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| Dine | |
|---|---|
| Group | Dine |
| Population | est. 300,000–350,000 |
| Regions | Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado |
| Languages | Navajo language, English language |
| Religions | Navajo traditional religion, Christianity in indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American Church |
| Related | Apache people, Ute people, Pueblo peoples |
Dine
The Dine are an Indigenous people of the American Southwest with a rich cultural heritage, distinct kinship systems, and a living tradition of language, art, and governance. Centered in the Navajo Nation across parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, the Dine maintain linguistic, ceremonial, and political ties that intersect with interactions involving the United States, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Congress of American Indians, and neighboring Indigenous nations such as the Hopi Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Their history includes wartime service in the World War II era, legal struggles in the United States v. Wheeler milieu, and contemporary participation in regional institutions like the Navajo Nation Council.
The name used in English derives from an endonym meaning "the people" in the Navajo language, paralleling endonyms among other groups such as Māori people or Inuit. Early non-Indigenous records used exonyms recorded by explorers and ethnographers, including terms by travelers associated with the Santa Fe Trail and the Mexican–American War era. Linguists working in the tradition of Franz Boas and Edward Sapir documented shifts from colonial labels to Indigenous self-designations recognized by institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.
Oral traditions situate ancestral migrations across the Four Corners region, interacting with Pueblo societies such as the Zuni Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo, and Laguna Pueblo. Archaeologists referencing the Ancestral Puebloans and the Mogollon culture examine material continuity in pottery styles and agricultural practices, while genetic and linguistic studies connect Dine origins with Na-Dene speaking populations studied alongside work by Kenneth L. Hale and Edward Sapir. Colonial contact intensified during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, with impacts traced through missions, trade networks, and conflicts like those involving the Comanche and Apache Wars. In the 19th century, confrontations with United States Army forces culminated in events paralleling the Long Walk of the Navajo and subsequent treaties negotiated in the environment shaped by the Treaty of Bosque Redondo.
The Dine language is part of the Na-Dené family and has been the subject of descriptive grammars and revitalization campaigns influenced by scholars such as Noam Chomsky in generative linguistics debates and field linguists like William Morgan (linguist). Language preservation efforts engage institutions including Navajo Technical University, Diné College, and programs within the Department of Education (United States), and intersect with media initiatives involving National Public Radio and PBS. Cultural transmission occurs via ceremonies recorded by ethnographers aligned with Franciscan missionaries accounts and more recent documentary filmmakers from festivals like Sundance Film Festival, often foregrounding practitioners such as singers, code talkers associated with World War II code talkers, and weavers whose work appears alongside exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Kinship is organized through matrilineal clans, each with names tied to landscape features and origin narratives; clan exogamy recalls patterns observed among the Iroquois Confederacy and contrasts with patrilineal systems elsewhere. Social roles are mediated by clan affiliations during disputes adjudicated using concepts resonant with dispute resolution practices in courts like the Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation and community forums inspired by tribal governance models such as the Cherokee Nation council systems. Prominent clans and families often engage with federal agencies, nonprofit organizations like the National Indian Youth Council, and philanthropic partners including the Ford Foundation on social programs.
Religious life integrates ceremonial cycles, sandpainting, and healing rites led by medicine people whose practices have been documented alongside anthropological work by Ruth Benedict and Katherine Stewart (anthropologist). Ceremonies such as the Enemy Way and the Nightway reflect cosmologies also discussed in comparative studies with traditions like those of the Hopi and Zuni and have legal protections grounded in precedents related to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Contact with Christian missionaries introduced syncretic currents, while movements such as the Native American Church have influenced sacramental practices and policy debates in forums including the United States Congress.
Material culture features weaving, silverwork, and sandpainting that have been collected by institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of New Mexico, and the National Gallery of Art. Weavers and jewelers sell through markets associated with the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial and commercial networks including the Santa Fe Indian Market. Culinary traditions include maize-based dishes, lamb preparations, and foraging practices recorded alongside Southwestern foodways studies referencing chefs and authors who have appeared on platforms like the James Beard Foundation and in publications such as Gourmet (magazine).
Contemporary challenges encompass land and water rights litigated in courts like the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico and administrative processes involving the Bureau of Land Management, alongside public health initiatives coordinated with the Indian Health Service and responses to pandemics coordinated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Navajo Nation's government interfaces with federal programs including the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and international advocacy through entities such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Economic development projects intersect with energy debates involving Peabody Energy and renewable initiatives referenced by the Department of Energy, while cultural sovereignty efforts engage museums, universities like University of Arizona, and treaty advocacy groups such as the American Indian Movement.
Category:Indigenous peoples of the Southwestern United States