Date of Award
7-1-1948
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Excerpt: "Problem. This thesis gives organized information about the life of the Navajo Indian in order that other people may be given a fuller understanding of him and a deeper appreciation of his outstanding culture. The Navajos' present economy cannot support the tribe, and the tribe is not yet ready for assimilation with other people. The government must make technical knowledge available to this primitive Indian without destroying the whole fabric of his life, if it wishes to preserve the Navajo's unique culture. Method. Personal interviews and library techniques were used in conducting the investigation for this study. The author lived for years among the Navajos, where she could observe their way of life. She learned their language, visited their hogans, watched them develop their arts and crafts, attended their ceremonials, and visited their schools. Much valuable information was obtained by interviews with Navajo government agents, teachers in the Navajo schools, and traders from the trading posts. Several books on the Navajo were being written near where the author was teaching. She discussed and exchanged data with these writers. The following is a list of some of these books and their authors: Mesa Land by Ann Wilmarth Ikes, Hopi Girl by Dama Margaret Smith, Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer, Laughing Boy by Oliver La Forge, and Our Own Southwest by Erna Fergusson. Result: This thesis is a history of the Navajo, of his culture and his way of life. It is a story of his problems and their relation to his social, economical, and educational way of life of an entire people whose life is complete and very different from our own."
Recommended Citation
Regan, Dora Frances, "The Navajo arts, crafts, ceremonials, and education" (1948). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 435.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/435
Comments
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