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The Navajo ('nævəhoʊ,_ˈnɑːvə-; also spelled Navaho; Diné or Naabeehó) are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States; additionally, the Navajo Nation has the largest reservation in the country. The reservation straddles the Four Corners region and covers more than 27,325 square miles (70,000 square km) of land in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. The Navajo Reservation is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia. The Navajo language is spoken throughout the region, and most Navajos also speak English. The states with the largest Navajo populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (108,306). More than three-fourths of the enrolled Navajo population resides in these two states. Besides the Navajo Nation proper, a small group of Navajos are members of the federally recognized Colorado River Indian Tribes. The Navajos are speakers of a Na-Dené Southern Athabaskan language which they call Diné bizaad (lit. 'People's language'). They refer to themselves as the Diné, meaning (the) people. The language comprises two geographic, mutually intelligible dialects. The Apache languages are closely related to the Navajo Language; the Navajos and Apaches migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska, where the majority of Athabaskan speakers reside. Additionally, some Navajos speak Navajo Sign Language, which is either a dialect or a daughter of Plains Sign Talk. Some also speak Plains Sign Talk itself. Archaeological and historical evidence suggests the Athabaskan ancestors of the Navajos and Apaches arrived in the Southwest around 1400 AD. The Navajo oral tradition is transcribed to retain references to this migration. Initially, the Navajos were largely hunters and gatherers. Later, they learned farming from Pueblo peoples, growing mainly the traditional Native American "Three Sisters" of corn, beans, and squash. They adopted herding sheep and goats from the Spaniards as a main source of trade and food.

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Related concepts (17)

Shiprock

Shiprock (, "rock with wings" or "winged rock") is a monadnock rising nearly above the high-desert plain of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. Its peak elevation is above sea level. It is about southwest of the town of Shiprock, which is named for the peak. Governed by the Navajo Nation, the formation is in the Four Corners region and plays a significant role in Navajo religion, myth, and tradition. Shiprock is a point of interest for rock climbers and photographers and has been featured in several film productions and novels.

Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation (Naabeehó Diné Biyaad), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation of Navajos in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in Window Rock, Arizona. At roughly , the Navajo Nation is the largest land area held by a Native American tribe in the U.S., exceeding ten U.S. states. It is one of a few indigenous nations whose reservation lands overlap its traditional homelands.

Ghost Dance

The Ghost Dance (Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilson), proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with spirits of the dead, bring the spirits to fight on their behalf, end American Westward expansion, and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to Native American peoples throughout the region.