Navajo Baskets, and the Horse Biscuit Affair

The Navajo ancestral homeland is located in what is now northern Arizona, New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, and southeastern Utah. This vast territory is known to its Navajo inhabitants as "Dinehtah," which means, "Homeland of the People." One of the most interesting areas of this homeland is located in southeastern Utah. This rugged, arid, canyon country has provided protection to its inhabitants on many occasions. The twisting depths of its numerous canyons have given seclusion and sanctuary to the Navajo people in times of hardship, and have often sheltered them from incursions by the outside world.

By historical accident, this rugged country became the last bastion of Navajo basket weaving, and the inhabitants of this area are credited with maintaining and revolutionizing the basket weaving tradition. The roots of this revolution are based in the conquest of the Navajo people by Colonel Kit Carson and the United States Government; a very dark period in Navajo history.

Probably the most devastating period of Navajo history was 1864 to 1868. This was a time when the U.S. Government determined that the Navajo had become an insoluble problem. The Navajo were viewed by government officials as a people out of sync with the growth and progress of a new nation. It was the time of "Manifest Destiny," and the government did not have the patience to properly deal with the "Indian Problem."

Since the government was unable to come to terms with the Navajo people as a whole, Colonel Carson was dispatched to tame the Navajo, and to correct their errant ways. Colonel Carson faced a very large task, and he fully appreciated the challenge. He therefore developed what became known as the "Scorched Earth" policy. This policy was based upon the premise that the destruction of Navajo homes, crops and livestock would lead to their speedy conquest .

Colonel Carson was correct, and the once proud people of the high desert were quickly brought to their knees. They were easily rounded up and transported to the depths of the Bosque Redondo, near Albuquerque, New Mexico. This event is now remembered as "The Long Walk." This occurrence not only broke the people, it nearly destroyed their culture.

The Navajo people looked to themselves to discover the reasons for their conquest, and ultimately concluded that they had caused their own downfall. They believed that by ignoring their deities and not maintaining a lifestyle dedicated to their traditional beliefs, they had subjected themselves to this horrible destruction and the loss of their homeland They took full responsibility for the devastation, and also took it upon themselves to find a solution.

A review was in order, and, after evaluating their situation, the people vowed to re-establish a connection to their traditional beliefs, and to live their lives accordingly. A re-emergence began, and when they were released from the Bosque, they began to flourish. Returning to their traditional homeland renewed their faith in the traditional system and gave them renewed strength. Progress has been slow, but much ground has been gained since that very dark time. Their resilience and ability to adapt under extremely difficult circumstances is a testament to Navajo strength and courage.

After returning to their homeland, the Navajo people became concerned that, among other things, the deities had been offended by their lack of respect for traditional healing ceremonies and the baskets used in these rituals. Since these baskets connect the real and spirit worlds, the weavers became concerned that their basket weaving had in some way upset the delicate balance. The people were so worried about disturbing the spirits that they became afraid to weave baskets altogether.

Having recently frustrated those beings, and having lived through the consequences, they elected not to produce any baskets. Luckily there were those who were unconcerned with such things, and were able to fill the gap created by this situation. Paiute and Ute weavers picked up the ball, and began weaving baskets with the design necessary for medicinal use. I can hear my old Ute friend, Susan Whyte, saying, "You crazy white man, it was the Ute people who came up with that design." That does not appear historically accurate.

Stepping back a bit, when Kit Carson began making his way to what is now the Monument Valley area of the Reservation, he was stretching his supply lines to their limits. Also whenever he got close to this region, the Navajos simply disappeared into the back country; having received advance notice that the cavalry was on its way. Taking their livestock with them into the depths of those mean canyons and leaving only temporary dwellings behind them did not leave much for our hero to scorch. And when the army entered the labyrinth in search of the people, the soldiers were pelted with horse biscuits from the tops of the towering cliff walls. Kit Carson finally decided that he had gathered enough Navajos, and that he was tired of combing horse dung from his hair. Off he and his troops went, never to return.

This left the Navajos to go on with their lives, and, due to their perceived victory, their attitude of insolence became much more advanced. An interesting note is that those same Navajos were weaving very nice ceremonial baskets. Decendents of these survivalists are alive and well, still living in the country that provided their ancestors sanctuary. These are families with the name of Black, Rock, Johnson and Bitsinnie, among others. Not only have they continued the art of basketry, they have progressed a great deal. Uninhibited by the fears of their brothers and sisters of the Bosque, their basket designs have evolved over the years, and now portray traditional Navajo beliefs and customs; preserved forever in story board fashion. Basket weaving has survived because the ancestors of these modern day weavers were courageous enough to stand up to Colonel Carson.

DISCLAIMER:

Since we are confident that the historical correctness of this piece may be questioned, we freely admit that we are not historians or anthropologists. Although we have reviewed accounts of the relevant events, and have been provided input by the local Navajo people, we do not claim to be experts. Oral histories were carefully scrutinized, and the horse biscuit affair was verified by numerous sources of the highest integrity. At any rate this is our story and we're sticking to it.

Copyright©2003 Twin Rocks Trading Post