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The Osage tribe was the largest tribe of the Southern Sioux Indians. Throughout westward expansion and the passing of eight treaties, the Osage tribe eventually moved from Missouri to Oklahoma from 1808 to 1865. However, these negotiations also made them the wealthiest surviving Indian nations. Their wealth also came from the resources they discovered on their land. The Southern Sioux all mostly battled each other, and most of the Osage negotiations with settlers were peaceful. The Southern Sioux tribes were also more peaceful, in general, than the Northern Sioux. Settlers peacefully convinced the Osage tribe to move out of their land in the Missouri/Nebraska and into a reservation in Kansas. One of the most influential Osage chiefs was Chief Black Kettle, who was killed in The Battle of Washita River against Colonel George Custer. This battle was a surprise attack by Custer, however many people on both sides were killed. In general, the Osage tribe was very peaceful and compliant with the settlers' requests to move them into reservations. The Osage tribe still exists today, with a number of members who have made a significant impact on the world.

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Prior to meeting Europeans or American whites, the Piautes lived over vast lands including millions of acres in what is now Southern California, Northern Nevada, South Central Utah, and Northern Arizona.  To follow the seasons, planting cycles, and the migration of animals to hunt, the Piautes were able to migrate around their vast homeland.  Although the Piautes had dealings with European and Americans, they did not have to suffer with the Euro-Americans encroaching on their land until the mid-1800’s.  As settlers traveled over Piaute land in the 1840s and 1850s, the settlers damaged land that the Piaute needed for farming and hunting.  By 1851 members of the Church of latter Day Saints, or Mormans, began arriving onto their lands.  By 1858 the Mormons had built eleven settlements on Piaute land in Southern Utah.  Welcomed by the Piaute, the Mormons were even protected from other Native American tribes. The Mormons, however, returned the Piaute’s generosity by introducing disease. Some of the Piaute groups lost as much as ninety percent of their members. Eventually, the Piaute were in direct competition with Mormons over what was their land.  In 1857 during the Mountain Meadows Massacre, pioneers on their way to California were attacked and slaughtered.  For nearly a century, the Mormons claimed that the Piautes were the ones who initiated the attack.  However, the Piautes have always claimed that they did not participate in the slaughter of the pioneers, but that it was in fact the Mormons who did this when the Piautes went to them and told them of the arriving settlers. Modern historians are still debating the truth of the massacre. In 1860, when Numaga was Chief of the Piaute, the Piaute entered in to the Piaute War.  There was tension due to the encroachment on Piaute land. The former chief, Truckee, was well like by the Whites, but he died. Piaute raided the town and retrieved the girls. The Piaute killed three white settlers and burned down the merchants’ store. A Militia was formed, led by Major William Ormsby. Seventy six of the one hundred fifty militia were killed, including Ormsby.  No one knows how many Piaute were killed. In response, Colonel John C. Hays organized another militia and entered in to the Second Battle of Pyramid Lake. This battle was more successful for the soldiers, and they built a fort on Piaute land. In 1865 a Peace Treaty was signed by J.W. Huntington, Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and Paulina, a Piaute leader after Piautes were captured by the Americans.  In 1868 General Crook gave the Piaute a “Peace or Death” treaty to sign, after he had successfully broken their migration routes and had starved them.  Chief We-You-We-Wa signed a treaty giving his people a reservation on their homeland.  It also stated that the Americans would stop killing them.  However, by the time the treaty reached Congress the time limit was up and the treaty was not honored.  Another battle in 1878 continued the tensions started during the Pyramid Lake battle. It was long believed that Winnemucca was the leader of the Piaute during the 1860s through 1865, but historians are now believing that his daughter, who wrote of her father, exaggerated his true role.  Regardless, in 1865 when Winnemucca was away from his tribe, Captain Almond D. Wells of the American Nevada Calvary raided his camp and killed 29 out of the remaining 30 old men, women, and children left in camp. Winnemucca’s baby son was thrown in to a fire.  Finally, Winnemucca surrendered.  The first Piaute reservation was established in 1891.  The Reservations given to the Piaute are only 28,000 acres compared to the millions they previously roamed. Even after losing most of their tribe to diseases and battle, they were still a large band of Indians. The size of the Reservation proved too small and without resources, Piautes were forced to rely on the Mormons for help in Utah. A once great and nomadic people were to become isolated on unfertile land, and at the mercy of the Americans.

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The Crow Tribe primarily lived in  the Yellowstone river valley across Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. The tribe eventually was reduced to the diminished land designated by the U.S. Government at Crow Agency. The Crow tribe was as important as tribes like the Sioux or the Cheyenne tribes and took part in battles such as The Sioux Wars, the Battle of the Rosebud, and the Bozeman Trail. The Fort Laramie Treaty with the Crow and other tribes limited the Crows land and often, the Crow tried to peacefully negotiate but the U.S. was not helpful. In 1885 Chief Plenty Coups made his first trip to Washington with demands for his people, his second trip was in 1900 but their lands continued to diminish to that of the present day from the original 38 and 8 million acres. The Westward Expansion and U.S. Settlers couldn't have cared less though because the land of The Crow tribe was rich with gold and although The Crow tribe strongly resisted the hostile incursions of neighboring Native Indian tribes encroaching on their territory, the U.S. forces were too strong and skilled. The Crow tribe acted as scouts for the US army during the Sioux Wars and The names of the most famous chiefs of the Crow tribe included Chief Plenty Coups, Chief Long Hair, Chief Sore Belly and Chief Bear Wolf.

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The Lakota Tribe originated in Northern America near the upper Mississippi Region in what is today Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Today, they primarily resides on 5 Indian reserves situated in the Dakotas, as well as in some parts of Montana and Canada. The Lakota Indians were known for having troubles with white settlers very early on. Beginning with the California Gold Rush, more than 50,000 gold seekers traveled through the heart of the Lakota Tribe's Land and as a result created conflict due to competition for resources. The government tried to intervene and create peace through the Fort Lamarie Treaty, but it ultimately ended up being unsuccessful. Furthermore, the army and the Lakota Tribe got in an incident that resulted in shootings and killings of both the soldiers and the Indians over a cow that was "stolen" even though the Indians thought it was just abandoned. In continuation, this ended up creating tensions and eventually led to a war between the Indians and the army. Some of the significant leaders for the Lakota Tribe include Chief American Horse, Chief Gall, Chief Hump, and Chief Sitting Bull. In the end, the constant conflict with immigrants and new settlers eventually caused the Lakota Indians to move north up to the Dakotas area.

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The Nez Perce Tribe is a Native American tribe who lived in the Pacific Northwest region (Columbia River Plateau) of the United States. The words “Nez Perce” in French mean "pierced nose." Ironically, they did not practice nose piercing or wearing ornaments; the "pierced nose" tribe known as the Chinook lived near the Nez Perce. Both tribes relied heavily upon salmon and had common trading posts. The Nez Perce referred to themselves as Nimíipuumeaning "The People". They use go as far east as the Great Plains of Montana to hunt buffalo. In 1805 William Clark was the first known Euro-American to meet any of the tribe. In the late 19th century, due to pressure from the European Americans, the Nez Perce split into two groups: one side accepted to be moved to a reservation and the other refused to give up their fertile land. The fight of the non-treaty Nez Perce began on June 15, 1877, with Chief Joseph, Looking Glass, and White Bird leading 2,900 men, women and children in an attempt to reach a peaceful sanctuary. A majority of the surviving Nez Perce were finally forced to surrender on October 5, 1877, after the Battle of the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana. The route of the Nez Perce flight is preserved by the Nez Perce National Historic Trail.

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Writing in Word

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The Ute people primarily lived primarily in eastern Utah and western Colorado.  The Utes were never a unified group- instead, they consisted of groups that maintained close relations with other groups.  Today, there are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah, Southern Ute in Colorado, and the Ute Mountain, which lives primarily in Colorado.  There were not many clashes between the Utes and Americans- the only semi-major one was the Walker War.  Walker War (1853-54) consisted primarily of raids conducted against Mormon outposts in central and southern Utah.  There were two main treaties between the Utes and the United States.  The Treaty with The Ute March 2, 1868 was when the Utes split their territory and kept the west part of Colorado while they gave up the east part of Colorado to the United States.  The most important leader in Ute history was Ouray.  He was acknowledged by the United States government as a chief of the Ute and well known for his strong characteristics of patience and diplomacy.  The main contact that the Utes had with the Americans were their contact with the Mormons. The initial Mormon settlement in the Salt Lake Valley occurred in a joint occupancy zone between the Utes and Shoshones, and therefore caused little immediate disruption.  But as settlers moved south along the Wasatch Front, they began competing with Utes for the scarce resources of these valuable oasis environments.  This caused raids and skirmishes like the Walker War.

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The Apache group originated from the Southwestern part of the United States particularly in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The total Apache population today is around 30,000 and they are located mainly in Oklahoma and some in Arizona and New Mexico. The Camp Grant Massacre was a significant battle with the white men which led to the death of around 150 Apache men, women, and children. One significant leader of the Apache group was a man named Geronimo. He was specifically famous for his resistance to the reservation scheme and American expansion into the west. Geronimo led attacks against Mexican groups as well as Americans that moved into the Apache region and after numerous raids and attacks eventually surrendered to the American Army in 1886. In 1852 the Treaty with the Apache was signed for peace to exist between the tribe and the US, punishment for any injuries to Apaches, and the establishment of military posts. When white American settlers began pouring into the West for economic advancement, the Apache Tribe resisted this and fought with hostility, which resulting in anger and many deaths.

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The settlement started in modern day Mississippi and Alabama. The tribe took three withdrawal years, once in 1831, again in 1832, and a last one in 1833 to Oklahoma across the trail of tears.

Conflict with Confederate Brigadier General Albert Pike when he promised things for the tribes and didn't follow through

Treaties of shrinking the land of the Choctaws: Fort Adams, Fort Confederation, Hoe Buckintoopa, Mount Dexter, Fort St. Stephens, Doak’s Stand, and Washington City. (1801-1830)

George W. Harkins, author of Farewell to the American people, Peter Pitchlynn and Wesley Johnson both represented the Choctaws at DC

Only an emotional loss due to the loss of their home land and people, with a physical loss of tribe members along the Trail of Tears.

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In 1830, their was a law passed called Indian Removal Act, which allowed President Jackson to order the Cherokee Indians to leave their rich farmland in Georgia. There was gold discovered there.

After being forced from their land, they had to walk miles of hundreds to get to an Indian settlement in Oklahoma. The conditions were terrible, and 4,000 Cherokee Indians died of illness, weakness, or weather condition. This had a huge effect on the Cherokees, it changed their lives and customs forever. The Trail of Tears is remembered for the cruelty towards Native Americans and the murder of thousands.

A famous Cherokee Indian from modern times is Wilma Mankiller the first woman to be Principal Chief of the Cherokee tribe.

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-Originated from the woodlands of Minnesota

-They now live in a reservation in southeast Montana

In about 1825, the Cheyennes were at war with other tribes, and a feud occurred in the family. A part of them remained with the Sioux, and the others went south to the Arkansas River and joined the Arapahoes. Hostilities began in 1861 when the US was breaking their treaties with the Cheyenne people. This was the first time that the Cheyennes were at war with the white people. While negotiations for peace and friendship were in progress, Colonel Chivington, of Colorado, attacked a Cheyenne village (Nov. 29, 1864) and massacred about 100 men, women, and children. The whole tribe was fired with a desire for revenge, and a fierce war ensued, in which the United States lost many soldiers and spent between $30,000,000 and $40,000,000. After General Hancock burned one of their villages in 1867, they again made war, and slew 300 United States soldiers and settlers. General Custer defeated them on the Washita, killing their chief, thirty-seven warriors, and two-thirds of their women and children. The northern band of the Cheyennes remained peaceable, refusing to join the Sioux in 1865. In 1899 there were 2,069 Cheyennes at the Cheyenne and Arapahoe agency, Oklahoma, 56 at the Pine Ridge agency, South Dakota, and 1,349 at the Tongue River agency, Montana.

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In the 1700's Indians from different tribes from Florida and Georgia came together for protection. The Creeks, Miccosukees, Hitchitis, and the Oconees came together to form the Seminole nation. The Seminoles originally lived in Northern Florida but when the Americans attacked them, they retreated south into the Everglades. During the 1800's some Seminole people were forced to move to Oklahoma, while others stayed in southern Florida. Some Seminole iIndians still live in southern Florida today. In 1821 when the United States took over Florida from Spain, the Seminole bands were forced to sign a treaty that confined them to a reservation in central Florida. After President Andrew Johnson signed the Indian Removal act, in 1832 the seminoles were signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing. This treaty supposedly gave all claims to land in Florida and agreed to move to new lands in the west. The defence of thier homelands that ensued after the signing of this treaty essentially started the second Seminole War. The government ended this war in August of 1842 and had over 4,000 Seminole Indians moved to lands in the west. Osceola, the leader of the Seminole tribes, was respected because of his guerilla war tatics that slowed the removal of the Seminoles from Florida. He is also seen as a symbol of ancestral mixture that linked African American to Indian tribes. The impact of the removal of Indians left the physcial of the two Seminole wars. These wars resulted in thousands of deaths and losts of land that has been in Seminole control for hundreds of years.

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The “Sioux Tribe” was a broad term that encompassed three smaller tribes. The Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota. Together these tribes controlled a large amount of land in North and South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Their territory was so expansive that it is hard for researchers to know exactly how much land they controlled. The Lakota or “Teton” Sioux were the largest branch of the massive tribe, next came the Dakota or “Santee” Sioux, and the smallest branch was the Nakota. It is hard to determine where each tribe resided exactly, because the Sioux tribe were mostly nomads that followed the roaming buffalo on horseback they received from early Spanish settlers.

Due to multiple broken treaties by the westward expanding Americans, the first of three wars between the Sioux and Americans began. In Wyoming 1854, near Fort Laramie, Sioux warriors killed 19 U.S. soldiers, and in retaliation U.S. troops killed nearly 100 Sioux in Nebraska and imprisoned their chief. Soon in 1866-1867, Red Cloud’s war was fought and terminated in a treaty that was not honored by the United States, the land that was granted to the tribe was soon overrun by prospectors and miners searching for gold in 1870. The Sioux retaliated at the battle of “Little Bighorn” where 300 American troops were massacred and General

George Armstrong Custer by a band of warriors led by Sioux Chief “Sitting Bull” on June 25, 1876.

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The Blackfoot group found settlements in Montana, Idaho, and Alberta and they currently subside in Montana and make up a large percentage of the Indian population. In the beginning, the Blackfoot Indians were at peace with the white settlers until the mid 1800s At this time, the population began to decrease because of smallpox and this was believed to be caused by the white men selling infected blankets to the Blackfoot people. In 1870, 200 people of the group, mostly women and children, were killed by American army forces. By 1900, the buffalo herds had been wiped clean and the people were starving. There were treaties created between the white men and the Blackfeet during this time such as the Fort Benton Council of 1853. This treaty tried to establish a general state of peace in the region. Another treaty called the Lame Bull Treaty of 1855 attempted to establish peace as well as establish territories and boundaries between the Blackfeet and the White men. There were two significant leaders to the Blackfoot community. One of these leaders was named Chief Crowfoot and he was a leader in the community for 30 years and helped the welfare of his people through his spirit and determination. The other main leader of this tribe was Chief Old Sun who was a very spiritual leader and he worked well with Chief Crowfoot. The expansion of the settlers' ejected the natives from their homes and they were constantly at war with the white men and were beaten out of their homes and reservations.

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The Winnebago's first arrived in Northwest Kentucky around 500 B.C. By 1800, they had moved to land that is now known as Iowa. They fought with settlers of Illinois in 1671 and were almost entirely destroyed by them, but eventually the few that remained were released by the settlers and were able to revive their tribe. They signed the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1825, in which the whites forced their movement to Minnesota, then to South Dakota, and finally, to Nebraska, where the reservation remains today. During the Revolutionary War, the Winnebago tribe sided with Great Britain, fighting against the Americans. The westward expansion of Americans caused their tribal numbers to dwindle, and also caused the tribe's morale to diminish, however once they finally settled in Nebraska, their numbers increased again and they were at peace. Famous leaders include Red Bird, who was a well respected war chief that was known for protecting the tribe, and specifically led an army against settlers who had turned two of his men to another tribe for them to be killed. Also well-known is Wabokieshiek, who was a medicine man, also known as the prophet, and had a great influence on the tribe, and also was very cruel and hostile towards Americans.

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The Navajo Nation is one of the largest Native American Indian groups today. The Navajo's migrated from Canada and Alaska to the American Southwest. In the early 19th century, the Navajo's were settled in what is now New Mexico in area that at the time was under Spanish colonial rule. The Navajo's benefited from interactions with the Spanish colonials by way of trade. However, the interactions between the Navajo and US armies were far from peaceful. Around the end of the civil War in 1864, an American army invaded the Navajo territory. The Navajo Indians were forced undergo a ruthless trek know as "The Long Walk." Around 9,000 Navajo tribe members walked over 300 miles to Bosque Redondo in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Bosque Redondo was suppose to serve as reservation for the Navajo's so that the US could claim the Navajo's former territory. However, the living conditions were far less that adequate as the Navajo's struggled with starvation and sickness. Finally, the Navajo's that were still living agreed to a treaty where they could return to a reservation on their former territory. Today, the Navajo is considered one of the largest Indian groups with their territory covering over 27,000 square miles in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Also, the current leader of the Navajo tribe is Russel Begaye. Currently, the Navajo government has 88 council delegates and around 12 standing committees that decide on important issues. In the short run, the white invaders decimated the Navajo tribe by forcing them into harsh living conditions. However in the long run, the large reservations established during the 1800's in their original territory have aided in the growth of the Navajo nation to over 300,000 members.

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The Navajo Nation ( Navajo: Naabeehó Bináhásdzo) is an American Indian territory covering about 17,544,500 acres (71,000 km ²; 27,413 sq mi), occupying portions of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico in the United States. This is the largest land area retained by an indigenous tribe in the United States, with a population of 173,667 as of 2010.

By area, the Navajo Nation is larger than ten U.S. states - West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island - and is less than one percent shy of being equal to the combined area of the last five (New Hampshire through Rhode Island).

The original territory has expanded several times since the 19th century.

In English, the official name for the area was "Navajo Indian Reservation", as outlined in Article II of the 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo. On April 15, 1969, the tribe changed its official name to the Navajo Nation, which is also displayed on the seal. This was a period of American Indian activism and assertion of sovereignty. In 1994, the Tribal Council rejected a proposal to change the official designation from "Navajo" to "Diné." It was remarked that the name Diné represented the time of suffering before the Long Walk, and that Navajo is the appropriate designation for the future.

In Navajo, the geographic entity with its legally defined borders is known as This contrasts with and for the general idea of "Navajoland". Neither of these terms should be confused with the term used for the traditional homeland of the Navajo, which is situated in the area among the four sacred Navajo mountains of ( San Francisco Peaks), ( Hesperus Mountain), ( Blanca Peak), and ( Mount Taylor).

The Navajo people's tradition of governance is rooted in their clans and oral history. The clan system of the Diné is integral to their society, as the rules of behavior found within the system extend to the manner of refined culture that the Navajo people call "to walk in Beauty". The philosophy and clan system extend from before the Spanish colonial occupation of Dinetah, through to the July 25, 1868, Congressional ratification of the Navajo Treaty with President Andrew Johnson, signed by Barboncito, Armijo, and other chiefs and headmen present at Bosque Redondo.

The Navajo people have continued to transform their conceptual understandings of government since it joined the United States by the Treaty of 1868. Social, cultural and political academics continue to debate the nature of the modern Navajo governance and how it has evolved to include the systems and economies of the "western world".

In the mid-19th century, most Navajo were forced from their lands by the US government, and were marched on the Long Walk to imprisonment in Bosque Redondo. The Treaty of 1868 established the "Navajo Indian Reservation" and the Navajos left Bosque Redondo. The borders were defined as the 37th parallel in the north; the southern border as a line running through Fort Defiance; the eastern border as a line running through Fort Lyon; and in the west as longitude 109° 30′.

As drafted in 1868, the boundaries were defined as:

the following district of country, to wit: bounded on the north by the 37th degree of north latitude, south by an east and west line passing through the site of old Fort Defiance, in Canon Bonito, east by the parallel of longitude which, if prolonged south, would pass through old Fort Lyon, or the Ojo-de-oso, Bear Spring, and west by a parallel of longitude about 109' 30" west of Greenwich, provided it embraces the outlet of the Canon-de-Chilly [Canyon de Chelly], which canyon is to be all included in this reservation, shall be, and the same hereby, set apart for the use and occupation of the Navajo tribe of Indians, and for such other friendly tribes or individual Indians as from time to time they may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit among them; and the United States agrees that no persons except those herein so authorized to do, and except such officers, soldiers agents, and employees of the Government, or of the Indians, as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties imposed by law, or the orders of the President, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in, the territory described in this article.

Though the treaty had provided for one hundred miles by one hundred miles in the New Mexico Territory, the size of the territory was 3,328,302 acres (13,470 km ²; 5,200 sq mi)-slightly more than half. This initial piece of land is represented in the design of the Navajo Nation's flag by a dark-brown rectangle.

As no physical boundaries or signposts were set in place, many Navajo ignored these formal boundaries and returned to where they had been living prior to captivity. A significant number of Navajo had never lived in the Hwéeldi (near Fort Sumner). They remained or moved to near the Little Colorado and Colorado rivers, on Naatsisʼáán ( Navajo Mountain) and some with Apache bands.

The first expansion of the territory occurred on October 28, 1878, when President Rutherford Hayes signed an executive order pushing the reservation boundary 20 miles to the west. Further additions followed throughout the late 19th and early 20th century (see map). Most of these additions were achieved through executive orders, some of which were confirmed by acts of Congress; for example, President Theodore Roosevelt's executive order to add the region around Aneth, Utah in 1905 was confirmed by Congress in 1933.

The eastern border was shaped primarily as a result of allotments of land to individual Navajo households under the Dawes Act of 1887. This experiment was designed to assimilate Native Americans to the majority culture. The federal government proposed to divide communal lands into plots assignable to heads of household - tribal members - for their subsistence farming, in the pattern of small family farms common among European Americans. The land allocated to Navajos was initially not considered as part of the reservation. Further, the government determined that land "left over" after all members had received allotments was to be considered "surplus" and available for sale to non-Native Americans. The allotment program continued until 1934. Today, this patchwork of reservation and non-reservation land is called "the checkerboard" area.

In the southeastern area of the reservation, the Navajo Nation has purchased some ranches, which it calls its Nahata Dzil or New Lands. They are leased to Navajo individuals, livestock and grazing associations, and livestock companies.

In 1996, Elouise Cobell ( Blackfeet) filed a class action suit against the federal government on behalf of an estimated 250,000-500,000 plaintiffs, Native Americans whose trust accounts did not reflect an accurate accounting of monies owed them under leases or fees on trust lands. The settlement of Cobell v. Salazar in 2009 included a provision for a nearly $2 billion fund for the government to buy fractionated interests and restore land to tribal reservations. Individuals could sell their fractionated land interests on a voluntary basis, at market rates, through this program if their tribe participated.

Through March 2017, under the Tribal Nations Buy-Back Program, individual Navajo members received $104 million for purchase of their interests in land; 155,503 acres were returned to the Navajo Nation for its territory by the Department of Interior under this program. The program is intended to help tribes restore the land bases of their reservations. Almost 11,000 Navajo citizens were paid for their interests under this program.[citation needed ] The tribe intends to use the consolidated lands to "streamline infrastructure projects," such as running power lines.

In the traditional Navajo culture, local leadership was organized around clans, which are matrilineal kinship groups. Children are considered born into the mother's family and gain their social status from her.

The clan leadership have served as a de facto government on the local level of the Navajo Nation.

In 1933 during the Great Depression, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) attempted to mitigate environmental damage due to over-grazing on reservations. This created an environment of misunderstanding, as its representatives did not consult sufficiently with the Navajo. BIA Superintendent John Collier's attempt to reduce livestock herd size affected responses to his other efforts to improve conditions for Native Americans, as the herds were central to Navajo culture, and were a source of prestige.

Also during this period, under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, the federal government was encouraging tribes to revive their governments according to constitutional models shaped after the United States. Because of the outrage and discontent about the herd issues, the Navajo voters did not trust the language of the proposed initial constitution outlined in the legislation. This contributed to their rejection of the first version of a proposed tribal constitution.

In the various attempts since, members found the process to be too cumbersome and a potential threat to tribal self-determination, as the constitution was supposed to be reviewed and approved by BIA. The earliest efforts were rejected primarily because segments of the tribe did not find enough freedom in the proposed forms of government. In 1935 they feared that the proposed government would hinder development and recovery of their livestock industries; in 1953 they worried about restrictions on development of mineral resources.

They continued a government based on traditional models, with headmen chosen by clan groups.

The United States still asserts plenary power and thus requires the territory of the Navajo Nation to submit all proposed laws to the United States Secretary of the Interior for Secretarial Review, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

The US Supreme Court in United States v. Kagama (1889) affirmed that Congress has plenary power over all Indian tribes within United States borders, saying that "The power of the general government over these remnants of a race once powerful ... is necessary to their protection as well as to the safety of those among whom they dwell". It noted that the tribes did not owe allegiance to the states within which their reservations were located.

Most conflicts and controversies between the federal government of the United States and the Nation are settled by negotiations outlined in political agreements. The Navajo Nation Code comprises the rules and laws of the Navajo Nation as currently codified in the latest edition.

Lands within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Nation are composed of Public, Tribal Trust, Tribal Fee, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Private, State, and BIA Indian Allotment Lands. On the Arizona and Utah portions of the Navajo Nation, there are a few private and BIA Indian Allotments in comparison to New Mexico's portion which consists of a checkerboard pattern of all the aforementioned lands. The Eastern Agency, as it is referred to, consists of primarily Tribal Fee, BIA Indian Allotments, and BLM Lands. Although there are more Tribal Fee Lands in New Mexico, the Navajo Nation government intends to convert most or all Tribal Fee Lands to Tribal Trust.

The Title II Amendment of 1989 established the Navajo Nation government as a three-part system (changes to the judicial branch had already begun in 1958). Two branches are independent of the council (where all government decision making was centralized before the change).

In 2006, a committee for a "Navajo constitution" began advocating for a Navajo constitutional convention. The committee's goal was to have representation from every chapter on the Navajo Nation represented at a constitutional convention. The committee proposed the convention be held in the traditional naachid/modern chapter house format, where every member of the nation wishing to participate may do so through their home chapters. The committee was formed by former Navajo leaders: Kelsey Begaye, Peterson Zah, Peter MacDonald, writer/social activist Ivan Gamble, and other local political activists.

Prior to Long Walk of the Navajo, judicial powers were exercised by peace chiefs ( Hózhǫ́ǫ́jí Naatʼááh) in a mediation-style process. While the people were held at Bosque Redondo, the U.S. Army handled severe crimes while lesser crimes and disputes remained in the purview of the villages' chiefs. After the Navajo return from Bosque Redondo in 1868, listed offenses were handled by the Indian Agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs with support of the U.S. Army while lesser disputes remained under Navajo control.

In 1950, the Navajo Tribal Council decided that judges should be elected. By the time of the judicial reorganization of 1958, the Council had determined that, due to problems with delayed decisions and partisan politics, appointment was a better method of selecting judges.

The president makes appointments subject to confirmation by the Navajo Nation Council; however, the president is limited to the list of names vetted by the Judiciary Committee of the Council.

The current judicial system for the Navajo Nation was created by the Navajo Tribal Council on 16 October 1958. It established a separate branch of government, the "Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation Government", which became effective 1 April 1959. The Navajo Court of Indian Offenses was eliminated; the sitting judges became judges in the new system. The resolution established "Trial Courts of the Navajo Tribe" and the "Navajo Tribal Court of Appeals", which was the highest court and the only appellate court.

From 1988 to 2006, there were seven judicial districts and two satellite courts. As of 2010, there are ten judicial districts, centered respectively in Alamo (Alamo/Tó'hajiilee), Aneth, Chinle, Crownpoint, Dilkon, Kayenta, Ramah, Shiprock, Tuba City and Window Rock. All of the districts also have family courts, which have jurisdiction over domestic relations, civil relief in domestic violence, child custody and protection, name changes, quiet title and probate. As of 2010, there were 17 trial judges presiding in the Navajo district and family courts.

The Navajo Nation Presidency, in its current form, was created on December 15, 1989, after directives from the federal government guided the Tribal Council to establish the current judicial, legislative, and executive model. This was a departure from the system of "Council and Chairmanship" from the previous government body.

Conceptual additions were added to the language of Navajo Nation Code Title II, and the acts expanded the new government on April 1, 1990. There are several qualifications for the position of president, including fluency in the Navajo language. (This has seldom been enforced and in 2015, the council changed the law to repeal this requirement.) Term limits allow only two consecutive terms.

The Navajo Nation Council, formerly the Navajo Tribal Council, is the legislative branch of the Navajo Nation. As of 2010, the Navajo Nation Council consists of 24 delegates representing the 110 chapters, elected every four years by registered Navajo voters. Prior to the November 2010 election, the Navajo Nation Council consisted of 88 representatives. The Navajo voted for the change in an effort to have a more efficient government and to curb tribal government corruption associated with council members who established secure seats.

In 1927, agents of the U.S. federal government initiated a new form of local government entities called Chapters, modeled after governments such as counties or townships. Each Chapter elected officers and followed parliamentary procedures.

By 1933, more than 100 chapters operated across the territory. The chapters served as liaisons between the Navajo and the federal government, and also acted as precincts for the elections of tribal council delegates. They served as forums for local tribal leaders. But, the chapters had no authority within the structure of the Navajo Nation government.

In 1998, the Navajo Tribal Council passed the "Local Governance Act," which expanded the political roles of the existing 110 chapters. It authorized them to make decisions on behalf of the chapter members and take over certain roles previously delegated to the council and executive branches. This included entering into intergovernmental agreements with federal, state and tribal entities, subject to approval by the Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Council.

Agencies/Chapters

The Navajo Nation is divided into five agencies across parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, with the seat of government located at the Navajo Governmental Campus at Window Rock/Tségháhoodzání. These agencies are similar to county entities and reflect the five Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agencies created in the early years of the Navajo Nation. The five agencies within the Navajo Nation are the Chinle Agency in Chinle, Arizona; Eastern Navajo Agency in Crownpoint, New Mexico; Western Navajo Agency in Tuba City, Arizona; Fort Defiance Agency in Fort Defiance, Arizona; and Shiprock Agency in Shiprock, New Mexico. The BIA agencies provide various technical services under direction of the BIA's Navajo Area Office at Gallup, New Mexico.

Agencies are further divided into chapters as the smallest political unit, similar to municipalities. The Navajo capital city of Window Rock is located in the Chapter of St. Michaels, Arizona.

The Navajo Nation also has executive offices in the US capital of Washington, DC for lobbying services and congressional relations.

Law enforcement

The Navajo law enforcement consists of roughly 300 tribal police officers with only 3 non-native officers.

Certain classes of crimes, such as capital cases, are prosecuted and adjudicated in Federal courts. However, the Navajo Nation operates its own divisions of law enforcement via the Navajo Division of Public Safety, commonly referred to as the Navajo Nation Police (formerly Navajo Tribal Police). Law enforcement functions are also delegated to the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife: Wildlife Law Enforcement and Animal Control Sections; Navajo Nation Forestry Law Enforcement Officers; and the Navajo Nation EPA Criminal Enforcement Section; and Navajo Nation Resource Enforcement ( Navajo Rangers).

Other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies routinely work on the Navajo Nation, including the BIA Police, National Park Service U.S. Park Rangers, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations, Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), US Marshals, and Federal Bureau of Investigation; and other Native American units: the Ute Mountain Agency, and Hopi Agency; and Arizona Highway Patrol, Utah Highway Patrol, New Mexico Department of Public Safety (State Police and Highway Patrol), Apache County Sheriff's Office, Navajo County Sheriff's Office, McKinley County Sheriff's Office.

Other agencies

In addition, regional government functions are carried out by the "District Grazing Committees" and "Off-Reservation Land Boards", "Major Irrigation Projects Farm Boards", and "Agency Councils".

Henry Chee Dodge, first chairman of Navajo Tribal Council (1922-1928, 1942-1946)

Tom B. Becenti, tribal judge and chapter official from Eastern Navajo Agency. WWII veteran. He is known to have helped develop the Navajo Tribal Court System while preserving traditional Navajo Fundamental Law.

Peter MacDonald, Navajo Tribal chairman convicted for cause (1971-1983, 1987-1989)

Jacob (JC) Morgan, first chairman elected by the tribe, serving 1938-1942

Lilakai Julian Neil, first woman elected to Navajo Tribal Council, serving 1946-1951

John Pinto, New Mexico state senator (1977-2019), code talker, teacher and National Education Association organizer.

Amos Frank Singer, early Council delegate from Kaibito and designer of Navajo Seal.

Joe Shirley Jr., oversaw the reduction in seats on the Navajo Council.

Annie Dodge Wauneka, Navajo Tribal Councilwoman and philanthropist (1951-1978)

Peterson Zah, Chairman and first president of the Navajo Nation (1983-1987, 1991-1995)

On August 25, 2014, the Navajo Nation held primary elections for the Office of President. Joe Shirley Jr. and Chris Deschene had the two highest vote counts. In the weeks following, two other primary candidates sued in tribal court, invoking a never-used 1990s law to require assessment of the candidates' skills in the Navajo Language.

On October 23, 2014, the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the tribe held the first hearing on the complaint filed against Deschene. The meeting was presided by chief hearing officer Richie Nez. The court body ruled in favor of Dale Tsosie and Hank Whitethorne, the former primary candidates, and issued a default ruling against Deschene, who had refused to participate. Later that day, the Navajo Supreme Court, in a special session on the matter, enforced the ruling from the lower Court body and ordered that the Navajo government remove Deschene from the presidential ballot because of his lack of Navajo language skills.

In the special election, businessman Russell Begaye was elected as president and Jonathan Nez as vice-president. In May 2015, they were sworn in. Begaye supports encouraging native language use among the Navajo, who have the most members speaking a native language of nearly any tribe. Approximately half of its 340,000 members speak Navajo. He came to office supporting the Grand Canyon Escalade, a proposed project to increase tourism at the canyon, as well as initiatives to develop a rail port to export crops and coal from the reservation and to pursue clean coal technology.

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority provides utility services for houses. By 2019 there was a campaign to electrify remaining houses without electricity. As of 2019 about 15,000 houses, with 60,000 residents, did not have electricity; at that time the authority electrified, on an annual a basis, 400-450 houses.

In December 2012, Ben Shelly led a delegation of Navajos overseas to Israel, where they toured the country as representatives for the Navajo people. In April 2013, Shelly's aide, Deswood Tome, led a delegation of Israeli agricultural specialists on a tour of resources on the Navajo Nation.

The land area of the Navajo Nation is over 27,000 square miles (70,000 km ²), making it the largest Indian reservation in the United States; it is approximately 8,000 km² larger the state of West Virginia.

Adjacent to or near the Navajo Nation are the Southern Ute of Colorado, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, both along the northern borders; the Jicarilla Apache Tribe to the east; the Zuni and White Mountain Apache to the south, and the Hualapai Bands in the west. The Navajo Nation's territory fully surrounds the Hopi Indian Reservation. In the 1980s, a conflict over shared lands peaked when the Department of the Interior attempted to relocate Navajo residents living in what is still referred to as the "Navajo/Hopi Joint Use Area." The litigious and social conflict between the two tribes and neighboring communities ended with " The Bennett Freeze" Agreement and was completed in July 2009 by President Barack Obama. The agreement lessened the contentious land disagreement with a 75-year lease to Navajos with claims dating to before the US occupation.[citation needed ]

Situated on the Navajo Nation are Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Monument Valley, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, the Shiprock monadnock, and the eastern portion of the Grand Canyon. Navajo Territory in New Mexico is popularly referred as the "Checkerboard" area since the Federal Government's attempt to diversify lands with non-native lands. Thus these Navajo lands are intermingled with fee lands, owned by both Navajos and non-Navajos, and federal and state lands under various jurisdictions. Three large non-contiguous sections located in New Mexico are also under Navajo jurisdiction and are the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation, the Alamo Navajo Indian Reservation, and the Tohajiilee Indian Reservation near Albuquerque.

Much of the Navajo Nation is situated atop the Colorado Plateau. The large variation in altitude (3,080 feet (940 m) to 10,346 feet (3,153 m)) throughout the Navajo Nation is responsible for considerable variations in climate, from an arid, desert climate, comprising 55% of the area, an intermediate steppe region, and the cold, sub-humid climate of the mountainous 8%. Average daily temperatures range from 43 °F (6 °C) to 60 °F (16 °C), with a low of 4 °F (−16 °C) in mountainous regions and a high of 110 °F (43 °C) in the desert. Average rainfall is 16-27 inches (410-690 mm) at higher elevations, and 7-11 inches (180-280 mm) in the desert.

To maintain consistent time throughout its territory, the Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time (DST) on its Arizona land as well as on its Utah and New Mexico land, even though the rest of Arizona, including the Hopi Reservation, an enclave within the Arizona portion of the Nation, have opted out of DST.

The average family size was 4.1, and the average household was home to 3.5 persons. The average household income in 2010 was $27,389.

Historically, the Navajo Nation resisted compulsory western education, including boarding schools, as imposed by General Richard Henry Pratt in the aftermath of the Long Walk. This does not negate, however, the scope and breadth of traditional and home education provided by Navajo families and custom since before the US annexation.

The Nation runs community Head Start Programs, the only educational program fully operated by the Navajo Nation government. Post-secondary education and vocational training are available on and off the territory.

The Navajo Nation operates Tséhootsooí Diné Bi'ólta', a Navajo language immersion school for grades K-8 in Fort Defiance, Arizona. Located on the Arizona-New Mexico border in the southeastern quarter of the Navajo Nation, the school strives to revitalize Navajo among children of the Window Rock Unified School District. Tséhootsooí Diné Bi'ólta' has thirteen Navajo language teachers who instruct only in the Navajo language, and no English, while five English language teachers instruct in the English language. Kindergarten and first grade are taught completely in the Navajo language, while English is incorporated into the program during third grade, when it is used for about 10% of instruction.

The Nation has six systems of secondary academic institutions that serve Navajo students, including:

Diné College - Tsaile campus

The Navajo Nation operates Diné College, a two-year community college with its main campus at Tsaile in Apache County, Arizona. The college also operates seven other sub-campuses throughout the nation. The Navajo Nation Council founded the college in 1968 as the first tribal college in the United States. Since then, tribal colleges had been established on numerous reservations and now total 32. Diné College has 1,830 students enrolled, of which 210 are degree-seeking transfer students for four-year institutions.

Center for Diné Studies

The college includes the Center for Diné Studies. Its goal is to apply Navajo Sa'ah Naagháí Bik'eh Hózhóón principles to advance quality student learning through Nitsáhákees (thinking), Nahat'á (planning), Iiná (living), and Siihasin (assurance) in study of the Diné language, history, and culture. Students are prepared for further studies and employment in a multi-cultural and technological world.

Located in Crownpoint, New Mexico, Navajo Technical University is a tribal university offering various vocational, technical, and academic degrees and certificates. NTU was originally opened in 1979 as the Navajo Skill Center with the intention of providing educational opportunity of the unemployed population of the Navajo Nation. The center has since been renamed multiple time in response to growth and expansion. In 1985 it was renamed Crownpoint Institute of Technology and in 2006 to Navajo Technical College. Finally, in 2013 it was named a "university" in recognition of its program expansion under resolution codified by The Navajo Nation Council.

Extensive uranium mining took place in areas of the Navajo Nation before environmental laws were passed or enforced on the control of hazardous wastes of such operations, or their fallout.

Studies[which? ] have proven the unregulated practices created severe environmental consequences for people living nearby. Several types of cancer occur at much higher rates than the national average in these locations. Especially high are the rates of reproductive-organ cancers in teenage Navajo girls, averaging seventeen times higher than the average of girls in the United States.

Residents of the Red Water Pond Road area have requested relocation to a new, off-grid village to be located on Standing Black Tree Mesa while cleanup progresses on the Northeast Church Rock Mine Superfund site, as an alternative to the EPA-proposed relocation of residents to Gallup.

The Navajo are uniquely affected by a rare and life-threatening an autosomal recessive multisystem disorder called Navajo Neurohepatopathology (NNH), a genetic condition estimated to occur in 1 of every 1,600 live births. The most severe symptoms include neuropathy and liver dysfunction (hepatopathy), both of which may be moderate and progressive or severe and fatal, as it often is in cases that develop in infants (before 6 months of age) or children (1-5 years). Other symptoms include corneal anesthesia and scarring, acral mutilation, cerebral leukoencephalopathy, failure to thrive, and recurrent metabolic acidosis with intercurrent infections.

Diabetes mellitus is a major health problem among the Navajo, Hopi and Pima tribes, who are diagnosed at a rate about four times higher than the age-standardized U.S. estimate. Medical researchers believe increased consumption of carbohydrates, coupled with genetic factors, play significant roles in the emergence of this chronic disease among Native Americans.

One in every 2,500 children in the Navajo population inherits severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a genetic disorder that results in children with virtually no immune system. In the general population, the genetic disorder is much more rare, affecting one in 100,000 children. The disorder is sometimes known as "bubble boy disease". This condition is a significant cause of illness and death among Navajo children. Research reveals a similar genetic pattern among the related Apache. In a December 2007 Associated Press article, Mortan Cowan, M.D., director of the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the University of California, San Francisco, noted that, although researchers have identified about a dozen genes that cause SCID, the Navajo/Apache population has the most severe form of the disorder. This is due to the mutations in the gene DCLRE1C, which leads to a defective copy of the protein Artemis. Without the gene, children's bodies are unable to repair DNA or develop disease-fighting cells.

The COVID-19 pandemic reached the Navajo Nation on March 17, 2020. On March 20, a stay-at-home order was issued after 14 cases of the coronavirus were confirmed, with an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew enforced.

Beginning April 12, a 57-hour weekend curfew was declared. At that point, there were 698 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 24 deaths, among members of the Navajo Nation living in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. By April 18, there were 1,197 cases. On April 19, the Navajo Department of Health issued an emergency public health order mandating the use of masks outside the home, in addition to existing orders for sheltering in place and nightly and weekend curfews. By April 20, the Navajo Nation had the third-highest infection rate in the United States, after New York and New Jersey.

On April 25, the Nation announced that it was joining 10 other tribes in a lawsuit against the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, over what the plaintiffs said was an unfair allocation of money to the tribes under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). On May 5, $600 million of aid money was delivered to the Navajo Nation, a month after the legislation was signed into law.

As of 18 May 2020, the Navajo Nation surpassed New York as most affected U.S. region per capita, with 4,071 positive COVID-19 tests and 142 fatalities recorded.

As of 26 May 2020 there are 4,689 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 157 deaths from the virus.

An important part of the Navajo economy and culture is based on the raising of sheep and goats. Navajo families process the wool and sell it for cash, or turn it into yarn and produce blankets and rugs for sale. The Navajo are noted for their skill in creating turquoise and silver jewelry. Navajo artists have other traditional arts, such as sand painting, sculpture, and pottery.

The Navajo Nation has created a mixture of industry and business which has provided the Navajo with alternative opportunities to traditional occupations. The Nation's median cash household income is around $20,000 per year. However, using Federal standards, unemployment levels fluctuates between 40 and 45%. About 40% of families live below the Federal poverty rate.

Mining - especially of coal and uranium provided significant income to both the Navajo Nation and individual Navajos in the second half of the 20th century. Many of these mines have closed. In the early 21st century, mining still provides significant revenues to the tribe in terms of leases (51% of all tribal income in 2003). Individual Navajos are part of the 1,000 people employed in mining.

The volume of coal mined on the Navajo Nation land has declined in the early 21st century. The Chevron Corporation's P&M McKinley Mine was the first large-scale surface coal mine in New Mexico when it opened in 1961. It closed in January 2010. Peabody Energy's Black Mesa coal mine, a controversial strip mine, was shut down in December 2005 because of its environmental impact and lost an appeal to reopen in January 2010. The Black Mesa mine fed the 1.5 GW Mohave Power Station at Laughlin, Nevada, via a slurry pipeline that used water from the Black Mesa aquifer. The nearby Kayenta Mine used the Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad to move coal to the former Navajo Generating Station (2.2 GW) at Page, Arizona. The Kayenta mine provided the majority of leased revenues for the tribe. The Kayenta mine also provided wages to those Navajos who were part of its 400 employees. The Navajo Mine opened in 1963 near Fruitland, New Mexico, and employs about 350 people. It supplies sub-bituminous coal to the 2 GW Four Corners Power Plant via the isolated 13-mile Navajo Mine Railroad. Parts of the Navajo Nation acquired the mine and three mines in Montana and Wyoming.

The uranium market, which was active during and after the second World War, slowed near the end of that period. The Nation has suffered considerable environmental contamination and health effects as a result of poor regulation of uranium mining. As of 2005, the Navajo Nation has prohibited uranium mining altogether within its borders.

There are developed and potential oil and gas fields on the Navajo Nation. The oldest and largest group of fields is in the Paradox Basin in the Four Corners area. Most of these fields are located in the Aneth Extension in Utah but there are a few wells in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The first well was drilled in the Aneth Extension in 1956. In 2006 the Paradox Basin fields were injected with water and Co2 to increase declining production. There are also wells in the Checkerboard area in New Mexico that are on leased land owned by individual Navajos.

The selling of leases and oil royalties have changed over the years. The Aneth Extension was created from Public Domain lands as part a 1933 exchange for lands flooded by Lake Powell. Congress appointed Utah as trustee on behalf of Navajos living in San Juan County, Utah for any potential revenues that came from natural resources in the area. Utah initially created a 3-person committee to make leases, receive royalties and improve the living conditions for Utah Navajos. As the revenues and resulting expenditures increased, Utah created the 12 member Navajo Commission to do the operational work. The Navajo Nation and Bureau of Indian Affairs are also involved.

There are several Navajo organizations that deal with oil and gas. The Utah Diné Corporation is a nonprofit organization established to take over from the Navajo Commission. The Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company owns and operates oil and natural gas interests primarily in New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Federally incorporated, it is wholly owned by the Navajo Nation.

In early 2008, the Navajo Nation and Houston-based IPP entered into an agreement to monitor wind resources, with the potential to build a 500- megawatt wind farm some 50 miles (80 km) north of Flagstaff, Arizona. Known as the Navajo Wind Project, it is proposed as the second commercial wind farm in Arizona after Iberdrola's Dry Lake Wind Power Project between Holbrook and Overgaard-Heber. The project is to be built on Aubrey Cliffs in Coconino County, Arizona.

In December 2010, the President and Navajo Council approved a proposal by the NTUA, an enterprise of the Navajo Nation and Edison Mission Energy, to develop an 85-megawatt wind project at Big Boquillas Ranch, which is owned by the Navajo Nation and is located 80 miles west of Flagstaff. NTUA plans to develop this to a 200-megawatt capacity at peak. This has been planned as the first majority-owned native project; NTUS was to own 51%. An estimated 300-350 people will construct the facility; it will have 10 permanent jobs. In August 2011, the Salt River Project, an Arizona utility, was announced as the first utility customer. Permitting and negotiations involve tribal, federal, state and local stakeholders. The project is intended not only as a shift to renewable energy but to increase access for tribal members; an estimated 16,000 homes are without access to electricity.

Tourism is important to the Nation. Parks and attractions within traditional Navajo lands include:

An important small business group on the Navajo Nation is handmade arts and crafts industry, which markets both high- and medium-end quality goods made by Navajo artisans, jewelers and silversmiths. A 2004 study by the Navajo Division of Economic Development found that at least 60% of all families have at least one family member producing arts and crafts for the market.[citation needed ]. A survey conducted by the Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center reported that the Navajo nation made $20,428,039 from the art and crafts trade in 2011.

Diné Development Corp.

The Diné Development Corporation was formed in 2004 to promote Navajo business and seek viable business development to make use of casino revenues.

The Navajo Nation is served by various print media operations. The Navajo Times used to be published as the Navajo Times Today. Created by the Navajo Nation Council in 1959, it has been privatized. It continues to be the newspaper of record for the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Times is the largest Native American-owned newspaper company in the United States.

Established as a Navajo Nation Enterprise in 1985, KTNN is a commercial station that provides information and entertainment located on AM 660.

Other newsprint groups also serve the Nation. The media outlets include the Navajo/Hopi Observer, serving Navajo, Hopi and towns of Winslow and Flagstaff, and the Navajo Post, a web-based with print outlet that serves urban Navajos from its offices at Tempe. Non-Navajo papers also target Navajo audiences, such as the Gallup Independent.

1. ^ "Demographic Analysis of the Navajo Nation/ Using 2010 Census and 2010 American Community Survey Estimates" Archived 2014-06-11 at the Wayback Machine, Arizona Rural Policy Institute (ARPI), Northern Arizona University

2. ^ Denetdale, Jennifer Nez (2007). Reclaiming Dine History: The Legacies of Navajo Chief Manuelito and Juanita. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8165-2420-4.

3. ^ "Planting: Diné shares seeds of wisdom". Navajo Times. January 24, 2019. p. A4.

4. ^ Singer, James C. (2007). Navajo Nation Government Reform Project (DRAFT) (PDF) (Report). Dine Policy Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05.

5. Compiled (1973). Roessel, Ruth (ed.). Navajo Stories of the Long Walk Period. Tsaile, Arizona: Navajo Community College Press. ISBN 0-912586-16-8.

6. ^ Iverson, Peter; Rossel, Monty (2002). Diné: A History of the Navajos. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press.

7. ^ "Hubbell Trading Post. Site History", National Park Service, Accessed 2010-11-05.

8. ^ "BRIEF FOR AMICUS CURIAE NEW MEXICO OIL AND GAS ASSOCIATION IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER" (PDF). sct.narf.org.

9. ^ Compiled (1974). Roessel, Ruth (ed.). Navajo Livestock Reduction: A National Disgrace. Tsaile, Arizona: Navajo Community College Press. ISBN 0-912586-18-4.

10. Lee, Tanya. ^ "Navajo group begins process of crafting a constitution", Indian Country Today. 19 June 2006 (retrieved 5 Oct 2009) Archived September 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

11. Yazzie, Robert (11 February 2003) ^ "History of the Courts of the Navajo Nation", Navajo Nation Museum, Library & Visitor Center, archived 3 November 2010 at FreezePage

12. Austin, Raymond Darrel (2009), "The Navajo Nation court system", pp. 1-36, page 21 In Austin, Raymond Darrel (2009) Navajo Courts and Navajo Common Law: A Tradition of Tribal Self-Governance, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, ISBN 978-0-8166-6535-8

13. ^ Navajo Tribal Council Resolution No. CO-69-58 (16 October 1958)

14. ^ Navajo Tribal Council Resolution No. CMY-39-78 (4 May 1978)

15. Advisory Committee of the Navajo Tribal Council (9 November 1983) "Recommending the Rescission and Repeal of Resolution CMY-39-78, Which Established the Supreme Judicial Council, and Revocation of Any Inconsistent Authority" available as an attachment to ^ Navajo Tribal Council Resolution CD-94-85

16. Navajo Tribal Council Resolution No. CD-94-85 (4 December 1985)

17. ^ "Judicial Districts of the Navajo Nation" Navajo Courts webpage, 29 May 2010, last accessed 3 November 2010

18. ^ Tom Becenti, World War II vet, peacemaker, served Crownpoint Judicial District until he retired in 1977, Albuquerque Journal, April 1, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2019.

19. ^ "Hearing Officer Rules against Navajo Nation Presidential Hopeful". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 2015-01-06.

20. ^ "Deschene Out of Navajo Election, Presidential Vote Looks to Be Postponed". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-07.

21. ^ Arizona Capitol Times: Navajo Nation Council passes emergency language requirement repeal. October 23, 2014. Accessed February 15, 2015.

22. ^ "Environmental Setting 3-1 to 3-11" (PDF). Environmental Protection Agency. 4 September 2015.

23. Marjane Ambler, "While globalizing their movement, tribal colleges import ideas", Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, Vol. 16 No.4, Summer 2005, accessed 7 July 2011 Archived March 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

24. ^ Vandever, Daniel (August 1, 2013). "Navajo Tech becomes a University". Journal of American Indian Higher Education. 25.

25. ^ Snow, Nancy (1996). In the Company of Others: Perspectives on Community, Family, and Culture. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-8476-8145-7.

26. Karadimas, Charalampos L.; Vu, Tuan H.; Holve, Stephen A.; Chronopoulou, Penelope; Quinzii, Catarina; Johnsen, Stanley D.; Kurth, Janice; Eggers, Elizabeth; Palenzuela, Lluis; Tanji, Kurenai; Bonilla, Eduardo (28 June 2009). "Navajo Neurohepatopathy Is Caused by a Mutation in the MPV17 Gene". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 79 (3): 544-548. doi:10.1086/506913. PMC . PMID 16909392.

27. ^ "101 new positive cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths reported, rapid testing to soon become available" (PDF). navajo-nsn.gov. April 11, 2020.

28. See the three volumes produced by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 1955-1956: Kiersch, George A. (1956) ^ Mineral Resources, Navajo-Hopi Indian Reservations, Arizona-Utah: Geology, Evaluation, and Uses, volumes 1-3, United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, OCLC 123188599

29. ^ "Facility Description of NM Environment Department 2016 Compliance Inspection Report" (PDF).

30. ^ Karl Cates and Seth Feaster (31 January 2020). "IEEFA U.S.: Navajo-owned energy company is in trouble". Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020.

31. ICTMN Staff, "Navajo-Owned Wind Farm in Works in Arizona", Indian Country Today, 17 August 2011; accessed 12 December 2016

32. [ Cindy Yurth, "Waiting for a fair wind"], Navajo Times, 29 November 2012; accessed 12 December 2016

33. ^ Kristi Eaton (AP), "National Native American magazine going digital", Associated Press- The Big Story, 14 July 2013; accessed 8 December 2016. Note: In 2013 journalist Tim Giago, founder of Indian Country Today, said that the Navajo Times was "the largest Indian newspaper in America."

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The Navajo Nation ( Navajo: Naabeehó Bináhásdzo) is an American Indian territory covering about 17,544,500 acres (71,000 km 2; 27,413 sq mi), occupying portions of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico in the United States. This is the largest land area retained by an indigenous tribe in the United States, with a population of 173,667 as of 2010.

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The Arapaho Native Americans originated in Colorado and Wyoming. The Arapaho would later split into the Northern Arapaho and Southern Arapaho that spread out across the plains. The Arapaho tribe and the Cheyenne were close allies that would consistently come in contact with one another. Prior to contact with white people the Arapaho group were nomadic buffalo hunters. Because of their nomadic lifestyle they were spread out all across the west. The Arapaho were forced to split their tribe because trading posts were built by the Arkansas River. Confrontations with whites increased with the discovery of gold in Denver, Colorado. A notable leader was "Little Raven" also known as "Hosa" who was a principal chief of the Southern Arapaho. In 1861, a treaty was made that tried to remove the Southern branch of the tribe to a small area by the Arkansas River. As time went on, conflict became more violent. In 1864, a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho were attacked without warning in Southeastern Colorado by Sand Creek. Most, if not all, were massacred by the Colorado militia. The Sand Creek Massacre began conflict from 1864-1865. Treaties were finally signed in 1867 and 1869, which placed the Arapaho tribe in Oklahoma, where they remain to this day. The Arapaho tribe is much different than before. In the 19th and 20th century there was a widespread conversion to Christianity, forcing them to abandon their traditions.Over the years, their reservation land has been sold off and taken by the government.

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The Shoshone Indians were mostly located around the Snake River in Idaho. The translation of Shoshone is "Valley People." However, there were some tribes that were found around California, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah. These groups were divided into the three main groups: The Northern (Mostly Idaho), Western (Mostly Nevada), and Eastern (mostly Utah). Eventually, the Shoshone Indians were forced to relocate to the fort Hall Indian Reservation in Southeastern Idaho. Most were forced to leave their homelands to relocate here along the "Trail of Tears." Also, the Shoshone in the Northern sector had many conflicts with white settlers in Ohio; this resulted in the Bear River Massacre in 1878. Earlier in 1875, though, they fought alongside the US Army in the Battle of Rosebud against their enemies the Cheyenne and Lakota. One of the most famous chiefs was Chief Washakie of the Eastern tribes. Other famous chiefs include Chief Little Soldier, Chief Pocatello, and Chief Bear Hunter. Lewis and Clarke also made their famous expedition with the help from Shoshone Indian, Sacagawea. Westward expansion caused tensions between them and the white people, and to this day they still live close to the Fort Hall Reservations.

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The Chickasaw originally inhabited the southeast: Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Now they mostly live in Oklahoma and is the 13th largest tribe in the US. In 1786 the Chickasaw signed the Treaty of Hopewell which said that the "Hatchet shall be forever buried." In 1818, Chickasaw leaders signed a treaty giving up all land north of the Tennessee border and got a 4 square mile reservation but were required to lease out the land to European immigrants. Tishomingo was a famous Chickasaw chief. He was one of the last full blooded chickasaw chiefs and he was known for leading warriors by example and was highly respected for his honesty and high moral standards. Westward expansion obviously had derogatory effects on this group and only left them with a 4 square mile reservation which is very small.

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The Hopi originally lived in Northeastern Arizona, Northwestern New Mexico, and Southwestern Colorado.  During the 12-14th centuries, the Hopi relocated to the Mogollon Rim that cuts through Colorado and Arizona.  They now live on the Hopi reservation, 2,500 square miles in Northeastern Arizona.  The Hopi group believes in peace and cooperation, so there werent many clashes with the white Americans.  The Hopi and the US had their first encounter in 1850, when some members of the group traveled to California to ask for protection from the Navajo.  The US Bureau of Indian Affairs complied and set up troops along the border of Navajo and Hopi Land.  The US established Fort Defiance, where the Navajo Indians in the Hopi region would be removed and sent to the fort.  The US was able to provide some peace to the Hopi tribe.  Then, in 1875, Hopi members were escorted to visit the President, Chester A. Arthur.  This meeting inspired a school to be built in the Hopi village, but the school forced children to give up their culture and parents were forced to send their children.  Tension grew between the Hopi and the US, but the Hopi remain cooperative because of their values and beliefs.

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The Creeks mostly lived throughout Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. In the war of 1812 some of the Creeks rebelled wile some remained peaceful, this led to tension within the community. This war was called the Red Stick War. It began as a civil war within the Creeks, which Jackson later used against them to weaken their community. The first clash between the Red Sticks, led by Menawa, and white Americans was in 1813 when the Red Sticks attached and forced the Americans to retreat. The Battle of Burnt Corn of 1813 resulted in the defeat of the entire creek nation. In 1814 Jackson signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson, forcing many of the Creeks off of their land. During the time of Westward Expansion, many were forced to move to Oklahoma. In 1825, in the Treaty of Indian Springs, bribed a Creek leader to sign away all Creek territory in the land in return for a plantation. In the Removal Treaty of 1832, the leaders of the Creek exchanged their land for land in what was considered Indian Territory. However, some did not move so in 1836 to 1837 the U.S. Army forced around 20,000 of them to move. In 1867 the Creek had created a form of written constitution that called for 2 Chiefs, a judicial branch, and a bicameral legislature that were made up of a House of Kings and a House of Warriors. Fast forward to the 1970's and the Creek created and followed a new constitution.