book chapter

Land use in the Ramah Navaho Area, New Mexico

Columbia University, Department of Anthropology • [New York] • Published In 1950 • Pages:

By: Landgraf, John Leslie.

Abstract

This is an unpublished study of land use by five groups in the Ramah, New Mexico, area from 1871 to 1941. It covers in considerable detail geographical aspects, such as climate, terrain, soil, flora and fauna. It also traces the history of land use activities in the region by the Navajo, Spanish -Americans, Mormons, 'El Morro' people (Texans), and 'Outsiders.' The author shows the various established cultures, each with its own integral stake in the land, overstraining the resources of that land far beyond its capacities. All of these groups have been modified by the sequence of inward migration and land change, and yet all of them have maintained their psychological cultural identity and their value systems which came from generalized background cultures. On top of this, the outside world increasingly has imposed goals, controls, and barriers which are neither understood nor particularly subject to manipulation. Of all the groups, the Navajo are having the most difficulty adjusting. Unless the author indicated otherwise, the time period referred to is 1941.

HRAF PubDate

2004

Region

North America

Sub Region

Southwest and Basin

Document Type

book chapter

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

3: Good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent

4: Excellent Secondary Data

Analyst

Kachen S. Coley ; 1952-1953

Field Date

1941, 1949

Coverage Date

1871-1941

Coverage Place

Ramah area, New Mexico, United States

Notes

John Leslie Landgraf

Material dealing exclusively with non-Navajo groups have been indexed for category 563

This document consists of excerpts

Includes bibliographical references (p. 236-243)

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Columbia University, 1950

LCSH

Navajo Indians