Playground Safety As Simple As ABC

[music] >> In the beginning, there was only the land, vast, beautiful, and lonely. Then, according to Navajo mythology, first man and first woman ascended through a hole in the earth, emerging from the underworld into Dinétah, the land of the [music] people, and they marked its outer reaches with four sacred mountains. Within these imaginary boundaries, the Navajos have ever since found peace for their souls. Beyond, only danger and unhappiness. The actual Navajo reservation is an area of approximately 25,000 square miles, mostly in northeastern Arizona, but spilling over [music] into western New Mexico and an area somewhat larger than the state of West Virginia. On this land, the Navajos have lived for hundreds of uninterrupted years, with one tragic exception. From the beginning of the white man's intrusion into the Southwest, first by the Spanish, then by the Americans, the Navajos have made a fierce effort to maintain their own cultural way of because of this desire to remain free and separate. They ran afoul of [music] the United States Army, which rounded them up in 1864, and moved them eastward into New Mexico to a desolate place on the staked plains known as Bosque Redondo, the round grove. Here they languished and died for five long years before the federal government finally allowed them to return to their beloved red rock [music] country. The Navajos named their ordeal the long walk, and have ever since [music] reckoned all their dates from this climactic experience. When they returned from their captivity, they numbered less than 10,000. [music] Yet today, with one of the highest birth rates in the world, [music] their number has grown to nearly 130,000, by far the largest of America's [music] remaining 230 Indian tribes. Today, the Navajos still live much as did their forefathers who survived the long walk home. The Navajo women still wear the traditional long fluted skirts [music] and the brightly colored velveteen blouses, as did their grandmothers of long ago. The modern Navajo man, however, dresses much more in the style of the western cowboy, Levi's, bright shirts, boots, and broad-brimmed hats. Most of the women and some of the men, especially the older ones, still wear their hair in the old-fashioned chignon, a vertical knot at the back of the head. It must be carefully combed with a yucca brush and wound tightly with a cloth band. It takes a good deal of time to fix the chignon properly, but then the Navajo women have both the time and the patience for such a job. Jewelry, worn by both men and women, even while doing chores, has a dual significance for the Navajo. First, turquoise is considered to be good medicine and good luck, and wearing it helps to ward off the evil spirits. Second, it represents a visible display of a Navajo's savings. In times of difficulty, [music] jewelry can be put in pawn with the trader for needed hard cash, and later redeemed when times improve. For homes, most Navajos still use the one-roomed hogans of yesterday, octagonal huts built of cedar logs and covered with mud, together with the branch and leaf-covered summer hogan, >> [music] >> which allows cool relief from the blazing heat. Around the edges of the reservation, where the white man exerts more influence on the Navajo, there are growing numbers of more conventional types of housing. Even an occasional house trailer is seen. But still, most of these houses would be considered substandard in that nearly all lack electricity [music] and running water, or water of any kind for that matter. For water, as it has been for countless centuries, is one of the most precious commodities on this arid reservation. Summer rain clouds well up during the afternoon, and the resulting thunderstorms produce pools of much-needed water for thirsty [music] animals. After only a day or two in the intense heat and the low humidity, the water hole disappears, and all that remains is the dried and parched earth, and again, the animals are thirsty. Water for human use is equally scarce. Some of the need is supplied by numerous natural [music] springs found scattered over the reservation. For those Navajos living near such a source, the spring fills not only the need for drinking water, but also often serves as the community laundry, where clothes are washed and people bathe. [music] In an effort to solve the reservation's water problems, the Navajo Tribal Council is digging deep holes throughout the area to help supply those Indians not living near a natural source. Still, many Navajos must obtain their water from sources as far as 20 miles from their hogans. When the Spanish entered the Southwest, they brought with them sheep, goats, and horses, all of which were to have a profound effect upon the Navajo. In truth, they became cultural essentials, those things which [music] men live by, and they radically changed the Navajo's way of life, converting them from nomads into shepherds, and to some extent, farmers. For the past four centuries, sheep, [music] together with the sturdy little goats which thrive so well in this arid land, have formed the [music] backbone of the Navajo economy, providing food, wool, and cash. Horses, which were for centuries of prime importance to the very survival of the Navajo, have now declined to a point where they are used mainly for tending sheep, and for occasional pleasure purposes by Navajo children. The new [music] beast of burden which has displaced the horse is the pickup truck, now such a common sight that it can properly be considered the universal sign of the Navajo reservation. They are simply everywhere. [music] However, many of the older Indians, much too poor to afford a pickup, still use their teams and wagons to visit among their friends and neighbors. But when it is necessary to go to town for supplies or to attend a dance, they will manage to obtain a ride with one of their more affluent neighbors who does own a pickup. Because of strong religious and spiritual attachments, this seemingly unproductive land is the only place on earth capable of furnishing nourishment for the Navajo soul. Whatever this land may do [music] for the Navajo soul, it does little to help his physical health, as the extremely poor quality of the soil produces only meager, poor crops. Because of this inadequate, low-quality food, together with poor water and few modern sanitation [music] methods, hospitals such as this one are kept busy treating the ills of the Navajos. Health conditions on the reservation are among some of the worst in the nation. However, with the acceptance by more and more Navajos of modern medical care, health improvement efforts are making good progress. Also, the Navajos are increasingly willing to accept [music] and undergo modern dental treatment, an area long neglected by most Indians. At many of the reservation hospitals, schools are being conducted to train young Navajo women to become nurses [music] and dental assistants. Navajo women seem to have a natural aptitude for [music] nursing and excel in this type of work. In the recent past, most Indians relied upon the medicine man or singer to administer to their ills through drumming and chanting. But the medicine man is disappearing from the culture, as are many other old customs [music] and rituals. Some families are attempting to retain some of the old ways, such as this puberty right, where friends and relatives gather from all over the valley to help 14-year-old Glenda Jackson celebrate her coming to womanhood. On the last [music] day of the four-day ceremony, the women gather inside the summer hogan to help Glenda mix and prepare [music] the huge ceremonial cake, while at the same time subjecting her to much good-natured kidding. Outside, the men dig a large hole, which is filled with firewood and burned, heating the surrounding earth to a high temperature, forming a natural oven. Right at sunset, [music] the coals are removed and the pit is lined with wet corn husks, after which the cake batter [music] is poured in by the buckets full. Next, Glenda performs the ancient ritual required by Navajo tradition. After which, she scatters the first handful of sacred cornmeal over the cake. And then is joined by family and friends in spreading the rest. The batter is then covered with another layer of husks, then covered with hot coals and allowed to bake all night. At the dawn's first light, following a night of prayer and song, the medicine man cuts and blesses the cake. After which, Glenda will take a bite. Signifying that now she has entered womanhood. Traditions such as these are becoming lost forever. Because the young Navajos are unwilling to learn from their elders the involved and secret rituals of the past. None of the rituals are written down. Because the Navajos do not have a written language. This eroding away of the old ways is but one of the [music] problems facing today's Navajos. Two of the major problems facing the Navajos are employment and education. Education has been a difficult problem because of the vastness of the reservation >> [music] >> and the sparsity of the population. Further complicating the problem is the fact that the language of the reservation traditionally has been the native Navajo tongue. With English used only by adults for dealing [music] with the white man. Consequently, few children are able to speak more than a few words of English when they start to [music] school. And in most cases, their teachers speak little or no Navajo. In an effort to solve this problem, the tribal council has [music] instigated a program to train Navajos to be teachers. Children will then have teachers who understand them culturally, who are able to speak their native tongue, and who can teach them English as a second language. Also, a program is underway to provide more day schools. [music] So, children can attend classes nearer their homes, thus eliminating the long bus trips each day as now required. Each year, over 3,000 teenagers graduate or leave school. Of these, only a little over a third find jobs on the reservation or its fringes. The rest must either remain at home unemployed. Or leave the reservation and seek work in the white man's society. Older Navajos face this same problem of too few jobs and too [music] many people. The tribal council makes every effort to attract outside industry. [music] By granting 99 year leases and guaranteeing a large and willing labor pool. However, few companies have taken advantage of the opportunities. Partly because of the remoteness of the reservation. This plant at Shiprock is one of the companies hooked to the Navajos' [music] extremely fine eye-hand coordination in building delicate electronic components. At Sawmill, Arizona, the Navajos themselves have built the world's largest lumber mill. A coal strip mining operation on Black Mesa, near Kayenta, employs almost entirely Navajo labor. This operation alone brings millions of dollars annually into the tribal [music] council treasury. Much of this money, together with royalties from gas and [music] oil, are earmarked for the tribal educational fund. To provide college scholarships for Navajo youths. Still, even large operations such as this, make only a small dent in the overall employment problem. As they are able to hire relatively few people. Because of this scarcity of jobs, nearly 75% of all Navajos must depend upon some form of welfare. Simply to survive. The history of the Navajo is that of a people who have for centuries [music] relied upon their own customs and culture. To provide the solutions to their problems. It remains so to this day. For the more the Navajo has learned of the white man and his society. The more convinced he has become of the worth of his own culture. And stronger has grown his desire to remain a separate people. A new awareness of identity. And a new tribal pride has taken hold of the Navajo. And is sweeping the reservation. Yet, while the 20th century has brought many outward changes. The Navajo of today, driving his pickup truck across [music] the rutted valley floor. Is inwardly little changed from his great grandfather. Who made the long walk home a century ago. >> [music] [music]