America's architectural heritage: the Navajo hogan
They call themselves the Diné
With over 300,000 persons claiming Diné heritage, they are the second largest Native American tribe in the United States. Dené is the name they call themselves. It means “the people.” Their Hopi neighbors called them the Navajo, which means “many farmers.” The Spanish started using this name, and so like many other Native American tribes, they became known by the name others called them.
It might surprise many non-Diné to learn that the ancestors of this enormous tribe originated in the sub-arctic region of Canada. Like the Apaches, they are Athabaskans. At some time in the past, all the Athabaskans were one ethnic group. Now they can be found in New Mexico, Arizona, Chihuahua, northern California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Alaska, Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Some of the branches in Canada, near the Great Slave Lake, also call themselves Diné; so the era when the Navajo’s and the Apaches left the frigid lands of northern Canada must not be too distant in the past.
Archaeologists believe that the first ancestors of the Navajos and Apache’s entered the Southwest after the year 1000 AD. Many more arrived in the region during the 1200s. Navajo traditions still remember those migrations....
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With over 300,000 persons claiming Diné heritage, they are the second largest Native American tribe in the United States. Dené is the name they call themselves. It means “the people.” Their Hopi neighbors called them the Navajo, which means “many farmers.” The Spanish started using this name, and so like many other Native American tribes, they became known by the name others called them.
It might surprise many non-Diné to learn that the ancestors of this enormous tribe originated in the sub-arctic region of Canada. Like the Apaches, they are Athabaskans. At some time in the past, all the Athabaskans were one ethnic group. Now they can be found in New Mexico, Arizona, Chihuahua, northern California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Alaska, Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Some of the branches in Canada, near the Great Slave Lake, also call themselves Diné; so the era when the Navajo’s and the Apaches left the frigid lands of northern Canada must not be too distant in the past.
Archaeologists believe that the first ancestors of the Navajos and Apache’s entered the Southwest after the year 1000 AD. Many more arrived in the region during the 1200s. Navajo traditions still remember those migrations....