How Navajo Nation Obituaries Shape Community Memory - Away State Journal
The Navajo Nation truly is a nation within a nation. In years past, Navajoland often appeared to be little more than a desolate section of the Southwest, but yet is a mixture of arid deserts and alpine forests with high plateaus, mesas and mountains.
Over time that word changed into “Navajo.” With the Spanish came sheep, goats, and horses that reshaped the history of the Navajo more than any single weapon. The Diné quickly became master herders. Sheep turned into food, clothing, and a sign of wealth, with flocks often managed by women.
The Navajo nation covers land in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, totaling more than 27,000 square miles. Their population exceeds 250,000, a majority of whom live within the nation’s borders.
The Navajo Nation is the largest Indian reservation in the United States, comprising about 16 million acres, or about 25,000 square miles, approximately the size of the state of West Virginia.
They are currently the largest native American tribe in North America. They speak the Navajo language, and many are members of the Navajo Nation, an independent government structure which manages the Navajo reservation in the Four Corners area of the United States.
Historic achievements of the Navajo and related tribes include the Pueblo architecture as well as the taming of the horse after European colonization. The Navajo have a rich artistic tradition in beadwork and colorful styles in painting and dress.
