Superintendent’s Chat
Richard McClements
1860
Let us go back in time. It is 1860. The Long Walk had not happened yet. Abraham Lincoln had just been elected President of the United States, but probably no one on the Navajo Nation knew of him, and if anyone did, he or she would have perceived him as the man behind the incessant incursion into Dine territory. The great warrior, Manuelito, would have been 42 years old. If we could sit down with him for an interview regarding his thoughts on the encroachment of the Anglos, what an incredible documentary that would be!
The sounds you would hear in 1860 would have been entirely different. You would not have heard a truck approaching, a radio blaring, incessant phones ringing, TV ads, or an airplane droning overhead as they did not exist at that time. Can you imagine how quiet and peaceful it would have been? The only language that the Navajos would hear was Dinč. No one spoke English, and if someone knew a few words in that language, no one would have insulted the others by using it. The Navajos of today and then would have easily communicated, except you might use some descriptions of today’s world, expressions which they wouldn’t understand, and the old Navajos would have used terms for life and items in 1860, which wouldn’t make sense to a 2008 Navajo. Everywhere would be the noise made by sheep, goats, cows, horses, and dogs.
The sights would have been unique as well. Everyone would have lived in a hogan with everything the family needed stored judiciously inside. Every home had looms just humming making the colorful blankets and clothes. Every hogan would have beautiful clothes waiting for those special occasions when it was important to look your best. No one would have worn denim jeans, although they were just being invented and worn by cowboys. Shonto must have been just spectacular in its natural state. People would have lived here because of the water springs down by the post office. Most Navajos did live near a water source. Many of villages and cities on the Reservation have a name that connects with water. Everybody would be busy doing the tasks unique to each gender.
The smells would have been different, too. You can just sniff the constant wood fires used for cooking and warmth. Tonight’s meal would be bubbling away in the pots. Dinner was not at 5 PM sharp but whenever people were hungry. Recent animal skins would be drying in the sun. People would smell natural as well as no one would be wearing deodorant, cologne, and their clothes would not have a scent of soap, bleach, or fabric softener. There would be the musk of drying plants and herbs used for medicine, cooking, and dying wool. The herbs and ceremonies could cure just about any ailment.
Navajos in 1860 would have been much healthier than today’s people. Their diets would not have included any kind of junk food. They would have had far more vegetables, corn, and mutton. 1860 Navajos would have been much stronger, as everyone would have had far more exercise and continuous walking and movement. John Wesley Powell, the man who was to tour the Grand Canyon in 1869 said, “The Navajos are a stately and athletic people.” I shook hands with a Navajo women about 80 years old recently and was just astonished. Her grip was bone crushing. Few men have left a more lasting impression. I asked one of the board members how could a slim old woman be that powerful? He said it was from working with sheep. Diabetes would be extremely rare. Few were obese. No one would have any type of destructive addiction.
Family life would have been very special. Men and women were home as no one would have gone off to Wyoming, Phoenix, or other distant locations to work. Families would have been together almost all the time, and everyone would have spent more time talking. Children would be listening attentively as watching and listening was how they learned about the roles they would have as adults. People were not time driven as they are now as there were no clocks or appointments to keep. Divorce would be rare. Children would not have gone to school, as they did not exist on the Reservation. Children would have spent their days playing and doing the work tasks assigned to them, such as helping with the sheep or helping Mom prepare the food. Babies were being born in 1860 who would later become the grandparents of the heroic Navajo Code Talkers. The great game that Navajos excel at, basketball, had not yet been created. Baseball was just starting and would become highly popular during the Civil War. Children would have been highly disciplined but in a good way. Men would have spent their time hunting or going on raiding parties in New Mexico or Mexico to bring back sheep, cows, or horses. There is a T-shirt in a Page restaurant that says something like this: “Back in the old days, men spent their time hunting and fishing. Women did all the work. Silly white men. How could they improve upon a system like that?” That same restaurant has another funny T-shirt for sale that reads, “Vegetarian (a person who does not eat meat) a Navajo word for a man who is a poor hunter.” No one would have gone shopping in Flagstaff or Page as those cities did not exist in 1860. No one would have been in financial debt. Navajos grew or made just about everything they needed. People were interdependent and helped each other and expected nothing in return. There were guidelines for living that meant that people were civil to each other.
There wasn’t a lot to worry about. Not a bad life was it?