The Navajo Nation is a large area of land in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah, home to the Navajo people. It is the largest parcel of land reserved for Native Americans in the US and has its own government. Many Navajos are bilingual and there is infrastructure such as roads and schools on the reservation.
The Navajo Nation is a large tract of land encompassing northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. It is home to the Native American tribe known as the Navajo, or Diné, as the people call themselves. The Navajo Nation is the largest parcel of land reserved for Native Americans in the United States, covering approximately 26,000 square miles (about 67,000 square kilometers). The majority of all Navajos live within the Navajo Nation, although a significant percentage have also moved beyond the nation’s borders.
The complex and often difficult history of the Navajo Nation goes back several centuries. The Navajo people inhabited lands much larger than the current boundaries of the Navajo Nation, but as European settlement moved west, the Navajo and other Native American tribes were driven off their lands. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, after an event known as the Long Walk – in which the Navajos were forced off their land – the US government established a reservation where Native Americans could live.
The people of the Navajo Nation eventually formed their own government, making it a semi-autonomous region. This means that the Navajo people are largely governed by the Navajo people and Navajo law, but still have to obey the laws of the United States. Within the Navajo Nation is the Hopi Reservation, and they too must adhere to United States laws. However, the nation has its own government with a president and vice president responsible for running the nation as its own entity.
While many of the nation’s residents speak the traditional Navajo language, English is also commonly spoken, and many Navajos are bilingual. The Navajo Reservation has infrastructure such as roads and some forms of public transportation. The main roads are paved and well maintained, but other roads are often unpaved and can be difficult to navigate due to rough terrain and a lack of proper signage. Traditional Navajo dwellings known as hogans are still common on the reservation, but homes that were sturdier and less prone to damage or fire were built on the reservation over several decades. There are also a number of schools on the reservation, and many Navajos are now drawn to the nation’s larger urban centers to take advantage of schooling, available jobs, and other amenities.
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