Native Americans and Navajo Heritage

History of the Native Americans

• Settlement in small separate groups
• Spread across the territory of America
• Struggle with colonizers for survival
• Participation in various military conflicts (Kiel, 2016)
• Victims of genocide and extermination
• Obtaining the right of autonomy

History of the Navajo Heritage

• Migration from the northern regions
• Independence from the Spanish colonialists
• Settlement in the southern states
• Life in reservations after the conquest
• Cattle-breeding as the main employment
• Conflict with the people of Hopi

Values of the Native Americans

• Honoring the history of ancestors
• The value of natural resources
• Love for animals and plants
• The cult of spiritual power
• Religious relationship with the environment
• Wisdom and aspiration to self-knowledge

Values of the Navajo Heritage

• The followers of Christian values
• Love for animals and farming
• The protection of the land
• Strong cultural connection with ancestors
• Spiritual self-knowledge through religious beliefs
• Wars for the sake of independence

The worldview of the Culture

• Ancestors are the custodians of knowledge (Lee, 2016)
• Land protection is a sacred duty.
• Global expansion across the country
• Similar ideals and common values
• The total denial of wealth
• The acceptance of life in reservations

Communication Patterns of the Native Americans

• The absence of complex vocabulary
• The use of primitive lexicon
• Frequent reluctance to long conversations
• Sentences are short and not extended.
• Minimal verbal contact with interlocutors
• Undeveloped communication and conversation skills

Communication Patterns of the Navajo Heritage

• The threat of language disappearance
• Common tendency to use English
• Animate nouns play an important role.
• The simplicity of lexical constructions
• Rare use of long sentences
• The predomination of nonverbal communication

Art of the Native Americans

• Folklore texts and songs
• The preservation of ancestors’ traditions
• The festivals of folk art (Jacobsen-Bia, 2014)
• Shows for visitors and guests
• Different dances with religious overtones
• A small number of written works

Art of the Navajo Heritage

• The development of textile art
• Traditional sacred drawing with sand
• Festivals for tourists and guests
• Highly developed pottery and ceramic art
• Texts with national songs and stories
• The close connection of art and nature

Norms and Rules

• Accurate observance of ancient traditions
• The veneration of ancestors and spirits
• Attention to the human soul
• Respect for old age and wisdom
• Nature is a sacred world.
• The protection of culture by any means

Lifestyle Characteristics

• Hunting and farming are dominant.
• Achieving harmony with nature
• Grouping in reservations and communes
• Strong connection with the religious world
• Household items borrowed from the past
• The prevalence of the agricultural sphere

Relationship Patterns

• A collectivist type of culture (Hatch, 2016)
• The relationships of the strong dependence
• The absence of independent decisions
• Support from the members of communes
• Confrontations are impolite and undesirable.
• A monochronic type of behavior

Common Rituals

• Belief in the existence of gods
• Cognition with dreams and visions
• A happy life after death
• Shamans and healers in reservations
• Religious rites and ceremonies
• Nature as one of the main gods

Degree of Assimilation

• Interracial families are found.
• Close contact with non-indigenous people
• The popularization of a native experience
• Reservations still exist today
• Borrowing clothes and household items (Pasqualetti, Jones, Necefer, Scott, & Colombi, 2016)
• Gradual rooting of the English language

Degree of Marginalization

• Not all children are educated.
• Attempts to renounce modern ideals.
• The neglect of social opinion.
• A special view of the world.
• The tactics of indifference to others.
• Non-participation in political events.

Health Behaviors and Healthcare Professionals’ Approaches

• Treatment with herbs and folk remedies.
• Appeal to shamans and healers.
• The prevalence of traditional medicine.
• Medical education to improve the situation.
• Individual work with indigenous people.
• Convenient conditions for obtaining medical services.

References

Hatch, R. B. (2016). “Lords of New Mexico”: Raiding culture in pre-reservation Navajo society. Journal of the Southwest, 58(2), 311-334.

Jacobsen-Bia, K. (2014). Radmilla’s voice: Music genre, blood quantum, and belonging on the Navajo nation. Cultural Anthropology, 29(2), 385-410.

Kiel, D. (2016). An indigenous peoples’ history of the United States. Journal of American History, 103(2), 448-449.

Lee, L. L. (2016). Traditional Navajo identity markers in a 21st century world. American Journal of Indigenous Studies, 1(1), B1-B8.

Pasqualetti, M. J., Jones, T. E., Necefer, L., Scott, C. A., & Colombi, B. J. (2016). A paradox of plenty: Renewable energy on Navajo nation lands. Society & Natural Resources, 29(8), 885-899.