Can you believe the Navajo (also known as the Diné People) still exist today, after being forced out of their land by the European settlers, who also gave them many diseases which killed thousands? In this essay, you will learn about the appearance and the clothing of the Navajo. You will also learn about the tools and weapons the People of the Mesa Verde used. In addition, you will learn about the shelter the Navajo built, as well as the food the valley-living tribe ate. Other things you will explore are the roles of women, men, and children within the tribe. Finally, you will look at tribal life after the Europeans’ arrival. Appearance and Clothing The Navajo lived in a hot, desert climate, so they had to wear lightweight, heat-resistant clothing. A typical male Navajo Indian would wear …show more content…
Hogans were made by taking poles of wood and covering them with mud, more wood, and straw for the roof. It may seem unsafe to have a house made of mud, but the sun dried the mud to make a special kind of brick called adobe. For food, the Navajo mainly hunted, but they farmed the three sisters: squash, corn, and beans. Yucca was also a major food source. The animal carcass was never wasted, all the parts were used in someway or another. For example, a deer's antlers were used as weapons, its bones were used as cooking utensils, and the meat was eaten. Roles Men had the largest role in the Navajo tribe. They would hunt, they would farm, they would build hogans and they would protect the village. Also, only men could be chiefs. Women had their part, too. Women generally cooked, weaved, and made pottery to cook things in. Occasionally they would farm. In the Navajo culture, there was five genders: woman, man, nadleeh, masculine female, and feminine male. Little boys would learn to hunt as soon as they could walk! Girls learned how to weave and cook from their mothers. After the