ARNavajo: Indians of the Southwest, Teachers Video Guide

When the Navajo ancestors arrived more than 700 years ago, whose homelands did they invade? Anasasi
Where did they live? In the cliffs.
Why did these people leave? They were forced to flee by the Navajo
Where did they go? Mexico

In what ways did the Navajo adapt to life in their desert environment? Planted crops, raised livestock, weaved, made
jewelry

What spiritual significance does the land hold for the Navajo people? Worshiped the land (planted corn and peach
orchards), worshiped father sky who gave them rain and mother earth who gave them fruit, grain and pasture lands
Hogan house, always faced east toward the rising sun
How does the Navajo view of land compare with the European American view?

What interactions did the Navajo have with the Spanish? 1600s, Spanish brought sheep and horses to the Navajo
What did they use the sheep for? Wool, yarn weaving, blankets, clothes

What happened to the Navajo after the Mexican-American War? Ended 1848, Americans began to settle on the
Navajos land. US took over land that is now Arizona and New Mexico

What did the military build? Soldiers built their first military post, Najavo watched in anger in1851, called Fort
Defiance
Why would Fort Definace be threatening to the Najavo?
The Navajo ended up fighting the soldiers at Fort Definance but lost because their arrows couldnt hold up to the
guns.
Now the US government knew that the Navajo were willing to fight for their land.

What did General James Carlton want to do with the Navajo people? Put them on reservations.
Why? So whites could settle on the land
He said they were like wolves that ran through the mountains.

What were reservations like?
Flat and miserable
What did Carlton want the Najavo to do on the land? Farm
Did they agree? No

Why was Kit Carson at first reluctant to fight the Navajos? He had lived with the Indians in the past and had been
their friend.
Why might he have changed his mind?
What was Kit Carsons strategy to win the war against the Navajos? Take away their food and their way of life

Navajo who surrendered were forced to walk 300 miles to the reservation Bosque Redondo.
What did they call this journey? The long walk. Hungry, homesick and cold, many died on the way.

Describe conditions at Bosque Redondo. Nothing would grow here. Water was bad to drink
Why do you think this site was chose? No one else wants it, cant grow crops and things.
How did it differ from the Navajo tribes native land? A lot worse!

As conditions got worse, what did even the whites think about the living conditions of the Navajo? They thought
they were bad, they wanted the reservation closed.

What happened that allowed the Navajo to go back to their lands? Treaty was signed, US government allowed them
to go back to their old homelands.

How many years were they at Bosque Redondo? 4