Navajo History

Centuries before Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1491, Navajos were already settled in the Four Corners area of the Colorado Plateau. However, Navajos weren’t the first inhabitants of the land. According to Anthropologists & historians, Ice-Age Paleo-Indian hunters (12,000-6,000 B.C.) roamed the Monument Valley area thousands of years earlier, followed by archaic hunter gatherers (6,000 B.C-1 A.D.). Evidence of Anasazi in Monument Valley is still visible through their sites and ruins dating before 1300 A.D. But it wasn’t until 1581 that the first Spaniards made contact with the Navajo. From the cultural perspective, Navajos believe they came to their land by emerging through four levels of worlds, to currently residing in the fourth level, the “Glittering World”. Welcome to a place where history comes alive. Welcome to the Navajo Nation.

The Long Walk of the Navajos is a prominent history in Navajo life because it officially established Navajoland upon the release of the Navajos from Bosque Redondo, New Mexico where they were incarcerated in January 1864. Navajo were forcefully removed from their land due to continued conflict with settlers moving on and surrounding their land. The map on the right shows the original land base with addition to the land base through Executive Order.

For more information on the Long Walk, contact the Navajo Nation Museum at (928) 871-7941 for information on the Hwéeldi Baa Hane’ exhibit.

Information can also be found here: Year of Naaltsoos Sání 2018

Diné Bikéyah (pronounced as Din’eh Bi’KAY’ah), or Navajoland is unique because the people here have achieved something quite rare: the ability of an indigenous people to blend both traditional and modern ways of life. The Navajo Nation truly is a nation within a nation. In years past, Navajoland often appeared to be little more than a desolate section of the Southwest, but yet is a mixture of arid deserts and alpine forests with high plateaus, mesas and mountains. The discovery of oil on Navajoland in the early 1920’s promoted the need for a more systematic form of government, when the Navajo Nation became known as a wealthy nation in a world of its own. In 1923, a tribal government was established to help meet the increasing desires of American oil companies to lease Navajoland for exploration. Navajo government has evolved into the largest and most sophisticated form of American Indian government.

The current Navajo land base map extends into Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Utah is noted on the right. The yellow area is the original Hopi land, but an addition was made, highlighted in pink. Navajos lost some land base resulting in Navajo people living in the area to be relocated off Hopi land.

Navajo Nation Office of the President/Vice President

The origin of the Navajo Government goes back to 1923, when the first Navajo Tribal Council was established. However, it was not until 1938 when the very first election took place. Since then through 1989, the Navajo Nation government consisted of the tribal council headed by the Chairman of the Council. In December 1989, Title 2 Amendment were passed, which established a three-branch system of government, comparable to the major democracies of the world: The Executive Branch; The Judicial Branch; and The Legislative Branch.

Navajo Nation Council Chambers

The Executive Branch is headed by the President and the Vice-President. They are elected by popular vote of the Navajo people for a term of four years. The Judicial branch is headed by the Chief Justice who is appointed by the President and then confirmed by the Navajo Nation Council. The Navajo Nation Council comprises the Legislative Branch of the Navajo Nation. It consists of Twenty-Four (24) members called Council Delegates. These delegates are elected by a four-year term by the registered voters of all the 110 Chapters, which are the smallest administrative units across the Navajo Nation.