The Navajo Indians are situated in the northeastern portion of Arizona and their reservation is in the Northwestern part of New Mexico. The Navajo reservation is the largest Indian reservation in the United States. The reservation stretched twenty five thousand square miles and encompasses sixteen acres. This is the place where the Dine (Navajo) called home. The Navajo people live by stringent guidelines when it comes to social, economic and tending to the sick and healing practices. They raided Spanish settlers to get horses for hunting and fighting and also became known as great warriors by the Spanish. The Navajo’s became beautiful silversmiths, which traded their woven rugs and silver jewelry as a way of life. The Navajos had many fascinating beliefs. The Navajo Indians believe that the creator placed them in the middle of four major mountains that represent the four cardinal directions. The Holy Ones lived in the four sacred mountains which formed the boundaries of the Navajo land. They believe that the spiritual and physical world blends together, and that every living thing is alive and sacred. The Holy ones are attracted by their prayers, ritual songs, stories, and paintings. The Navajos have two major ceremonies. The Blessing Way keeps them on the path of wisdom and happiness. The Enemy Way eliminates ghost and discourages evil spirits. The healing ceremony is the well-known ceremony which is called a sing. A Navajo medicine man sings and creates drawings known as sand painting. Sand paintings resemble The Holy Ones with detailed figures. The Navajo believe that all living things are their relatives. They are cautious of death and will avoid human remains whenever possible. Many Navajo speak their own language. Their language is called The Navajo Language or Athabaskan. They worship the wind, the sun, and watercourses. Men and women did different jobs in the Navajo society. The Navajo men were political leaders, warriors, and hunters. Only men were allowed to be chiefs in the Navajo tribe. The Navajo women tended to the livestock. They were also farmers and did most of the cooking. The women looked after the children. Even things as simple as artwork were separated by gender. The women wove rugs and made sculpted clay pots. The men mad jewelry. The men and women both took part in music, traditional medicine, and storytelling. Many of the gender roles have changed today. Navajo women join the Army. Navajo men are often ranchers and farmers. Asdzaan (meaning woman) is the primary gender of the Navajo tribe. The female is considered to be the most important gender. According to the text “Women own men.” (Nowak & Laird. (2010) Navajo women wear the pants in the Navajo society. They raise the kids, work the land, and preserve the culture and traditions of the Navajos. Navajo society is matrilineal, meaning that one’s identity is derived from the female. Navajo people introduce themselves by naming the maternal clan and then the paternal clan. Navajo women have always been the core of social and economic control in their culture. Hastiin (meaning man) is the next gender. Each Navajo village had a chief and only men were allowed to be a chief. The chief was the leader of the council but did not have full power over them. Hunting and fishing were only done by men. Men hunted deer and antelope. They also hunted sheep and goats and raised them too. Navajo men wore rabbit skin, breech cloths, and moccasins for clothing.
Nadleeh the third gender category is hermaphrodite. The Navajo view Nadleeh as individuals who demonstrate characteristics of the opposite gender. The gender category reflects the Navajo tradition of accepting gender diversity. The fifth gender is the feminine male. Feminine males identify with gender diversity and typically perform work that is also performed by women. According to Hossain “Mothers invested significantly more time in cleaning, food, and child-related tasks than fathers, but mothers and fathers equally participated in household maintenance.” (Hossain, 2001) The Navajo economy depended primarily on two sources of agriculture and livestock. They depended heavily on agriculture which was learned from the pueblo people. They obtained their livestock such as sheep and goats from the Spaniards. According to Utah History Encyclopedia, “Because the San Juan River was one of the few reliable sources of water in Navajo territory, during the summer months many fine planted fields of corn, beans, and squash on its floodplains or tributaries and pastured their sheep in the mountains.” (McPherson, 2013) Hunting and gathering usually occurred in a variety of ecological zones depending on the location of the food they were seeking. In 1868 the Navajos returned from Fort Summer and took up residence on a reservation one-fourth the size of the original territory that they have used before the war.