Navajo Places

by Linford, Laurance D.

• ISBN13: 9780874806243
• ISBN10: 0874806240
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-04-05
• Publisher: Univ of Utah Pr

Summary

Navajoland is the heart and soul of the American Southwest. While the Navajo Reservation incorporates portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, this is only about half the traditional homeland of 220,000 Diné, the People. In one way or another, nearly all of it, including the original homeland, is sacred to them. Before Spaniards and Americans affixed their own names to the land, every topographic feature had at least one Navajo name. Many of these made their way onto maps-in various forms-or are still in use among Navajo speakers. Navajo Placesis the most ambitious attempt yet to preserve this rich legacy. Through years of research, interviews, and consultation with Navajo authorities, Laurance Linford has compiled a place-name guide that goes beyond reservation boundaries to include the entirety of the traditional Navajo homeland. The volume contains over 1,200 entries, plus a pronunciation guide and sections on Navajo history and the relation of ritual and sacred legend to landscape. An invaluable resource for anyone interested in the Four Corners region.

Table of Contents

List of Maps	viii
List of Tables	viii
List of Abbreviations	viii
Preface	xiii
Introduction	1	(16)
Physiography	1	(2)
The People	3	(10)
Before the Navajos: 10,000 B.C.-A.D. 1600	3	(1)
The Navajos: Pre-1600 to Present	3	(1)
The Archaeological/Historical Perspective	3	(1)
The Traditional Navajo Perspective	4	(1)
Intrusion of the Spaniards: A.D. 1541-1821	4	(1)
Explorations	4	(1)
Colonization	5	(1)
The Wars	5	(1)
The Mexicans: 1821-1846	6	(1)
The Americans: 1846-Present	7	(1)
The Early Years	7	(5)
The Navajos Capitulate	12	(1)
The Long Walk	12	(1)
The Reservation Years: 1868-Present	13	(1)
Navajo Social Organization	13	(4)
Political Organization	14	(1)
Chapters	15	(2)
The Role of Mythology in Navajo Place Name Origins	17	(6)
The Practice	18	(1)
The Ceremonies	18	(3)
Holyway Ceremonies	19	(1)
Shooting Chant	19	(1)
Mountain Chant	19	(1)
God Impersonators	19	(1)
Wind Chant	20	(1)
Hand-Trembling Chant	20	(1)
Eagle Trapping	20	(1)
Uncertain Affiliation	20	(1)
Evilway Ceremonies	20	(1)
Lifeway Ceremonies	20	(1)
Ceremonialism and Navajo Place Names	21	(2)
The Trading Posts	23	(10)
Arizona Locations	33	(120)
Colorado Locations	153	(16)
New Mexico Locations	169	(116)
Utah Locations	285	(20)
References	305