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Show IX. HWEELDI DOO AHA'DEET'4: THE LONG WALK AND PEACE A Reservation for the Navajos When the Civil War took soldiers away from New Mexico, the Navajos welcomed freedom from the United States Army. Raiding quickly returned. Whites and Indians once again stole each other's women and children, and their cattle, sheep, and horses for revenge and profit. Poor whites and poor Indians alike hoped to build fortunes on slaves and stolen livestock. Whites wanted Navajoland. They hoped to profit from mining and grazing. Arizona Territory became a major mining region. The livestock industry was growing in New Mexico. As the Americans entered old Navajoland, tension grew. The New Mexican settlers, who often suffered more than the Navajos, lost their patience after a few years of raiding. Soon the New Mexicans demanded war with the Navajos. The raiding in New Mexico also interfered with the government's plans during the Civil War. Navajo raids threatened Union shipments of gold from California and plans for a railroad through the Southwest. The North defeated the South at the battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico in March 1862. After the Rebel threat in the Southwest was put down, General Canby began planning to remove all of the Navajos to a reservation away from the American settlers. Soon the United States government sent Canby east. That left the Navajo problem to Brigadier General James Carleton. The general had seen reservations in California, and he liked Canby's plan. Critics would later accuse Carleton of selfish motives, but his goals were probably sincere. Moving the Navajos to a reserve would, he thought, protect them from the New Mexicans. It would "civilize" the Indians by teaching them Christianity. If at the same time it would also solve the problem of raids, open the country for mining and grazing, and clear the way for a railroad, that was so much the better. And Carleton might also make a number of his friends very rich. 125 |