Navajo Nation, Arizona (Tribe)

United StatesIndians of North AmericaIndians of the United States and Their RecordsArizonaIndians of Arizona 

See also Navajo Indians



Tribal Headquarters
The Navajo Nation P.O. Box 9000, Window Rock, AZ 86515 Telephone: (928) 871-6000

Welcome to the Navajo Nation Government

History

 * History -- The People
 * The Navajo People: A Brief History
 * Land Use History of North America, Colorado Plateau, Navajo (Diné)
 * The Navajo
 * Navajo History
 * The Diné
 * Navajo Indians History
 * New Mexico Office of the State Historian, Navajo Nation

Brief History
The Navajo Agency of the Office of Indian Affairs was created in 1851 and was under the jurisdiction of the New Mexico Superintendency. Even when the Arizona Superintendency came into existence in 1863, the Navajo Agency, located at Fort Defiance Arizona, remained under New Mexico until that superintendency was abolished in 1874.The Fort Defiance Agency continued to operate there even after the superintendencies ceased to exist.

Currently there are five agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs administering the government's programs with the Navajo Nation -- Chinle Agency, Eastern Navajo Agency, Fort Defiance Agency, Shiprock Agency, and Western Navajo Agency. Each of these agency offices maintain the standard records required by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, so far as they apply to the Navajo Nation. A few of the records no longer in use by the local offices have been transferred to the Pacific Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration in Laguna Niguel, California.

The Navajo Nation created their own government in 1923 to handle their own business affairs. When the Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934, they chose not to reorganize under its authority, since they already had a tribal government. It was also felt that the requirements of the new act was unduly complicated.

The Navajo government is run by a tribal council with elected officials from chapters in each of the agencies.

Timelines

 * Navajo Timeline
 * Cultural Heritage of the Navajo
 * The Timeline of Navajo History
 * Destination Beauty - Discover Navajo

Brief Timeline

 * Mid 1700s: Spanish sent missionaries
 * 1846: Treaty
 * 1846-48: Mexican War
 * 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Mexico cede the Southwest to the United States
 * 1849: Treaty
 * 1860: Attacted Fort Defiance
 * 1862: Kit Carson began scorched-earth offensive
 * 1864-1866: Relocated with Apache to New Mexico, at Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner, about 200 Navajos died on the 300 mile trek. - "The Long Walk". It is estimated 2,000 died while at Bosque Redondo
 * 1868: Treaty, granted reservation
 * World War II: Navajo Code Talkers

Reservations
Navajo Nation, Arizona (Reservation)

Records
The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:


 * Allotment records
 * Annuity rolls
 * Census records
 * Correspondence
 * Health records
 * Reports
 * School census and records
 * Vital records

Begin your search for records concerning members of the Navajo Nation by searching the FamilyHistory Library Catalog on the subject of "Navajo." Click on the Catalog link from FamilySearch.

You may also find additional information from

The National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas 1400 John Burgess Drive Fort Worth, Texas 76140 Phone: 817-551-2000 Fax: 817-551-2037

Native American Records National Archives Archival Research Catalog Historical Records Online Native American Records

See U.S. Census records on Navajo Indians

U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 on Ancestry.com $ also fee access at Family History Centers. Search for key-words "Navajo" also search for surnames and given names.

Important Web Sites

 * Office of the Navajo Nation Library

Office of Navajo Nation Library P.O. Box 9040 Window Rock, Arizona 86515 Telephone:(928)871-6376 Fax: (928)871-7304


 * The Navajo Nation Museum
 * Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department
 * Navajo Nation Archaeology Deparatment
 * Navajo Nation Office of Vital Records