Diné: A History of the Navajos

By Peter Iverson

Book Overview

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 Diné 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 Diné 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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082632715X
• ISBN13: 9780826327154
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Dine: A History of the Navajos

I bought this book in order for my Granddaughter to learn about a part of her heritage that has never been explored. I highly reccommend anyone truly interested in learning about the Navajo Culture read this book!

A Learning Journey

My sister took a position in Chinle Arizona for the National Indian Health Service. I wanted to know and understand more about the culture and what to expect when I visited. I ran across this book and even though it is clearly a text book, I was more than pleased. It was easy to read, written by someone with a wicked sense of humor and very informative. The history is facinating even though very disturbing in many respects. It is well balanced and worth the time.

Navajo History in a nut shell!

Peter Iverson has one of the best ways of delivering the Navajo history to the public. He is a storyteller from way back and relates the History of the Navajos from the beginning to present day (1400's to present). A thoroughly interesting and entertaining way of presenting the Dine' story. If you are interested in Native American History, if you are interested in the History of the Navajo tribe in particular, then this is the book for you. They have a rich history and beautiful culture and it is easy to see (once you read the book) how they have survived and grown to 300,000 people overtime. It is absolutely amazing how they have become the largest Native American tribe in America.

A Sweeping History of a Remarkable People

"Dine'" is the story of the largest Native American tribe/nation in North America. Peter Iverson's narrative takes us from the emergence of the Navajo in the Four Corners area of the Colorado Plateau to the very recent past. Along the way we learn about the Dine' origin stories, the archaeological evidence for how they may have interacted with the Puebloan peoples that they encountered on the Plateau, and their settlement in the area (Dinetah) bounded by the four sacred mountains. Iverson takes us through the oftimes traumatic interactions between the Dine' and the governments of Spain, Mexico, and the United States. He pays particular attention, as he should, to the Long Walk, when, in 1864, the Dine' were forcibly removed from their land and marched hundreds of miles to the east to Fort Sumner and the miserable "reservation" at Bosque Redondo, where thousands died. Four years later, having signed a treaty with the United States, the Dine' returned to Dinetah, sadly one of the few instances where displaced First Americans were able to reclaim their ancestral homeland.The balance of Iverson's book involves the key developments that have occurred since the late nineteenth century, in particular the evolution of Navajo tribal government, the often stormy relationship with the United States, and the changes that the Dine' have undergone in the last hundred or more years. One theme that the author returns to again and again is the resilience of Dine' culture, and the ability of the Navajo to incorporate new cultural elements and people into their lifeways.Iverson is not the most elegant of writers, but he does manage to get his points across. The book is amply illustrated with historic photographs, although it could use a few more maps. The photos by Monty Roessel provide a colorful (literally) counterpoint to Iverson's text, and are arranged in two groups, the first highlighting the land, and the second highlighting the people of Dinetah. This is a worthy volume for anyone interested in the people who are so closely associated with the land and the spectacular landscape of the Four Corners area.