Aspects of Navaho Life: An Appraisal of Two Recent Studies

Extract

In 1910 the Franciscan Fathers of St. Michaels, Arizona, published An Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho Language which presented a first-hand ethnographic account of the Navaho. In the preparation of this work, native assistants and headmen were always insistent upon choosing informants among men “who knew their stuff” and ignoring the rank and file. In addition to following these native leads, the Franciscans followed the practice of many anthropologists of those days, of presenting facts without attempting their analysis. No doubt, a knowledge of the way of life, the customs, industries, religious beliefs and social organization of the Navaho would assist the men in missionizing the tribe. The work has served and still does serve this purpose.

Anthropology, however, has made great strides since those early days. In recent years especially, there has been a marked tendency to join up with psychology in an effort to interpret anthropological facts. A recent example of this tendency is afforded by two very important studies by Clyde Kluckhohn and Dorothea Leighton. The volumes are part of a series of monographs written under the auspices of the Indian Education Research Project and “undertaken jointly by the Committee of Human Development of the University of Chicago and the United States Office of Indian Affairs” (LK, p. vii).