What was the environment like for the Navajo tribe?

Three distinct climates are to be found within the Navajo Reservation: the cold humid climate of the heights; the steppe climate of the mesas and the high plains; and the comparatively warm desert, including the lower portions of the Chaco and Chinle Valleys and all of the southern, western, and northwestern parts of …

What are living conditions like on the Navajo reservation?

About one-third of Navajo homes are deficient in plumbing and kitchen facilities and do not have bedrooms. About 15% of Navajo homes lack water. About 90,000 Native American families are homeless or under-housed. Life expectancy for American Indians has improved yet still trails that of other Americans by a few years.

How did the environment impact the Navajo tribe?

Background. The Navajo Nation suffers from a legacy of environmental pollution from historical uranium mining activities, resulting in adverse public health outcomes and continuous exposure.

What is so special about the Navajo Indian reservation?

They are closely related to the Apache tribes. The Navajo Nation is the largest American Indian reservation in the United States. The capital city of the reservation is Window Rock, Arizona. The Navajo language is so difficult to learn that it was used as a secret code in World War II.

What resources did the Navajo use?

The Navajo depend on agriculture and live-stock but supplement their income through commerce in native crafts. In addition, contracts for resources such as timber, oil, coal, uranium, and gas provide the Navajo nation with income, and many men work on the railroads.

How is climate change affecting the Navajo Nation?

Climate change has led to severe drought and heat waves across the Navajo Nation. “The amount of surface water flowing in streams on the Navajo Nation has declined by about 98 percent over the 20th century,” says Dr. Margaret Redsteer, a scientist at the US Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona.

What are the benefits of living on a reservation?

Available Native American Benefits

  • Funds saved for potential disaster relief.
  • Law enforcement on reservations.
  • Tribal prisons and other detention centers.
  • Administrative services for land trusts and natural resource management.
  • Tribal government payments.
  • Construction or roads and utility services coming into reservations.

What are some of the major issues facing Navajos on reservations today?

These challenges are experienced socially, economically, culturally and on many other fronts, and include but aren’t limited to:

  • Impoverishment and Unemployment.
  • Violence against Women and Children.
  • Native Americans are Less Educated.
  • Poor Quality Housing.
  • Inadequate Health Care.
  • Unable to Exercise Voting Rights.

What natural resources did the Navajo tribe use?

What did the Navajo borrow from their puebloan neighbors?

Navajos borrowed and adapted traits from their Spanish and Pueblo neighbors to a much greater degree than did the Apaches. Sheep and goats introduced by the Spanish provided new sources of food and raw materials, including wool for textiles. Unpainted Navajo pottery sherds dating from about A.D. 1600–1700.

What natural resources did the Navajo use?

On what crops did the Navajo rely?

The Navajos were farming people. They raised crops of corn, beans, and squash. Navajo men also hunted deer, antelope, and small game, while women gathered nuts, fruits, and herbs. Traditional Navajo people do not go fishing, since it is not acceptable to eat fish in Navajo religion.

Are there any environmental problems on the Navajo Nation?

Details Despite efforts made in cleaning up uranium sites, significant problems stemming from the legacy of uranium development still exist today on the Navajo Nation. Hundreds of abandoned mines have not been cleaned up and present environmental and health risks in many Navajo communities.

How big is the Navajo Reservation in Arizona?

There are roughly 300,000 Navajo today, with roughly three-quarters of the population living in Arizona and New Mexico. The Navajo reservation covers approximately 27,000 square miles in these Four Corners states. The Navajo were traditionally hunters and gatherers, but learned crop farming from the Pueblo people.

Where does the Navajo tribe live in the United States?

The Navajo are the second largest federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States. The Navajo are also known as the Dine, semi-nomadic Native American Indians from the Southwest United States. The Navajo live in their traditional territory which includes Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico.

Where does the Navajo tribe get their water?

In addition to this, Navajo communities now have to face proposed new uranium solution mining that threatens the only source of drinking water for 10,000 to 15,000 people living in the Eastern Navajo Agency in northwestern New Mexico.