My column today deals with learning native American culture of the Navajo. The Navajo are one of the largest tribes in North America. Their reservation is about the size of West Virginia and lies in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. My favorite from this list of books is The Goat in the Rug. My husband and I served as missionaries to the Navajo for over 20 years. We used this book many times in our presentations to children. I have yet to find a book that better explains the Navajo culture, at least in part, for children. We read the book with the children and then showed them some of our “artifacts” from Navajoland such as a model of a Navajo loom complete with wool and weaving. We have found this is the best way to introduce young children to the Navajo.
This is one of the few columns where I will focus on just one tribe.
BUILDING A BRIDGE by Lisa Shook Begaye, illustrated by Libba Tracy. (Rising Moon Publishing, 1993, 0-87358-727-8, PB, 32p.)
Grades Pre-K The first day of school is never easy. Anna is an Anglo getting ready for school. Juanita is a Navajo on the reservation. They meet on their first day of kindergarten. Usually it is the non-Anglos who are in the minority. In Building A Bridge, Anna, the Anglo, is in the minority. The teacher encourages the two girls to play with blocks together. In doing so, they learn that color doesn’t matter and they build a bridge to friendship. While this book doesn’t contain much cultural information, Mrs. Begaye has written a good story for encouraging students to make friends with those who are different. Ms. Tracy’s illustrations are realistic and add to the text of this picture book.
COLORS OF THE NAVAJO by Emily Abbink, illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. (Carolrhoda Books, 1998, 1-57505-207-5, HB, 1-57505-269-5, PB, 24p.)
Grades 2-4 Colors of the Navajo is part of the Colors of the World series. In this picture book, each color is translated into English and tied to part of the Navajo culture or history. Turquoise stands for silversmithing, an important industry and pert of the tourist trade. The brown hogan is the traditional Navajo home. Red is tied to the red ants found on the reservation and the Red Antway Ceremony, a religious ceremony used when an ant or anthill is destroyed. School buses are yellow; forcing Navajos to go to boarding school in the early 1900s is discussed here. Black Mesa is famous for its coal, which is mined for heat and electrical power. Blue corn, which has been in the Southwest for hundreds of years, is still used for food today. Green plants grow in the desert; the Navajo use these plants for food, medicine, and other things. Canyon de Chelly, lined with tan sandstone, is where many Navajo hid to avoid “The Long Walk” (forced relocation). Gray is one of the natural colors used in rugs. Gold is the color of the medals worn by the Navajo war veterans who created a code during World War II. Janice Porter’s illustrations are impressionistic in nature. Emily Abbink’s text shows a good knowledge of the Navajo culture.
THE GOAT IN THE RUG by Charles L. Blood and Martin Link, illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker. (Four Winds Press, 1976, 0-590-07763-5, HB, 32 p.)
Grades Pre-3 This is an excellent picture book to use for teaching young children about the process of Navajo weaving. Mr. Blood and Mr. Link use Geraldine the goat to tell the story. The Goat in the Rug tells step-by-step how Glenmae, a weaver, makes a Navajo rug. From the shearing of the wool and cleaning and carding it to collecting plants and dying the wool, the entire preparation is included. Glenmae is even shown putting the loom together before starting to weave. Ms. Parkers’ colorful illustrations are accurate. The inside front and back covers contain black line drawings and names of many plants and items mentioned in the story.
LITTLE MAN’S FAMILY by J. B. Enochs, illustrated by Gerald Nailor (Kiva Publishing, 1999, 188577214-9. PB, 48p.)
Grades K-2 Little Man’s family consists of two daughters, two sons and his wife. J. B. Enochs uses the older son to tell the story. Cultural items explained in the story include: cradleboards, hogans, sweathouses, ponies, sheep, goats and weaving. This easy reader is written in language an early reader will easily understand. One drawback of the book is that sentences do not start with capital letters. Gerald Nailor’s black line drawings help the reader visualize unfamiliar items. J. B. Enochs originally wrote Little Man’s Family in the 1940s as part of a literacy project.
MY NAVAJO SISTER written and illustrated by Eleanor Schick (Simon and Schuster Books, 1996, 0-689-80529-2, HB, 32 p.)
Grades Pre-2 An Anglo (white) girl lives on the Navajo reservation for a short time and becomes close friends with a Navajo girl. In My Navajo Sister, she remembers things she did with her Navajo friend: riding horses, helping at a wedding, going on picnics. The colored pencil drawings in this picture book beautifully portray life on the Navajo reservation.
NAVAJO ABC by Luci Tapahonso and Eleanor Schick, illustrated by Eleanor Schick (Simon and Schuster Books, 1995, 0-689-80316-8, HB, 0-689-82685-0, PB 32 p.)
Grades Pre-1 Navajo ABC is a bilingual alphabet picture book. For each letter of the alphabet the English or Navajo word for some part of Navajo culture is illustrated. In the glossary, the translation of the word is given as well as an explanation for the word. Luci Tapahonso is a Navajo and Eleanor Schick has lived in the Southwest United States for many years. The colored pencil illustrations beautifully show the different aspects of the Navajo culture. When the glossary is used along with the pictures, even pre-schoolers will learn something of the Navajo culture.
NAVAJO WEDDING DAY written and illustrated by Eleanor Schick (Marshall Cavendish, 1999, 0-7614-5031-9, HB 40 p.)
Grades Pre-3 Navajo Wedding Day is told from the perspective of an Anglo girl. The cousin of the main character’s best friend is getting married. She is having a Navajo wedding. Everything that happens is explained to the young girl, from the preparations to the actual wedding and the activities following the wedding. Ms. Schick has done and excellent job of explaining an aspect of Navajo culture that many non-Navajos do not get the chance to witness. Her beautiful colored pencil drawings do a good job of complementing the text.
OWL IN THE CEDAR TREE by Natachee Scott, illustrated by Don Perceval (University of Nebraska Press, 1975, 0-8032-8184-6. PB, 116 p.)
Grades 2-4 Haske is a Navajo boy living with his parents on the reservation two hours by wagon from the trading post. He rids a school bus to get to school, but his family’s transportation is horse and wagon or walking. Haske dreams of owning the horse owned by the trader. He herds his mother’s sheep and takes care of his younger sister. He is torn between the new Anglo way, the way his parents want him to follow, and the old Navajo way, the way his “old grandfather” (great-grandfather) wants him to go. Natachee Momaday has done an excellent job of capturing Navajo life the way it was in the 1950s and 1960s. Don Perceval’s black line drawings show Navajo life as it was before Navajos had automobiles.
RACING THE SUN by Paul Pitts (Avon Books, Inc., 1988, 0-380-75496-7. PB, 150 p.)
Grades 4-6 Brandon is a Navajo living in the Anglo world. At twelve, all he knows of Navajo ways are the glimpses he gets during the rare and very short visits to his father’s family. Then word comes that Shinali, his paternal grandfather, is dying of cancer. Brandon’s mother is the only one of the relatives who does not work so, against Brandon’s father’s wishes, Shinali comes to live with them. Because there is no extra bedroom, Brandon gains a roommate. Shinali smells of cedar smoke, chants himself to sleep at night, and wakes Brandon at 5:00 a.m. to race the sun. During the brief time he is with them, Shinali teaches Brandon much about the Navajo culture. Brandon becomes a bridge between his father and grandfather. Brandon helps Shinali “run away” back to the reservation where he dies. Paul Pitts knows the Navajo culture having taught on the reservation for many years. He not only shows the Navajo culture to his readers, he also shows a building relationship between generations.
SONGS FROM THE LOOM: A NAVAJO GIRL LEARNS TO WEAVE written and illustrated by Monty Roessel (Lerner Publications Company, 1995, 0-8225-2657-3. HB, 0-8225-9712-8. PB 48p.)
Grades 3-5 In Songs from the Loom, Monty Roessel not only tells the story of how his daughter learned to weave; he also tells about weaving as part of the Navajo culture. His photographs illustrate the steps of weaving a rug, show examples of the different styles of Navajo rugs, and show the beauty of Navajoland. Traditionally, Navajo weavers tell stories and sing songs while weaving. A few of these traditional stories and songs are woven into the text. A word list is included with definitions of weaving and Navajo terms that will be unfamiliar to most elementary students.
THE UNBREAKABLE CODE by Sara Hoagland Hunter and illustrated by Julia Miner (Northland Publishing, 1996, 0-87358-638-7. HB, 32p.)
Grades 2-5 The Navajo played a vital role in World War II as it was fought in the Pacific. In The Unbreakable Code Sara Hunter uses a grandfather talking with his grandson who is moving away from the reservation to tell the story of the Navajo Code Talkers. Julia Miner’s oil paintings beautifully portray the scenes on the reservation and show scenes from World War II without showing the horror of battle. The Navajo are proud of this portion of their heritage. Elementary students can now learn about World War II and the Navajo Code Talkers in a picture book written just for them.
Classroom Connections
The Goat in the Rug
- If you have access to roots of a yucca plant, chop some up and mix them with water to see the suds form, just like Glenmae used yucca to wash the wool after shearing it from Geraldine.
- Purchase some wool yarn in a white or natural color. Collect bark, berries and other natural items that could be used as a dye. Boil the items in separate pots of hot water and dip pieces of the yarn in the pots to dye it, just like Glenmae does in the book.
The Unbreakable Code
If your students are interested in the work of the Code Talkers, there are several web sites devoted to information about their work. The second site listed below contains the Code Talker’s dictionary. Students can use this code to write their own messages.
- A site of the U.S. Marines containing a fact sheet on the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. There is also a link here to the Navajo Code Talker’s dictionary as of June 15, 1945.
- A Navajo tribal site on the history of the Navajo Code Talkers.
- HistoryNet site about the Navajo Code Talkers.
Song from the Loom
Give your students some weaving experience.
- Check around in your community for a crafter’s organization, you may have a weaver in your area who would be willing to come make a presentation to your class.
- If you have access to several potholder loom kits or weaving kits commercially available, they can give students an idea of what weaving involves. – You can also make your own potholder looms with a square frame, just place some nails evenly all around the frame, you can use the same materials used in the purchased kits for weaving the pot holder.
- Styrofoam trays can also be used for weaving projects.
- Create your loom by cutting out an opening in a Styrofoam tray, leaving a 1” frame of Styrofoam around the opening.
- Mark dots about 3/8 of an inch from the inside edge and 1/8 of an inch apart. You need to have an uneven number of dots. Do this along the top and bottom of your frame, making sure the dots are in the same position directly across from each other.
- Thread a large-eyed needle with thin white cord or string. Knot one end of the cord. Insert the needle from back to front at the first dot and go across to the opposite dot. This time insert the needle from front to back. Go to the dot next to this one and come up from the back to front. Go back across to the opposite dot and again go from front to back. Repeat until all the dots have been used. These are the warp threads. They should be taut, but not tight enough to pull the frame out of shape or break the Styrofoam. Knot the end in back.
- Now thread the needle with some yarn. Go under and over the warp cords, alternating all the way across. When you are all the way across, go around the last cord and alternate the up and down motion as you go. If you went over a thread last time, you must go under it this time. Change threads as needed, making sure you continue the under and over pattern. When finished, loose ends can be worked into the finished weave.
(This activity was adapted from one found in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crafts with Kids by Georgene Lockwood, Alpha Books, 1998)
Internet Information
- The official site of the Navajo tribe. The site contains information on the Navajo government, the Navajo sacred mountains, the history of the Navajo and the Navajo Code Talkers.
- The online edition of the tribal newspaper can be found at The Navajo Times.
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Books referenced in this post.
Building a Bridge
Colors of the Navajo (Colors of the World)
Goat in the Rug
Little Man’s Family
My Navajo Sister
Navajo ABC: A Dine Alphabet Book
Navajo Wedding Day: A Dine Marriage Ceremony
Owl in the Cedar Tree
Racing the Sun (Avon Camelot Books)
Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave (We Are Still Here : Native Americans Today)
The Unbreakable Code
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crafts With Kids (The Complete Idiot’s Guide)
