Native Navajo Indians
The Navajo Indians
Cultural Anthropology 101
The Navajo Indians of the Southwestern United states have a distinct social organization, kinship, and a both traditional and biomedical way that they approach sickness and healing. Their social organization revolves around their community and the Earth. Kinship for the Navajo is matriarchal and they are a pastoral society. The traditional Navajo have medicine men that the tribe goes to for any sickness and healing that needs to be done. The modern Navajo has established the Indian Health Service as their standard medical facility and agency. I will go into more detail on all three areas of the tribe’s society of the Navajo people throughout this paper.
The tribes of the Navajo Indians are located in Southwest region of the United States. They range from Southwestern Colorado, Northwestern New Mexico, and Northeastern Arizona. Most of the Navajo Indians live on reservations in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. The Navajo are the second largest of the Native American tribes and have a population of 7.2% of the Native Americans. They are second to Native Alaskans ((U.S. Census Bureau, 2008).. The marriage rate in the Navajo nation is forty five percent. Only seven percent have a college degree. They have the lowest income level out of all of the Native American tribes. They have a large poverty rate at thirty seven percent.
The La Plata Mountain of Southwest Colorado are considered a sacred place for the Navajo. The Dine’ is the word Navajo use for their tribe. That is Navajo in their language. Navajo society is a holistic and collective society focusing around oneself, the good of the tribe, and the natural ecology around them. The Navajo try to maintain their traditional lifestyle and values, but there has been a strong influence from western culture, including the churches (John, 1998; Lamphere, 2007). Factors. The family base relies on strong kinship and blood kin when it comes to
Cultural Anthropology 101
The Navajo Indians of the Southwestern United states have a distinct social organization, kinship, and a both traditional and biomedical way that they approach sickness and healing. Their social organization revolves around their community and the Earth. Kinship for the Navajo is matriarchal and they are a pastoral society. The traditional Navajo have medicine men that the tribe goes to for any sickness and healing that needs to be done. The modern Navajo has established the Indian Health Service as their standard medical facility and agency. I will go into more detail on all three areas of the tribe’s society of the Navajo people throughout this paper.
The tribes of the Navajo Indians are located in Southwest region of the United States. They range from Southwestern Colorado, Northwestern New Mexico, and Northeastern Arizona. Most of the Navajo Indians live on reservations in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. The Navajo are the second largest of the Native American tribes and have a population of 7.2% of the Native Americans. They are second to Native Alaskans ((U.S. Census Bureau, 2008).. The marriage rate in the Navajo nation is forty five percent. Only seven percent have a college degree. They have the lowest income level out of all of the Native American tribes. They have a large poverty rate at thirty seven percent.
The La Plata Mountain of Southwest Colorado are considered a sacred place for the Navajo. The Dine’ is the word Navajo use for their tribe. That is Navajo in their language. Navajo society is a holistic and collective society focusing around oneself, the good of the tribe, and the natural ecology around them. The Navajo try to maintain their traditional lifestyle and values, but there has been a strong influence from western culture, including the churches (John, 1998; Lamphere, 2007). Factors. The family base relies on strong kinship and blood kin when it comes to
References: http://www.navajolegends.org/navajo-skinwalker-legend/ http://demonhunterscompendium.blogspot.com/2012/07/navajo-skinwalker.html Csordas T. Healing and the Human Condition: Scenes from the Present Moment in Navajoland. Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry [serial online]. March 2004;28(1):1-14. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 25, 2013. The Sense of Collectivism and Individualism among Husbands and Wives in Traditional and Bi-cultural Navajo Families on the Navajo Reservation. Journal Of Comparative Family Studies [serial online]. September 2011;42(4):543-562. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 25, 2013.