Dinétah is the traditional homeland or

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

of the

Diné The Navajo or Diné are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Navajo language, Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Din ...

or Navajo, an

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

of the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. In the Navajo language, the word means "among the people" or "among the Navajo" (''diné'' is the Navajo word that refers to the Navajo people; it also means "people" in the generic sense; ' means "among, through, in the area of"). In the geographical sense, Dinétah encompasses a large area of northwestern

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, southwestern

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, southeastern

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and northeastern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The boundaries are inexact, and are generally marked by mountain peaks which correspond to the four cardinal directions. Since invasion by Spanish and American troops, Dinétah's land base has shrunk dramatically and is currently governed by the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

as an

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

within the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Geography and topography

The Dinétah region is marked by high mesas and deep canyons that drain to the San Juan River. The canyons of the area are composed of irregular layers of sandstone, marked by multiple benches and talus slopes. Elevations average approximately 5,000 to 6,500 feet, with a few mountain peaks rising to more than 14,000 feet. The traditional boundary of the land is demarcated by four mountains: Blanca Peak (Sis Naajinį́), to the east, Mount Taylor ( Tsoodzil), to the south, the

San Francisco Peaks The San Francisco Peaks (Navajo: , , Hopi: ''Nuva'tukya'ovi'', Western Apache: ''Dził Tso'', Keres: ''Tsii Bina'', Southern Paiute: ''Nuvaxatuh'', Havasupai-Hualapai: ''Hvehasahpatch''/''Huassapatch''/''Wik'hanbaja'', Yavapai: ''Wi:mun Kwa'', ...

(Dook'o'ooshį́į́), to the west, and Hesperus Peak, (Dibé Nitsaa), to the north.Iverson, Peter: Diné: A History of the Navajos. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.

Cultural overview

The Navajo regard Dinétah as their ancestral homeland. The traditional Navajo creation story centers on the area, and Navajo place names within the region reflect its role in Navajo mythology. While Dinétah generally refers to a large geographical area, the heart of the region is regarded to be the canyons of the Largo and Carrizo washes, south of the San Juan River in New Mexico. These canyons are located to the east and south of

Farmington, New Mexico Farmington (Navajo language, Navajo: Tóta') is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico, San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and ...

, and include Blanco, Largo, Carrizo and Gobernador Canyons. The cultural significance of Dinétah is documented throughout Navajo oral history, and is supported by numerous

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...

sites. According to Navajo tradition, the infant Changing Woman (), one of the best known Navajo deities, was found by the Holy People () on top of Gobernador Knob (), located within Dinétah area. The region is also indicated as the place to which the first four Navajo clans arrived after their migration from the north.

Archaeological sites

There are thousands of recorded archaeological sites within the Dinétah region. The sites include the remains of several cultures, including the

Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southe ...

(also known as the

Anasazi The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southea ...

), the Navajo, and early

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

settlers. The naturally dry conditions of the region have contributed to a generally good state of preservation for a variety of site types, which include structures of stone and wood, as well as

pictograph A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

and

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

sites. The most visible archaeological sites are known as Navajo pueblitos. These sites are usually stone structures consisting of from one to six rooms. The pueblitos are thought to date to the end of the 17th century, and appear to be largely defensive in nature. Pueblitos take the form of multi-storied towers, fort-like enclosures, and cliff dwellings. Several pueblitos are included on the List of Registered Historic Places in New Mexico.

History

There is increasing evidence for Navajo presence in Dinétah as early as 1500 CE. While there is continuing debate as to the dating of Navajo sites in the area, it is generally agreed that they inhabited Dinétah at some point well before the

Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé, Popé's Rebellion or Po'pay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the Indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger t ...

of 1680. The Navajo occupation of the region has been divided by archaeologists into two major phases - the Dinétah phase (ca. 1500-1630), which includes the entrance and settling of the area by the Navajo, and the Gobernador phase (ca. 1630-1800), during which time the Navajo culture became fully defined. The difference between the two phases has been based on the recovery of Gobernador Polychrome ceramic shards from reliably dated sites, and the presence of pueblitos.

References

External links

Dinetah Rock Art & Pueblitos - Photos, Videos, and Maps

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinetah Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America Ruins in the United States Colorado Plateau Navajo history Cultural regions of the United States Geography of the Navajo Nation Navajo Nation