The Navajo Tribe

   Imagine grinding corn in a pueblo house. Imagine living on top of a mountain or in a desert. This is what it was like to be a Navajo Indians. To begin with, they had  hot deserty summers and bitter cold winters. Further more, they ate berries, melons, and hunted small animals. Also, the Navajo Indians lived in pueblo houses.

   To begin with, the Southwest Indians had very sun drenched summers and bitter cold winters. There were many mountains in some parts of the area. There was usually lots of snow on the mountains. There were also very dry parts in the summer. In this time of year, Southwest Indians used irrigation to water their plants. Irrigation is when you dig tunnels in the ground so water can flow through. In the summer, there was barely any rain which is why there were barely any trees. Also, the Navajo Indians lived in northern Arizona and New Mexico.

   Further more, the Navajo Indians had a big variety of foods. Corn is the staple. We eat it lots. Corn is one of the three sisters. Corn, beans, squash. The three sisters grow well  together. The Navajo Indians also eat melons, potatoes, berries, rats, and even prairie dogs. There is also antelope, acorns, grapes, and more. The Navajo Indians also eat corn bred made from mushed up corn. Sometimes, they eat rabbits and mountain sheep. One last food they eat is yucca fruit.

   Also, the Navajo Indians lived in pueblo houses. Pueblo houses are made of clay, rocks, mud, and sticks.  Navajo Indians usually lived n pueblo houses when they were living in the desert. If you lived in the mountains, your house would be made out of poles or logs and would have the top made out of mountain sheep skin. There were also Hogans. A Hogan is a sacred home which the door was open to the east so the Navajo Native Americans could get morning sun and a good blessing.

   Did you know that the Navajo Indians never had a chief in charge of everyone? There were leaders for villages but not one for everyone. Also, the Navajo Indians stole livestock for fun. They were all very tricky. They also enslaved Mexicans which enslaved them right back.

   In conclusion, the Navajo Indians were clever, cunning, cheerful and independent people.

How the Navajo came to steal livestock

   Once, many, many years ago, in Arizona and New Mexico, there lived Navajo Indians. The Earth was very dry then and there was lots of clay, rocks, mud, and deserts. One village in northern Arizona was planning while another village was busy deciding. There had been a big argument with two clan leaders the other night. One had said that they wanted to decide a chief for everyone but the other one wanted to be just how they had been for as long as anybody could remember. This is why they had come to the idea of fighting. Nobody wanted to fight because they all liked to be peaceful but there wasn't any more ideas. There was one side who did want a chief. Nascha was their name. Nascha is Navajo for owl. They chose this name because they thought they were making a wise choice to have a wise chief. The other side, who didn't want a chief was named Dezba. This is a Navajo name meaning goes to war because they were willing to fight to be the way they had always been. After everything was decided, they started the fight.  The main idea was whoever   stole the most livestock for their side by the official date, two weeks from then, would have their choice for ever.
     The fight had started and Dezba were winning. They had claimed an old pueblo house for Their fort and had guards at every entrance. Then, while they guarded all the ways to possibly get in, the others  went to steal animals. Even though  Dezba had less Navajo indians, they were a strong team. Nascha wasn't  dong to well. They had guards everywhere but always seamed to be getting caught. There were no bows or arrows in this fight so nobody could get badly hurt. You were aloud to do what you could with your body though to protect you stolen livestock.
   They fought till the two weeks were over.  One question was in everybody's   minds.


                                                WHO HAD WON!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 Nascha was very confident that they would be having a chief to rule everybody but Dezba wasn't too sure. One person from Dezba went to count livestock while many guards stood by just in case he wanted to steal one last animal. One person from Nascha went to count how many animals there were and the same rules went to that navajo. The two Native Americans went to the center of a village. This was the day every body was looking forward to. Everyone gathered outside. Men, women, and children. They waited for the final score.

Nascha had stolen 57 and Dezba had stolen 53. There was a big groan and many shouts but there was an anounncemnt to be made by Dezba. It was true that Nascha had more but not all were alive. 10 of Nascha 's animals were dead. It was one of the rules that all animals were supposed to be alive. Therefore, Dezba had won, witch is why there was no chief for the Navajo people. There were leading men who were leaders for small areas but no chief for everyone. This also explains that the Navajo people stole livestock because they got in the habit.

                                                          THE END.

A journal from Nascha

Dear Journal,

Hello, my name is Nascha. I am nine years old. I live in the desert with my mother Mosi, which means cat,  Shadi, meaning older sister, and my father named Niyol which means wind. He was given that name because he is fast like the wind. My sister is eleven which explains the meaning of her name. My name means owl. My parents named me that because they wanted me to have good eyesight which I do. Every week, we go to a Hogan. A Hogan is a sacred home. The doors are open to the east so we can get morning sun and a good blessing. We live in a pueblo house made of clay, rocks , sticks, and mud. It is a very pleasant place to live. I also live with my clan. A clan is a group of related people living together. The people that are in my clan are my aunts, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, sisters, cousins, and my parents. Sometimes, it can be noisy.
   We eat many types of food. Corn is our staple. That means we grow it a lot and need it. Corn is one of the three sisters. The three sisters  are corn, beans, and squash. We also eat berries, acorns, even prairie dogs! We also eat rats, potatoes, cornbread made from mushed corn. Sometimes, we have grapes and yucca fruit.
   We enjoy a few strange things. One of them is stealing livestock. We started stealing the animals and then decided to keep going. Also, we like to steal things but we must make sure to not get caught and to always steal things that aren't inside. The part I enjoy about stealing is when you come back with something good, the rest of the clan shouts good things at you.  TRICKSTER, CUNNING, BRAVE. They shout out the characteristics that you were. One more exciting thing. My people enslave the  
Mexicans down below us. The scary part is that they do it right back to us.
     Over all, I have told you about my life and the way my people live. We are all most one big, happy nation.  Goodbye for now.

                                                    Nascha

pictures

This is a pueblo house.

This is the desert where most Navajo Indians lived.

This is a hogan. A hogan is a sacred home. I got this picture from Wolfgang Staudt's photostream.