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.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
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.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Life history materials
- Animal transport
- Chief executive
- Legal and judicial personnel
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Mythology
- Organized ceremonial
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Navajo
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2004
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southwest and Basin
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2003
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1957-1975
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1881-1967
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Arizona and New Mexico, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- edited by Charlotte J. Frisbie and David P. McAllester
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 406-418)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 77075661
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Navajo Indians