By Myka-Lynne Sokoloff

Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA,™ Lexile,® and Reading Recovery™ are provided in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.2.4Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.2.4

GenreComprehension

Skills and StrategyText Features

Expository nonfi ction

• Author’s Purpose

• Ask Questions

• Monitor and Clarify

• Headings

• Captions

• Map

• Glossary

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978-0-328-52147-00-328-52147-7

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Illustrations9 Burgandy Beam.

Photographs

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Table of ContentsIntroduction

Navajoland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Chapter 1

Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Chapter 2

History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Chapter 3

Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

4

A nation you may never have heard of spreads across the southwestern United States. This nation is known as Navajoland.

Just what is Navajoland? It is an area of land that is home to the Navajo people. It is a reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Today more than 250,000 Navajo live there.

If you tried to name some Native American peoples, the Navajo would likely be on your list. The Navajo Nation is the second largest national group of Native Americans in the country. The Cherokee Nation is the largest. The Navajo call themselves Diné [dee-NAY], which means “the People.”

The Navajo Nation

Introduction

Navajoland

5

The Navajo have an important place in U. S. history. Their culture is alive today in the southwestern states. Many people think of the Southwest as a dry desert area. This region does, in fact, include some deserts, but it also has many other geographic features.

Monument Valley is a beautiful area in Navajoland. This area has a landscape of colorful layers of rock and many odd rock formations. Mesas and buttes dot the land where the Navajo live. These unusual hills have flat tops. They look almost as if someone cut off their tops with a giant knife!

Black Mesa

Chapter 1

Geography

6

Another interesting geographic feature is Canyon de Chelly, which is a steep valley with a grassy, green floor. The canyon has steep walls formed of red rocks. This valley was once home to the ancient Anasazi people. They lived here long before the Navajo came to this area. But it is now home to the Navajo. Scientists believe that the Navajo arrived in the area between 500 and 1,000 years ago. Once there, they only grew corn and hunted at first. Eventually, the local Pueblo people taught them to raise additional kinds of crops.

Canyon de Chelly

7

Chapter 2

History The Long WalkScientists believe that around 500 to 1,000 years

ago the Navajo came to the Canyon de Chelly region. For many years after they came, the Navajo and other Native American peoples raided each others’ villages, taking horses and other property. The U. S.government tried again and again to make them stop. Finally, in 1864, Kit Carson, the famous trapper, scout, and army officer, was sent to end the Navajo raids against Native Americans.

Many Navajo eventually surrendered to Carson’s soldiers. About 8,000 Navajo were forced to walk almost 300 miles to a place called Bosque Redondo [BOS kay ruh DON doh]. About 200 of them died on the trip.

The Navajo were held on a reservation nearby Fort Sumner for four years. Life there was hard. There was not enough food, and people went hungry. There was not enough water or firewood either. Other Native American peoples continued to raid the fort. Many Navajo and soldiers guarding the fort died from disease or starvation.

8

Kit Carson

The Long Walk

Reservation at Bosque Redondo

9

Finally, the U. S. government and the Navajo leaders signed a treaty. The Navajo agreed to live in a reservation on their old homeland. They would be given seeds to grow crops. They would have established forts and railroads. Their children would receive an education in government schools.

But immediately after they were freed, the Navajo had to overcome a major obstacle. They had to make the long trip back home. This time in Navajo history is called the Long Walk. Today many people, including the Navajo, remember this event with great sadness.

The trail of the Long Walk

10

Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo Code TalkersAnother well-known event in Navajo history took

place during World War II. At the time, the U. S.government used Morse code to send radio and telegraph messages. Then a group of Navajo soldiers created a new code using the Navajo language.

Very few people outside the Navajo Nation speak Navajo. The language is difficult to learn. Not only was the code much faster to use than Morse code, it was also extremely difficult for others to crack.

Some people say the Navajo code helped the United States win some important battles in the war. Today the Navajo Code Talkers are heroes.

11

The Navajo TodayToday many Navajo choose to live on the

reservation. They have their own flag. They also have their own government, which has three branches similar to the U. S. government.

The Navajo flag has many symbols. It includes a map of the Navajo Nation. It shows an oil rig, which stands for a natural resource that helps to support the community. Other symbols are the sacred mountains, a rainbow, and animals that are important to the Navajo. It also includes a symbol for a traditional Navajo home.

hogan

12

Chapter 3

Traditions HogansMany traditions from the rich history of the

Navajo have passed through the generations to the present day. One of these is the traditional type of Navajo home, which is called a hogan. Many people in Navajoland still live in hogans. The buildings are dome-shaped and have no windows. They are usually made of wooden logs and mud. These homes have just one room and a dirt floor with the doorway facing east toward the rising sun.

The importance of the hogan is its tie to the Navajo origin story, the story that explains how the world began. In this story, the First Man and First Woman made a hogan as their home.

13

Trading PostsAnother important part of Navajo tradition and

history are trading posts. Long ago in the West, trading posts on reservations served a purpose similar to department stores today. Many people came to a central location to sell items they made by hand. Others went there to buy items they needed.

Trading posts still hold an important place on the reservation. Today tourists may be jostled by the crowds gathered to buy fine Navajo crafts at a trading post. There they can find bandanas to cover their hair, traditional dolls, and many beautiful handmade crafts such as rugs, baskets, turquoise and silver bracelets, and pottery.

Before 1868 1868-1900

14

WeavingThe Navajo are weavers. Around 1600, Spanish

explorers brought sheep to the region. From that time on, the Navajo also raised sheep. Soon they began to spin sheep’s wool into yarn. They built looms to weave the yarn into rugs and blankets.

The Navajo believe that the art of weaving was brought to them by one of the Navajo Holy People, Spider Woman. According to their legend, Spider Man taught them how to build the first loom out of sacred stones and shells, and Spider Woman taught them to weave. Weaving is important to the Navajo because it connects them to the earth and nature.

Classic blanket Eyedazzler

1900-1950 Since 1950

15

Early Navajo rugs had simple shapes for designs. Later ones had even plainer stripes. The styles changed yet again at the time of the Long Walk. Around 1900, the Navajo began to use colorful dyes to make their rugs. These rugs were called eyedazzlers because they were so brightly decorated.

Styles of rugs have continued to change over time. Some experts say that Navajo rugs are among the finest Native American crafts available.

Crystal Two Grey Hills

16

Basket-makingBasket-making is another traditional Navajo

craft. People in the Southwest have been making baskets for about 8,000 years. In ancient times, baskets were used to store food. They did not break easily and made good containers for people who traveled from place to place.

Today, Navajo people still make baskets much as they did long ago. The baskets are made of different colors and lengths of coils. Some have pictures that tell old stories. Some show objects from nature. These baskets are admired for their beauty and are often on display in homes and museums.

17

Jewelry-makingNavajo artists are famous for their turquoise and

silver jewelry. Turquoise is a mineral found in copper. It has a greenish-blue color. It looks waxy instead of being clear and shiny. While turquoise is valuable, it is not as expensive as jewels such as diamonds and rubies.

The Navajo believe that turquoise symbolizes a healthy spirit. The stone is used in jewelry that has special meaning to Navajo people. It is worn during special ceremonies.

The Navajo learned how to make silver jewelry from Mexican artists in the 1800s. Many pieces of Navajo jewelry are made with both turquoise and silver.

Navajo turquoise and silver necklace

18

PotteryClay lies under the ground where the Navajo

live. When the Navajo began to farm and build lasting homes, they started to make pottery. Later, when glass and metal objects were sold at trading posts, people stopped making containers from clay. In recent years, some Navajo artists have started making clay pots once again. They use methods from long ago to make pots admired for their beauty.

Navajo potters do not use potters’ wheels. They dig the clay from the ground. Then they shape a pot with clay coils. They smooth the sides with stones. They fire the pots in pits in the ground. Finally, they cover the outside with sticky pitch from pine trees to make the pots shiny and brown.

Navajo potters use ancient methods.

19

ConclusionNo one knows exactly when or where Navajo

history began. Navajo beliefs are closely tied to their ancient land and ancient spirits, like the threads woven together in a Navajo rug. Throughout history, the Navajo have suffered and made sacrifices to hold on to their way of life. Along the way, they have borrowed from other cultures. Like the many-colored threads in a rug, these traditions have been woven into new arts, crafts, and stories. Today this shared history and culture weave together the proud, strong people of the Navajo Nation.

20

n. a large Navajo n. member of the

Glossary Reader Response1. What do you think the author wanted you to

learn from this book? What makes you think this?

2. On page 13 it says, “Today tourists may be jostled by the crowds gathered to buy fine Navajo crafts at a trading post.” Why do you think this is?

3. Write a short paragraph using the following vocabulary words: mesa, hogan, and turquoise.

4. Use a graphic organizer like the one below to write four things you learned about the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation

1.

2.

3.

4.

bandana n. a large colorful handkerchief or neckerchief

bracelet n. jewelry worn on the wrist or arm

hogan n. a traditional round home of the Navajo, made of logs and mud

jostled v. to get bumped against, usually in crowd

mesa n. hill with a flat top and steep sides

Navajo n. member of the Native American people of the New Mexico/Arizona area; language spoken by this people

turquoise n. a semiprecious mineral, usually blue-green in color

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