Navajo land, Navajo culture : the Utah experience in the twentieth century / Robert S. McPherson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McPherson, Robert S., 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Navajo Indians--History--Sources.

Navajo Indians.

Navajo Indians--Land tenure.

Navajo Indians--Economic conditions.

Oral tradition--Utah.

Oral tradition.

Land settlement patterns--Utah--History--20th century.

Land settlement patterns.

Social adjustment--Utah--History--20th century.

Social adjustment.

Manners and customs.

Economic conditions.

History.

Utah--Politics and government.

Utah.

Politics and government.

Utah--Economic conditions.

Utah--Social life and customs.

Genre:

Sources.

Physical Description:

xviii, 301 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Utah experience in the twentieth century

Place of Publication:

Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [2001]

Summary:

In Navajo Land, Navajo Culture, Robert S. McPherson presents an intimate history of the Dine, or Navajo people, of southeastern Utah. Moving beyond standard history by incorporating Native voices, the author shows how the Dine's culture and economy have both persisted and changed during the twentieth century.

The Navajos encountered here live according to the traditions of a livestock economy, where religious values provide the core philosophy and where the world is imbued with spiritual significance. The land -- the rugged canyon, mesa, and mountain terrain of the Four Corners region (where Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico meet) -- is of fundamental importance. The Navajos' dependence on the land, and their love for it, pervades their accounts of life in this desert country.

During the twentieth century, as the dominant white culture increasingly affected their worldview, these Navajos adjusted to change, took what they perceived as beneficial, and shaped or filtered outside influences to preserve traditional values. With guidance from Navajo elders, McPherson describes varied experiences ranging from traditional deer hunting to livestock reduction, from bartering at a trading post to acting in John Ford movies, and from the coming of the automobile to the burgeoning of the tourist industry. Clearly written and richly detailed, this book offers new perspectives on a people who have adapted to new conditions while shaping their own destiny.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Prologue to the Present: Setting the Stage for the Twentieth Century 3

Chapter 2 Navajo and Ute Deer Hunting: Consecration versus Desecration 21

Chapter 3 Government Farmers and the Navajos: The San Juan Experience, 1892-1933 44

Chapter 4 Naalyehe Ba Hooghan, "House of Merchandise": Navajo Trading Posts as an Institution of Cultural Change, 1900-1930 65

Chapter 5 The Chidi and Flying Metal Come to the Navajos: Thoughts on Technology and Initial Cultural Contact 84

Chapter 6 History Repeats Itself: Navajo Livestock Reduction in Southeastern Utah, 1933-1946 102

Chapter 7 Seeing as Believing: Navajo and Anglo Perceptions of Tourism in Southeastern Utah, 1910-1990 121

Chapter 8 Indians Playing Indians: Navajos and the Film Industry in Monument Valley, 1938-1964 142

Chapter 9 Digging the Bones of Ye'iitsoh: Navajos in the Uranium Industry of Southeastern Utah 158

Chapter 10 Poverty, Politics, and Petroleum: The Utah Navajos and the Aneth Oil Field 179

Chapter 11 From Dezba to "John": The Changing Role of Navajo Women in Southeastern Utah 189

Chapter 12 Conclusion: A Glance at the Present, a Glimpse of the Future 220.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0806133570

OCLC:

45962883