Navajoland
Diné Bikeyah, or Navajoland, is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America. This vast land is unique because the people here have achieved something quite rare: the ability of an indigenous people to blend both traditional and modern ways of life. The Navajo Nation truly is a nation within a nation.
Navajo Beliefs
The Navajo people, the Diné, passed through three different worlds before emerging into this world, The Fourth World, or Glittering World. The Diné believe there are two classes of beings: the Earth People and the Holy People.
Navajo Nation Fairs
The Annual Navajo Nation Fair, boasts the largest American Indian fair in the United States. Rodeos are always a favorite in Navajo country.
Navajo Code Talkers
The Code Talker's primary job in World War II was to talk and transmit information on tactics, troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield information via telegraphs and radios in their native dialect. The method of using Morse code often took hours where as, the Navajos handled a message in minutes. It has been said that if was not for the Navajo Code Talker's, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima.
The Hogan
A child raised in the traditional Navajo way experiences a different upbringing than most children would ever imagine in mainstream America.
A Hogan Along His Way
An unknown traveler, weary and far from home, may stop at a hogan along his way is assured that he will be welcomed. Although he is a stranger in the sense that he has never been seen before, he will be taken in and cared for. That is the Navajo way.
A Sacred Unit
They came, the two–she from Turquoise Mountain, blessed to walk in beauty, he from Star Mountain, blessed with strength in the dawning. They came as one with the song of protection and in harmony with the universe, in harmony with all things that have no end: the sun, the moon, the turning of day and night, the season, the sky, and the earth.
My Grandmother's Beauty
I lived with my grandmother for thirteen years. She raised me in the old ways of our people. Although I was going to school, she taught me as much as she could about the tradition of our people. She is a beautiful woman. If I had a chance, I would listen again to her wise teachings, expressed with kindness in a soft voice that touched my heart.
The Woman, the Wife, the Mother
The cold night was passing, and the chill winds still swept across the valley at the break of dawn. The little girl, a blanket wrapped around her, cried as she stood on the hill. She had been looking for an hour, and still she saw no sign of her sheep.
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The Way of the Bear
A Navajo once sought ways to teach his children to be strong so that as they walked the trails of life they would not fall under the hard and bitter times that lay ahead.
Learning from Nature
The Navajo looks at life as a learning experience for his betterment. Whatever he can use as a tool, he will use to its full capacity. He is ever searching his surroundings for knowledge of life. And should the opportunity present itself to each of his children in the same way, he will seize that moment and that opportunity.
To Become Strong at an Early Age
When the Navajo woke to the first dawning he realized that life was to be a continuous struggle for survival. He knew that throughout his life he would have to face the four monsters: old age, poverty, sickness, and death—monsters left by the killers of all evils, the Twin War Gods in the beginning of the fourth world, to make the Navajo stronger by overcoming obstacles.
They Have Walked a Difficult Trail
They have walked a difficult trail, and they have lived in a forceful time of transition—in a time when they desired the past in its simplicity and shunned the future with its dynamic progression.
The Land is the Navajo
The land that the Navajo loves so much is not all dry and desolate. It is a land of beautiful mesas, plateaus, and mountains. It is a land of enchantment. The Navajo have learned how to survive through the land’s changes throughout the year. In summer it is hot and not very moist; in autumn it is wet and brings much flooding; in the winter it is cold, and often temperatures fall quickly below zero; in spring it is slow in its bringing to life the many plants that have slept through the winter.
The Medicine Man
The medicine man plays a dominant role in the Navajo culture. Opposing the false image portrayed on television and movie screens, the medicine man holds great respect and honor among the Navajo people. He is important because he has knowledge of the heritage and culture of the Navajo.
When All Things Come To An End
The birds will all settle to the ground; the badger will grow horns, the wind will blow without ceasing; the people will intermarry with other tribes as well as within clans; there will be voices, but they will be too weak for many to hear; the enemy will penetrate the stronghold of The People, the Navajo. And this will be when all things come to an end, when all generations come to meet.
Spider woman and the Holy Ones
Traditional stories of our elders were told to teach and entertain the children and grandchildren. Legends of the holy people like Spider Woman.
A Season of New Beginning
Spring is many things to many people. Here on the Navajo Nation, it is time to renew one’s mind, spirit and body. It is when many Navajo families conduct Blessing Way ceremonies.
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