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Show THE NAVAJOS W E S H A L L R E M A I N : U TA H I N D I A N C U R R I C U L U M G U I D E 45 TEACHER BACKGROUND In the winter of 1863/1864, after their crops, livestock, and homes had been destroyed by the United States Army under Christopher "Kit" Carson, over 8,000 Navajos were forced to walk twelve-to-fifteen miles a day- with little food and little or no protection from the winter weather-from their ancestral homelands to the remote and desolate Bosque Redondo Reservation. The memory of the Long Walk has haunted generations of Navajos, and the story of the Long Walk is important to the history of Utah's Navajos. Some Navajos were able to escape the army and moved into what is now southeastern Utah. Their continued presence in this area eventually led the government to add additional lands in Utah to the Navajo Reservation. THE LONG WALK AND THE ESCAPE TO UTAH Objecti ve The student will be able to examine United States Indian policy by understanding the events surrounding the Long Walk. They also will be able to understand how the Long Walk and the escape to Utah serve as examples of Navajo determination and persistence. Student Materials Federal Indian Policy Vocabulary Grey Eyes Remembers the Long Walk "The Carson Expedition-Depredations of the Navajoes" "Kit Carson's Expedition against the Indians" "The Navajoes" Time Frame - versatile Two standard class periods with homework One block period with homework Three standard class periods Teacher Materials At a Glance: The Long Walk and the Escape to Utah Navajo Interactive Map (available online at www.UtahIndians.org) We Shall Remain: The Navajo (chapter 2, 5:57-9:02) Procedure Using the Navajo Interactive Map, the information from At a Glance, and/or a clip from We Shall Remain: The Navajo, introduce students to the story of the Long Walk. Ask the students to think about what it would have taken to survive such an experience, whether they had been among those who were forced to Bosque Redondo or whether they were part of the group that escaped north. Ask the students to consider how these experiences might have affected the future of the Navajo. Give the students the Federal Indian Policy Vocabulary worksheet and tell them to study the vocabulary. |