located in Northern New Mexico, a portion of southern Utah, and part of northern Arizona. They first descended from the Apaches, who came from the Pueblos. Their native language is Athapaskan. “Navajo” came from the word navahu’u meaning “farm fields in the valley.” The Spanish chroniclers first referred to the Navajos as Apaches de Nabajo’ meaning Apaches who farm in the valley. Then the name was eventually shortened to the Navajo. Spanish settlers recognized the close connections between the Apache and Navajo peoples based on the word. The Navajo were generally a peaceful tribe. Each family lived near their corn fields, and in family groups. The men hunted deer, and the women took care of the sheep and their vegetation. It was a Navajo custom that when a man marries, he must go to his wife’s home to help her family. In the Navajo society women usually own the property, and the property is then passed down by the women’s daughters. Navajo homes were usually made out of wooden poles, t...

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