A Diné History of Navajoland. By Klara Kelley and Harris Francis

A Diné History of Navajoland is part of a long chain of scholarly interest on Diné. Scholars Klara Kelley and Harris Francis provide a deeper, more community-focused view of Diné and their struggles to remain tied to their homeland than is present in much of the literature. As such, this book is intended for Diné, young and old. In eleven well-written but not well-connected chapters, Kelley and Francis center the Diné view: “We don’t own the land; the land owns us.”

The introduction lays out the symbiotic relationship of both oral history and indigenous sovereignty in holding a nation together. Kelley and Francis come out swinging in chapter one by challenging the established narrative that Diné were late arrivals to the Southwest. For instance, they argue that people and cultures change through time rather than remain static. The languages and material culture of Diné studied by archeologists may not be the same as Diné of the distant past. With a combination of archeological uncertainty and Diné oral traditions, Kelley and Francis set up a convincing framework for subsequent chapters. In chapters two and three, the authors utilize oral traditions, ceremonial knowledge, and Diné verbal maps to make a convincing case for the long residence of the people in the Southwest. Most effective is the explanation about place names and their significance in past generations of Diné finding their way through these ancient markers. Chapter four requires a careful read as Kelley and Francis lay out the close ties between ancestral Pueblos and Diné. The case they make is for ethnogenesis through ceremonial cycles and the inclusion of distinct peoples (104). Chapter five covers a wide stretch of time from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century and serves as a connector from the ancient past to history recorded in documents from the Spanish, Mexican, and later U.S. governments.

Chapters six and seven cover a wide swathe of time from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century and focus on the Diné attempts to hold off settler encroachment of their traditional homelands. Chapter seven highlights the long and poignant history of federal interference in tribal affairs but also the destructive practice of relocating entire communities. Chapter eight takes on the notion that trading posts on the Navajo reservation were dominated by non-Diné. Through many examples, from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, Kelley and Francis introduce many Diné characters that opened and worked their own trading posts. Central to this chapter is the question of whether the actions of these Diné helped pave the way for future colonial intrusions into Diné life. The life stories are compelling yet their significance in answering the question posed in the chapter leaves too much room for ambiguity. Chapter nine continues the previous chapter’s focus on trading posts. The authors chart the transition of Diné as producers of goods to barter for what they need to a cash/credit economy. With this transition, the significance of trading posts declines and are replaced by the off-reservation border towns. The book concludes with two chapters that open a new and timely discussion about coal mining and climate change.

Much of this book is well-intentioned and the voices of Diné community members are present throughout this book. A point that might draw criticism from some scholars is the end of chapter three (81-83). Kelley and Francis explain that certain aspects of traditional and community knowledge are the intellectual property of the Diné and are not open to wider audiences. They couch their explanation within ethnographic refusal. This disclaimer could have come in the introduction but it demonstrates the author's responsibility to the Diné they consulted. A frustrating aspect of this monograph is the thematic grouping of the chapters. Kelley and Francis open with a detailed rebuttal of previous archeologists and strong points about the validity of Diné oral tradition in telling the early history of the people. The transition from archeology to borderlands then to local history is jarring. Though they make it clear this book was pulled together from 30 years of work, a little more fine-tuning and explanation of the connection between land and sovereignty would have greatly helped. Finally, a glossary of Diné words that are not culturally sensitive could have been added to increase accessibility. There are also some typos, usually, with the Diné words, but they are few.

A Diné History of Navajoland is a strong though imperfect monograph. Though the intended audience for this work is Diné, scholars interested in studying indigenous communities would be wise to pay heed to this book. As public intellectuals, academics have a growing responsibility to the people and communities we serve. This book represents one example of that responsibility.