Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 4:45 pm PDT

A Navajo farmstead deep in Canyon de Chelly last Saturday morning.

A couple of things we learned:

1. Those silvery-green leafed trees on the right are Russian olives planted by the Bureau of Reclamation in the 1930's to control erosion along the stream. They have since spread like a weed, crowded out the native cottonwoods, and failed to halt the erosion. So now, the Park Service and the Navajos are pulling them out root and branch, burning the remnants, and planting native cottonwoods.
2. The Navajo never call themselves "Navajo," except maybe when talking to the Government or tourists. They call themselves "Dineh" (pronounced, dee-NEH), which means "people." "Navajo" is a name given to them by the Hopis, and means "thief." No wonder they don't like it. (I didn't ask if it were true!) I noticed that our Navajo guide always referred to the farmers and orchardists in the canyon as "people" or "the people" and not "farmers" etc. The Dineh are related to the Dene people of northern Canada, according to linguistic anthropologists.
3. The Navajo are the second largest native American group recognized by the Government (after the Cherokee), and unlike the Cherokee, most live on the reservation. There are somewhere around 300,000 Navajo on and off the reservation, and their reservation is the largest and occupies parts of three states. They support themselves mostly by herding sheep, cattle, and goats; small farming and orcharding; weaving woolen rugs and clothing; and fashioning turquoise and silver jewelry. There is also a large contingent of Navajo police (in new looking SUVs) and tribal bureaucrats, probably paid for by Uncle Sam. U.S. Government-built infrastructure on the reservation seems new and substantial, with schools, community centers, hospitals, and even an aquatic center much in evidence. Methinks maybe the white man is trying to compensate for past sins?