Honoring Native Americans
The Navajo
Nation Fair
Tom-toms thump and rattles clatter as brightly clad dancers stamp and
shuffle. Strange chants fill the air. There’s a roar of applause as a
skillful rider manages to stay on a wildly bucking horse. Movement,
color, and excitement are everywhere. This is the Navajo Nation Fair,
held the second week of September at Window Rock, Arizona.
The Navajo [(nav]{.smallcaps} uh hoh) nation is the largest Indian tribe
in the United States. About a hundred thousand Navajo live on a huge
reservation that covers parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. There
are also thousands of other Navajo who live in cities and towns.
A great number of the Navajo are farmers or sheep ranchers, but many
others work in businesses and industries that are owned by the tribe.
Although the Navajo have kept many of their old customs, they also make
use of modern ways.
The Navajo Nation Fair is the largest Native American Fair in the United
States. It is held to show off the arts and crafts of Indians, as well
as to honor and remember the old ways of life. Indians of many tribes
other than the Navajo take part in the fair.
Visitors to the fair can see old ceremonies and dances, and listen to
ancient songs and music. They can eat traditional Navajo foods.
Barrel racing is one of many exciting events at the Navajo Nation
Fair.
And they can see how Indians of long ago made things and did things.
There are also many “modern” events to see, such as a horse race, a
rodeo, and a Miss Navajo contest.
Native Americans are also honored in other parts of the United States on
the fourth Friday of September. This day is American Indian Day in
Arizona, California, Connecticut, and Illinois. An American Indian Day
is also observed in a number of other states in other months.
A special event much like the Navajo Nation Fair is held in Anadarko,
Oklahoma, in August. It is the American Indian Exposition, put on by
twelve of the Plains tribes. There,
Indians dressed in their tribal costumes stage a great parade. This is
followed by dances, games, and other events. The Exposition lasts five
days.
People from some thirty North American tribes also get together at the
All American Indian Days at Sheridan, Wyoming. At this event, which
takes place at the end of July or the first part of August, there are
Indian dances, ceremonies, and many other interesting things to see.
Throughout the year there are many smaller Indian festivals and
celebrations in the United States and Canada. All of these are put on by
Native Americans to honor their past and their present ways of life.
