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  Recommended Books on the Navajo Nation
 
 

 

The books on this list are aimed at adults, unless otherwise noted. Some of these books may be available in your local public library, or in your school or college library. Your local public library may be able to get books for you from other libraries. Those books that are in print (most are) may be purchased through bookstores or ordered directly from the publishers.

Benedek, Emily, Beyond the Four Corners of the World: A Navajo Woman's Journey, 1995, Random House, Alfred A. Knopf division, 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, MD 21157.

Benedek, Emily, The Wind Won't Know Me: A History of the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute, Random House, Alfred A. Knopf division, 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, MD 21157.

Bixler, Margaret T., Winds of Freedom: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, 1992, Two Bytes Publishing Company, 219 Long Neck Point Road, Darien, CT 06820. An account of the wartime use of a code based on the Navajo language.

Clark, La Verne Harrell, They Sang for Horses: The Impact of the Horse on Navajo & Apache Folklore, University of Arizona Press, 1615 East Speedway, Tucson, AZ 85719.

Downs, James F., The Navajo, 1972, 1984, Waveland Press, P.O. Box 400, Prospect Heights, IL 60070. From the series, Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology.

Dutton, Bertha P., American Indians of the Southwest, University of New Mexico Press, Journalism Building, Room 220, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Includes a chapter on the Navajo, & one on Southwestern Indian arts and crafts.

Frisbie, Charlotte Johnson, Kinaalda: A Study of the Navaho Girl's Puberty Ceremony, 1967, 1993, University of Utah Press, 101 University Services Building, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.

Gilpin, Laura, The Enduring Navaho, 1987, University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713.

Hooker, Kathy Eckles, Time Among the Navajo: Traditional Lifeways on the Reservation, with photographs by Helen Lau Running, Museum of New Mexico Press, P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2087.

Iverson, Peter, Navajo Nation, University of New Mexico Press, Journalism Building, Room 220, Albuquerque, NM 87131.

Iverson, Peter, The Navajos, Chelsea House Publishers, P.O. Box 914, Broomall, PA 19008. This book is aimed at junior and senior high school students.

Locke, Raymond Friday, The Book of the Navajo, Mankind Publishing Company, 8060 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046.

MacDonald, Peter, with Ted Schwarz, The Last Warrior: Peter MacDonald & the Navajo Nation, 1993, Crown Publishers, Orion Books division, 201 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022. An autobiography by the former Tribal Chairman of the Navajo Nation.

Newcomb, Franc Johnson, Hosteen Klah: Navaho Medicine Man & Sand Painter, 1964, University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Avenue, Norman, OK 73019. A biography of Hosteen Klah, born 1867.

Newcomb, Franc Johnson, Navajo Folk Tales, University of New Mexico Press, Journalism Building, Room 220, Albuquerque, NM 87131.

Ortiz, Alfonso, editor, Handbook of North American Indians, Volume Ten, Southwest, Smithsonian Institution Press, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0900. Includes several chapters on the Navajo.

Parezo, Nancy J., Navajo Sandpainting: From Religious Act to Commercial Art, 1983, University of New Mexico Press, Journalism Building, Room 220, Albuquerque, NM 87131.

Paul, Doris A., The Navajo Code Talkers, Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc., 643 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. An account of the World War II use of a code based on the Navajo language.

Reichard, Gladys A., Navajo Religion: A Study of Symbolism, Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, NJ 08540. A classic study.

Thomas, Hadley A., Any Other Country Except My Own, 1994, Cross Cultural Publications, P.O. Box 506, Notre Dame, IN 46566. A history.

Trimble, Stephen, The People: Indians of the American Southwest, School of American Research Press, P.O. Box 2188, Santa Fe, NM. Includes a chapter on the Navajo.

Underhill, Ruth M., The Navajos, University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Avenue, Norman, OK 73019.

Witherspoon, Gary, Language & Art in the Navajo Universe, The University of Michigan Press, P.O. Box 1104, Ann Arbor, MI 48106.

Yazzie, Ethelou, Navajo History: Volume One, Rough Rock Press, Rough Rock Demonstration School, Box 217, Chinle, AZ 86503. The author is Navajo.

Zolbrod, Paul G., Dine bahane: The Navajo Creation Story, 1984, University of New Mexico Press, Journalism Building, Rm. 220, Albuquerque, NM 87131. A new translation.

Between Sacred Mountains: Navajo Stories & Lessons from the Land, 1982, University of Arizona Press, 250 East Valencia Road, Tucson, AZ 85706. A book written by Navajos, for Navajos. Originally intended for the Navajo students of Rock Point Community School on the Navajo Reservation, and now available to a wider audience.

Cobblestone, July 1989, Cobblestone Publishing, 30 Grove Street, Peterborough, NH 03458. This is an all-Navajo issue of a history magazine aimed at children ages 8 - 14.

Prepared by the Resource Center,
National Museum of the American Indian,
in cooperation with the Public Inquiry
Mail Service, Smithsonian Institution

9/96

 

 
 


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