![]() Original American Indian Art |
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The Navajo Nation (population 200,000) and Navajo reservation (28,000 square miles) are the largest in the United States. The Navajo (Dine') Reservation is in the Great Basin Desert region on the Colorado Plateau and occupies most of the northeastern portion of Arizona, extends into northwest New Mexico and a southern strip of Utah. The Navajo and Apache peoples are recent arrivals (sometime after A.D. 1000) into the Plains and Southwest; originating in the Far North/Subarctic. These people adapted well to the desert environs, with the Navajo employing hunting and gathering, farming (CBS) and sheepherding. The Navajo learned pottery and weaving from the Pueblos, but adapted sheep's wool to weaving and refined the art by creating large, spectacular blankets. Navajo jewelers are also some of the most renowned in the Southwest. During World War II, the Navajo language was one of the Native American languages used to create cryptographic codes that were never broken. -- Steve Crouthamel
Dream Catchers Legend Indians believe dreams are messages from the
sacred spirits.
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