Book
Navajo Blessingway singer: the autobiography of Frank Mitchell, 1881-1967
University of Arizona Press • Tucson : University Of Arizona Press, C1978 • Published In 1978 • Pages:
By: Mitchell, Frank.
Abstract
This is an autobiography/life history of a Navajo leader, Frank Mitchell, who was privy to the many changes in the life of his people from the time his parents were in the Long Walk of 1864 to 1967, when he died. Although he attended school for only two-and-a-half years, Mitchell accepted the whiteman's world from the beginning. He first worked on the railway and later at the St. Michael's mission. A man of little means, he married into a relatively wealthy ranching family and learned from his father-in-law how to be upright, hardworking, and frugal. At local meetings, his oratory skills commanded respect. He attributed his public demeanor to to his life-long observance and study of the Blessingway ceremonies. He became a prominant councilman and judge, and once retired, became a full-time practitioner of the Blessingway. Frank Mitchell is is a contradictory figure. He was a conservative who saw change as inevitable. He was a leader during the extremely unpopular sheep reduction program, which undermined the livelihood of many of his people. On the other hand he was a firm believer in Navajo ways, especially ceremonial life, which he saw as core to Navajo identity and survival.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2004
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Southwest and Basin
- Document Type
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard ; 2003
- Field Date
- 1957-1975
- Coverage Date
- 1881-1967
- Coverage Place
- Arizona and New Mexico, United States
- Notes
- edited by Charlotte J. Frisbie and David P. McAllester
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 406-418)
- LCCN
- 77075661
- LCSH
- Navajo Indians