Book

Navajo Blessingway singer: the autobiography of Frank Mitchell, 1881-1967

University of Arizona PressTucson : 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.
Subjects
Life history materials
Animal transport
Chief executive
Legal and judicial personnel
Shamans and psychotherapists
Mythology
Organized ceremonial
culture
Navajo
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