Navajo Nation

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Various Spellings: Navajo, Navaho

The Navajo Tribe is primarily associated with the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Population: 1868: 10,000 1990: 220,000

Tribal Headquarters
Navajo Nation P.O. Box 9000 Window Rock, AZ 86515 Phone: 928.871.6352 Fax: 928.871.4025


 * Navajo Nation Official Web Site

History
See the information on Navajo Nation, Arizona (Tribe)

Agencies

 * Chinle Agency
 * Eastern Navajo Agency (Arizona and New Mexico)
 * Western Navajo Agency
 * Fort Defiance Agency
 * Santa Fe Agency
 * Shiprock Agency

Reservations
Navajo Nation, Arizona (Reservation)

Superintendencies

 * Arizona Superintendency
 * New Mexico Superintenedency
 * Colorado Superintendency

See Navajo Nation, Arizona (Reservation)

Additional References to the History of the Tribe Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Navajo tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. See Navajo Nation, Arizona (Tribe)

RECORDS
There are two types of census records available for people search American Indian records. The first is U.S. population census records and Indian Census Rolls, both have identical information and some differences. Indian Census records were usually each year by agents or superintendents in charge of Indian reservations, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as required by an act of July 4, 1884. By 1940 many areas covered under the Indian Census Rolls were soon incorporated into U.S. population census records.

U.S. Census
The earliest census taken under the auspices of the Office of Indian Affairs was enumerated in 1885. Many of the census records thus recorded have been microfilmed and are available at the National Archives, all of the Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and at the in Salt Lake City. This set of Indian Census Rolls also are available online at Ancestry.com, which is a subscription web site. In order to locate the correct roll, one must know the residence of the family being sought. The following census rolls were recorded for the indicated agencies within the Navajo Nation. The names are as recorded in the microfilm copy created by the National Archives on their Microcopy M595 (692 rolls).


 * Eastern Navajo -- 1929-1935
 * Eastern Navajo Reservation -- 1937
 * Hopi and Navajo Indians -- 1930-1936
 * Leupp Agency -- 1915-1917, 1920-1925, 1927, 1929-1935
 * Leupp Reservation -- 1937
 * Navajo -- 1915, 1936, 1938-1939
 * Navajo: (Moqui Pueblo or Hopi, and Navajo) -- 1885
 * Northern Navajo -- 1930-1935
 * Northern Navajo Reservation -- 1937
 * Pueblo Bonito (Navajo Indians) -- 1909-1912, 1914-1924, 1926
 * Pueblo Day Schools (Pueblo and Navajo) -- 1912-1919
 * San Juan (Navajo) -- 1916
 * Southern Navajo -- 1929-1935
 * Southern Navajo Reservation -- 1937
 * Western Navajo -- 1905, 1915-1920, 1922-1927, 1929
 * Western Navajo: (Hopi Indians and Navajo and Paiute Indians for 1929) -- 1937

It is important to know the above names because that is the way they are listed in the Indian Census Rolls collection.

Enrollment
Tribal enrollment for the Navajo Nation is handled through: Navajo Office of Vital Records P.O. Box 9000 Window Rock, AZ 86515 Telephone: 928-871-6386 or 928-729-4020 Everyone enrolled as a member of the Navajo Nation since 1925 has been assigned a tribal census number. Those records are also maintained by this office.

School
Historically, Navajo children have attended local public schools, day schools, boarding schools and mission schools. Each of these have their own sets of records, some of which have found their way into archives and historical societies. The Office of Indian Affairs (now Bureau of Indian Affairs) was charged with providing educational opportunities for Navajo pupils and identifying them through school census records and other means. Some of the schools attended by Navajo pupils include:


 * Pueblo Day Schools
 * Intermountain Indian School
 * St. Michael's School

This is a very incomplete list of such schools. It does illustrate different types of schools available to Navajo children.

Treaties

 * 1849 September 9,
 * 1868 June 1, removal, reservation

Important Web Sites

 * Navajo Nation Official Web Site
 * Questions and Answers about Navajo history, names, culture, bands, etc.,
 * Navajo Code Talkers