Navajo Nation, Arizona

Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous territory within the state of Arizona. Covering 26,000 square miles (67,000 sq km), it is the largest area of Native American jurisdiction within the United States.

The history of Navajo Nation goes back to 1864, when the Navajo people was subjected to deportation and attempted ethnic cleansing. They were forced, at gunpoint, off their native homeland, in what is present-day eastern Arizona and western New Mexico, to an internment camp called the Bosque Redondo, in the Pecos River valley, in New Mexico.

Navajo Nation Council Chamber, Window Rock, Arizona
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Navajo_Nation_Council_Chambers_6809.jpg
Author: William Nakai


The Navajo people had to walk the 450 mile distance over 18 days. They started in three groups on different paths. Out of the 9,000 or so forced out of their homeland, 200 died in the journey. The situation at the internment camp was extremely inadequate, with improper water supply, insufficient trees and firewood, and frequent flooding by the Pecos River. The Navajos also suffered from frequent raiding by another Native American tribe, the Comanches, and they also raided the Comanches to fend off starvation. In the end, this experiment at establishing a Native American reservation outside their traditional homeland was abandoned.

On 1 June, 1868, the Treaty of Bosque Redondo was concluded between the United States and leaders of the Navajo people. Among the terms of the treaty included the establisment of a reservation, the restriction on raiding, compulsory education for Navajo children, the supply of seeds and agricultural implements, the protection of Navajo rights, the compensation to tribal members, and the establishment of schools with teachers for every 30 Navajo children.

On 18 June, 1868, the Navajo people regrouped for their return journey. The Long Walk home all the Navajos walking on a single group that stretches 10 miles long. They were given a 3.5 million acre plot within their four sacred mountains. They progressively increased the size of their reservation since then, to now over 16 million acres or 70,000 sq km.

Monument Valley, Navajo Nation Tribal Park
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Over_Monument_Valley,_Navajo_Nation.jpg
Author: J Brew

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