Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook631 pages10 hours
Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country
By Marsha Weisiger and William Cronon
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
2011 Winner of the Hal K. Rothman Award for the Best Book on Western Environmental History
2010 Winner of the Norris and Carol Hundley Prize and the Caroline Bancroft Honor Prize
2009 Winner of the Gaspar Perez de Villagra Award sponsored by the Historical Society of New Mexico
Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country offers a fresh interpretation of the history of Navajo (Diné) pastoralism. The dramatic reduction of livestock on the Navajo Reservation in the 1930s -- when hundreds of thousands of sheep, goats, and horses were killed -- was an ambitious attempt by the federal government to eliminate overgrazing on an arid landscape and to better the lives of the people who lived there. Instead, the policy was a disaster, resulting in the loss of livelihood for Navajos -- especially women, the primary owners and tenders of the animals -- without significant improvement of the grazing lands.
Livestock on the reservation increased exponentially after the late 1860s as more and more people and animals, hemmed in on all sides by Anglo and Hispanic ranchers, tried to feed themselves on an increasingly barren landscape. At the beginning of the twentieth century, grazing lands were showing signs of distress. As soil conditions worsened, weeds unpalatable for livestock pushed out nutritious native grasses, until by the 1930s federal officials believed conditions had reached a critical point. Well-intentioned New Dealers made serious errors in anticipating the human and environmental consequences of removing or killing tens of thousands of animals.
Environmental historian Marsha Weisiger examines the factors that led to the poor condition of the range and explains how the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Navajos, and climate change contributed to it. Using archival sources and oral accounts, she describes the importance of land and stock animals in Navajo culture. By positioning women at the center of the story, she demonstrates the place they hold as significant actors in Native American and environmental history.
Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country is a compelling and important story that looks at the people and conditions that contributed to a botched policy whose legacy is still felt by the Navajos and their lands today.
Unavailable
Related to Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country
Related ebooks
Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape Fire, Native Peoples, and the Natural Landscape Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrairie: A Natural History of the Heart of North America: Revised Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sea of Grass: A Family Tale from the American Heartland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarly Native Americans in West Virginia: The Fort Ancient Culture Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Reimagining Environmental History: Ecological Memory in the Wake of Landscape Change Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Navajo: The Past and Present of the Diné Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNavajo and the Animal People: Native American Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ethnozoology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Plants of the Northern Chihuahuan Desert Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaptured by the Navajos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diné: A History of the Navajos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Food Sovereignty the Navajo Way: Cooking with Tall Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFor Our Navajo People: Dine Letters, Speeches, and Petitions, 1900-1960 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife Of F. M. Buckelew: The Indian Captive Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crafting an Indigenous Nation: Kiowa Expressive Culture in the Progressive Era Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Grandfather's Knocking Sticks: Ojibwe Family Life and Labor on the Reservation, 1900-1940 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaughters of the Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Medicine Women: The Story of the First Native American Nursing School Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Horse Indians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMonument Valley and The Navajo Reservation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAboriginal Ontario: Historical Perspectives on the First Nations Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Defend the Sacred: Native American Religious Freedom beyond the First Amendment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Imagining Head Smashed In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Firewater and Forked Tongues: A Sioux Chief Interprets American History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKinship: Belonging in a World of Relations, Vol. 2 – Place: Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorking on the Railroad, Walking in Beauty: Navajos, Hozho, and Track Work Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Native American History For You
The Soul of an Indian: And Other Writings from Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5NATIVE AMERICAN MYTHS: collected 1636–1919 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Revised and Expanded Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Indians of the Pacific Northwest: From the Coming of the White Man to the Present Day Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Element Encyclopedia of Native Americans: An A to Z of Tribes, Culture, and History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI By David Grann Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Captivity of the Oatman Girls Among the Apache and Mohave Indians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oklahoma Black Cherokees Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings365 Days Of Walking The Red Road: The Native American Path to Leading a Spiritual Life Every Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killers of the Flower Moon - Summarized for Busy People: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrail of Tears: by Alexander Cooper - An Epic History On the Removal of Seminoles, Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokees Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalking in the Sacred Manner: Healers, Dreamers, and Pipe Carriers--Medicine Wom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book: Revised and Expanded Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The First Frontier: The Forgotten History of Struggle, Savagery, & Endurance in Early America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Captivity of the Oatman Girls: Being an Interesting Narrative of Life among the Apache and Mohave Indians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIsland of the Blue Dolphins: The Complete Reader's Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKilling Crazy Horse: The Merciless Indian Wars in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trail of Tears:The 19th Century Forced Migration of Native Americans Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The North-West Is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Métis Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related podcast episodes
Indigenous Motherhood: Birth Is Ceremony 0% found this document usefulEp. 129 Fresh Banana Leaves and Indigenous Knowledge: Interview with Dr. Jessica Hernandez 0% found this document usefulThe Good Life 0% found this document usefulPrairie Up! With Plantsperson Benjamin Vogt: I know the adage goes that April showers bring Ma… 0% found this document usefulThe truths buried at US Indigenous boarding schools 0% found this document usefulBeyond Blood Quantum 0% found this document usefulMarcus Rediker, "The Slave Ship: A Human History" (Penguin, 2008): An interview with Marcus Rediker, 0% found this document usefulTrusting in Abundance: Finding Your Regeneration Niche: Robin Kimmerer 0% found this document useful
Related articles
Works In Progress The American ScholarArticle
Works In Progress
Sep 1, 2020
4 min readThe Creek Nation And The Culture Of Consent ReasonArticle
The Creek Nation And The Culture Of Consent
Sep 20, 2019
5 min readOn Shapes of Native Nonfiction and the Story Form of Native Basketry Literary HubArticle
On Shapes of Native Nonfiction and the Story Form of Native Basketry
Jul 16, 2020
16 min readToni Morrison The Bird Whisperer Audubon MagazineArticle
Toni Morrison The Bird Whisperer
Dec 17, 2020
10 min readSeedkeeper Rowen White on the ‘Rematriation’ of Seeds to Their Native Lands Literary HubArticle
Seedkeeper Rowen White on the ‘Rematriation’ of Seeds to Their Native Lands
Nov 26, 2020
4 min readNew Poetry by Indigenous Women Literary HubArticle
New Poetry by Indigenous Women
Jun 21, 2018
16 min readA Group Claiming To Be Cherokee Faces Questions About Authenticity The Texas ObserverArticle
A Group Claiming To Be Cherokee Faces Questions About Authenticity
Nov 1, 2021
9 min readI Was Raised As A Native American. Then A DNA Test Rocked My Identity | Sequoya Yiaueki The GuardianArticle
I Was Raised As A Native American. Then A DNA Test Rocked My Identity | Sequoya Yiaueki
Nov 15, 2018
7 min readThe Everyday Violence Of Indian Country’s ‘Bordertowns’ High Country NewsArticle
The Everyday Violence Of Indian Country’s ‘Bordertowns’
Jun 1, 2021
IN JUNE 2017, A STORE OWNER in Omaha, Nebraska, called the cops on Zachary Bearheels, a young Rosebud Sioux man, who was acting erratically in the street. Bearheels, who had been traveling to visit his mother, ended up on the side of the highway afte
3 min read'The Way We Get Through This Is Together': Mutual Aid Under Coronavirus | Rebecca Solnit The GuardianArticle
'The Way We Get Through This Is Together': Mutual Aid Under Coronavirus | Rebecca Solnit
May 14, 2020
13 min readIndigenous Corn Cultivars MOTHER EARTH NEWSArticle
Indigenous Corn Cultivars
May 14, 2021
7 min readAn American Secret: The Untold Story Of Native American Enslavement NPRArticle
An American Secret: The Untold Story Of Native American Enslavement
Nov 20, 2017
1 min readJoy Harjo on the Diverse, Groundbreaking World of Indigenous Poetry Literary HubArticle
Joy Harjo on the Diverse, Groundbreaking World of Indigenous Poetry
Aug 26, 2020
9 min read‘More And More Sami Authors Are Telling Their Stories’: Ann-Helén Laestadius On Writing About Her Indigenous Community The IndependentArticle
‘More And More Sami Authors Are Telling Their Stories’: Ann-Helén Laestadius On Writing About Her Indigenous Community
Mar 5, 2023
6 min readBrandon Hobson on Recovering Cherokee Myths from His Grandfather’s Notebook Literary HubArticle
Brandon Hobson on Recovering Cherokee Myths from His Grandfather’s Notebook
Dec 11, 2018
7 min readThe People Who Profited Off the Trail of Tears The AtlanticArticle
The People Who Profited Off the Trail of Tears
Apr 8, 2020
7 min readLegacies of Slavery Adirondack LifeArticle
Legacies of Slavery
Dec 23, 2021
11 min readA Historical Travelogue Of U.s. Exotics BirdWatchingArticle
A Historical Travelogue Of U.s. Exotics
Oct 9, 2021
3 min readWhat Indigenous Stories Can Teach a New Generation of Farmers Literary HubArticle
What Indigenous Stories Can Teach a New Generation of Farmers
Sep 17, 2019
5 min readAtrocities Of 'Conquistadores' Take Shape In New History By Mexican-Born Author NPRArticle
Atrocities Of 'Conquistadores' Take Shape In New History By Mexican-Born Author
Sep 15, 2021
4 min readIn Search Of Prehistoric Potatoes ARCHAEOLOGYArticle
In Search Of Prehistoric Potatoes
Feb 3, 2020
9 min readHe Fought For Self-determination In A Time Of Assimilation. Here Are Objects He Left. NPRArticle
He Fought For Self-determination In A Time Of Assimilation. Here Are Objects He Left.
Dec 25, 2021
3 min readSoul Fire Farm Uprooting Racism, Seeding Sovereignty MOTHER EARTH NEWSArticle
Soul Fire Farm Uprooting Racism, Seeding Sovereignty
Jul 10, 2020
8 min readAmerica’s Lost Crops Rewrite the History of Farming The AtlanticArticle
America’s Lost Crops Rewrite the History of Farming
Oct 1, 2022
19 min readTransplant Collaborations C MagazineArticle
Transplant Collaborations
Aug 15, 2022
5 min readIn Search of the First Human Home: When did the savanna give way to the crash pad? NautilusArticle
In Search of the First Human Home: When did the savanna give way to the crash pad?
Dec 5, 2013
What is home? This is a deceptively simple question. Is it the place where you were born? Is it where you happen to live right now? Does it have to be a dwelling, or can it be a spot on the landscape, or even a state of mind? For archaeologists traci
5 min readAdventure Canada National Geographic Traveller (UK)Article
Adventure Canada
May 4, 2023
6 min readWalking Into New Worlds ARCHAEOLOGYArticle
Walking Into New Worlds
Aug 13, 2020
10 min readOn the Storylines That Kept Early Humans Alive Literary HubArticle
On the Storylines That Kept Early Humans Alive
Feb 10, 2020
5 min readThe Prayerstone Hypothesis ARCHAEOLOGYArticle
The Prayerstone Hypothesis
Jun 13, 2019
7 min read
Reviews for Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews