This comprehensive narrative traces the history of the Navajos from their origins to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Based on extensive archival research, traditional accounts, interviews, historic and contemporary photographs, and firsthand observation, it provides a detailed, up-to-date portrait of the Dine past and present that will be essential for scholars, students, and interested general readers, both Navajo and non-Navajo. As Iverson points out, Navajo identity is rooted in the land bordered by the four sacred mountains. At the same time, the Navajos have always incorporated new elements, new peoples, and new ways of doing things. The author explains how the Dine remember past promises, recall past sacrifices, and continue to build upon past achievements to construct and sustain North America's largest native community. Provided is a concise and provocative analysis of Navajo origins and their relations with the Spanish, with other Indian communities, and with the first Anglo-Americans in the Southwest. Following an insightful account of the traumatic Long Walk era and of key developments following the return from exile at Fort Sumner, the author considers the major themes and events of the twentieth century, including political leadership, livestock reduction, the Code Talkers, schools, health care, government, economic development, the arts, and athletics.

Contrary to the white man's early expectations, the Indian tribes of North America neither vanished nor assimilated. Despite almost four hundred years of contact with the dominant--and often domineering--Western civilization, Native Americans have maintained their cultural identity, the size, social organization, and frequently the location of their population, and their unique position before the law. Now brought up to date with a new introduction by Peter Iverson, this classic book reviews the history of contact between whites and Indians, explaining how the aboriginal inhabitants of North America have managed to remain an ethnic and cultural enclave within American and Canadian society from colonial times to the present day.

The late D'Arcy McNickle--renowned anthopologist and member of the Flathead Tribe of Montana--shows that while Native Americans have always been eager to adopt the knowledge and technology of white society, they carefully adapt these changes to fit into their own culture. He maintains that by emphasizing tribal self-determination, the federal government can best help Native Americans to modernize and achieve independence even as they preserve their ancient heritage. Iverson's introduction to the new edition discusses McNickle's singular contribution to Native American Studies, and provides an overview of recent events and scholarship in the field. He has also brought up to date the appendix describing the geographical distribution of the principle tribes in the United States and Canada.

With its comprehensive coverage and unique perspective, the new edition of Native American Tribalism is essential reading for those who want to understand the past and present of our first Americans.

In this book on Indian cattle ranching, Peter Iverson describes a way of life that has been both economically viable and socially and culturally rewarding. Thus an Indian rancher can demonstrate his generosity and his concern for the well-being of others by giving cattle or beef to relatives, or by feeding people at a celebration. An expert rider possesses a skill appreciated by others. A rancher who raises prime cattle demonstrates that Indians can compete in an activity that dominates the surrounding non-Indian society.

Focusing on the northern plains and the Southwest, Iverson traces the rise and fall of individual and tribal cattle industries against the backdrop of changing federal Indian policies. He describes the Indian Bureau's inability to recognize that most nineteenth-century reservations were better suited to ranching than farming. Even though allotment and leasing stifled ranching, livestock became symbols and ranching a new means of resisting, adapting, and living--for remaining Native.

In the twentieth century, allotment, leasing, non-Indian competition, and a changing regional economy have limited the long-term economic success of Indian ranching. Although the New Deal era saw some marked improvements in Native ranching operations, Iverson suggests that since the 1960s, Indian and non-Indian ranchers alike have faced the same dilemma that confronted Indians in the nineteenth century: they are surrounded by a society that does not understand them and has different priorities for their land. Cattle ranching is no more likely to disappear than are the Indian communities themselves, but cowboys and Indians, who share a common sense of place and tradition, also share an uncertain future.

"We have no concept of Indian traders to match our nearly universal picture of the American cowboy, the cavalryman of Indian-fighting days, or the pioneer settler who followed in their wake," wrote Frank McNitt. In "The Indian Traders" men like Lorenzo Hubbell of Ganado Trading Post and Thomas Keam, hidden in his canyon, are put into perspective, no longer merely shadowy figures moving through the history of the West.
In the Southwest, traders like John D. Lee, Thomas Keam, and old Dan DuBois, moving far ahead of the homesteaders, realized their effectiveness as an influence for the Indians' good. While Indian agents often served their own interests--financial, religious, or political--traders knew that if Indians did not achieve a greater degree of prosperity, traders could never succeed. Whether it was Keam rescuing the Navahos from Agent William F. M. Arny's exploitation and offering his buildings for a Hopi school, Frank Noel mediating their differences with the government, or John B. Moore publicizing and improving Navaho weaving, traders have helped better the lot of Indian artists.
From the Bents and St. Vrain to modern vendors selling jewelry and groceries to tourists, the traders of New Mexico and Arizona have been the bridge between cultures. Based on interviews, letters, and unpublished documents, "The Indian Traders" helps complete the history of the Southwest.

Carlos Montezuma (1866-1923) was one of the great Native American crusaders for Indian rights in the early twentieth century. This biography by an authority on Southwest Indian history tells a dramatic story that sheds light both on Montezuma's career and on the movements he influenced.

A southern Arizona Yavapai called Wassaja by his parents, Montezuma was captured by rival tribesman as a boy and sold to a white man who gave him the name by which we know him. Trained as a physician, his career as a reformer began when he went to work at the Carlisle Indian School, for here--in addition to serving as physician to the famous Carlisle football team--he was able to meet many of the people centrally involved in the administration of federal Indian policy.

Shortly after the turn of the century Montezuma emerged as a national leader of Native American affairs. He helped to found the Society of American Indians and became increasingly involved in the affairs of the Fort McDowell Yavapai reservation, earning fame among pan-Indian activists and among his own people in Arizona and attaining notoriety in the BIA.

One hundred documents written by Din men, women, and children speaking for themselves and on behalf of their communities are collected in this book. Discovered during Iversons research for "Din: A History of the Navajos," these letters, speeches, and petitions, almost all previously unpublished, provide a uniquely moving portrait of the Din during an era in which they were fighting to defend their lands and to build the Navajo Nation.

Six crucial, overlapping subjects are addressed here: land, community, education, rights, government, and identity. Brief introductions to each chapter and each document provide the necessary context, and historic photographs selected by Monty Roessel (Navajo), an outstanding photographer, supplement the words of the people.

Most of the vast literature about American Indians emphasizes the actions and words of non-Indians. Indians become the victims, the people to whom things happen. This volume furnishes a different view of the native past. It shows Navajos making their own history. It demonstrates how the Din worked to keep their lands, develop their economy, build their communities, educate their young people, affirm their rights, govern themselves, and maintain their heritage while forging a brighter future.

Included are the words of such prominent leaders as Chee Dodge, Jacob Morgan, Tom Dodge, Annie Wauneka, Sam Ahkeah, and Paul Jones, and less widely known but significant spokespersons like Howard Gorman, Scott Preston, Roger Davis, and Lilly Neill. It also presents the words of students at boarding schools, soldiers fighting in World War II, and members of the Native American Church speaking out for religious freedom. This book celebratesthe resilience of the Din and salutes their resolve. It honors the men, women, and children who built the Navajo Nation.

Monty Roessel (Navajo), Executive Director of the Rough Rock Community School, has written and provided photographs for award-winning books for young people.