Bosque Redondo

Manifest Destiny served as the catalyst behind the establishment of Bosque Redondo, an Indian reservation experiment. The name Bosque Redondo had a Spanish origin which meant river-bottom forest with cottonwood trees. Approximately 200 Navajo people died on the 400 to 450 mile march from Arizona to New Mexico to live at the poorly planned and unsuccessful reservation. The Navajo and other tribal groups suffered from malnutrition, starvation, various diseases, low birth-rate and homesickness. The cost of caring for them was beyond what some governmental officials thought was reasonable. Many thought of the native people as criminals, underserving of a free home and food without consideration about why and how they arrived at Bosque Redondo. Carleton’s vision fell short of many people’s expectations.

Competing pastoral societies fought tooth and nail to hold onto their landholdings. When goats, sheep and horses were introduced to the Dine’ (formal name of the Navajo), they became pastoral people. Competent mounted Navajo warriors protected their people from interlopers, trespassing on their land, land they needed for grazing. Sheep became one of their most prized possessions. They believed sheep taught them how to live in the right way.

A prominent textile industry was carried out by the Navajo women which stemmed from the utilization of the sheep’s wool. The blankets and clothing became so valuable that their textiles were referred to as “chief’s blanket.” Only the wealthy afforded such luxuries (Denetdale, 2008).

Agriculture for the Dine’ afforded them with a web of kinship more than hunting and gathering. They grew corn, beans, and squash and mutton served as their major meat source. Harvest labor and protection of their agricultural grounds, wove a tapestry of territorial associations built from nuclear families who bonded together to achieve common goals.  “A farmer is substantially limited in the amount of land he can farm by the number of hands available to work the land,” commented Ethnologist James Downs (Bailey, 1998, page 9). The Navajo established a successful tribal community in which its tribal members were significantly self-sufficient.

Manifest Destiny, a term coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845, described the Euro-American expansion westward for what is referred to as the United States. It was only a matter of time before the white settlers began looking at the land the Navajo resided on.  Continuous battles between the white settlers, New Mexicans and various Indian tribes including the Navajo occurred on a regular basis. As a result of the constant violence, the American government sought a way to create a lasting peace. Some of the Navajo leaders signed one of the treaties ratified by the Americans on September 9, 1849. The treaties delineated that the Navajo had to return livestock stolen from American settlers, ensure safe passage across Navajo territory and permitted the U.S. government to establish forts and trading posts on Navajo land.

The establishment of forts on their land caused unrelenting warfare, especially after Colonel Edwin Sumner created Fort Defiance in the center of Dine’ territory. Navajo leaders objected to the Americans from Fort Defiance using prime grazing grounds that surrounded the fort. Manuelito demanded the use of the land for his own use. The discourse led to the last straw for the Americans and what they were willing to put up with which led to Manuelito’s defeat, capture and forced captivity at Bosque Redondo (Denetdale, 2008).

 

The situation was worsening at Fort Defiance. Livestock was reported as stolen by the Navajo while at the same time the Navajo lost their lives and their property was stolen. They were not compensated for their losses. A change in leadership occurred at the fort from John S. Simonson, who was suffering from serious health issues, to Captain Oliver L. Shepherd. Simonson believed the Indian people desired peace and was sympathetic to their needs. Shepherd did not even want to begin to understand the Indians, he viewed them as liabilities.

Shepherd continued to enforce the treaty requirements of returning stolen livestock. The Navajo only returned 19 horses and 130 sheep, which only represented a tenth of the outstanding claim. Shepherd’s plan involved delivering the returned livestock to a post in Albuquerque. The Navajos made the situation worse. A day out from the fort the Navajo stampeded and took all the livestock except 18 horses. The next morning a young warrior came near the camp carrying two government issued rifles. He was lured into the camp, questioned about the stampede and he pleaded ignorance. Given a letter to take back to the fort, he took his time doing so. Shepherd ordered the young man to be flogged which ended up destroying all confidence the Navajos had  concerning the American authorities. The Navajo people stopped visiting the fort altogether which was considered unusual behavior. The garrison felt a sense of impending doom waiting for Navajo retaliation.

Several hundred Navajos attacked the post’s cattle herd on January 17, 1860. They let the garrison fret since late October and early November of the previous year. A few oxen were killed before they ceased their killing of livestock. They focused their attention on four soldiers who were chopping wood and killed three of them. One soldier was killed when the Navajo ambushed some of the soldiers who were sawing lumber. They sought to make an impact on a larger group of soldiers so they kept Fort Defiance from their supplies. They went after trains coming from Albuquerque which were well protected by military escorts. The Navajo increased their raiding efforts along the frontier in which they ended up stealing approximately 20,000 head of livestock from the white settlements.

On April 30, 1860, approximately 1,000 Navajo warriors attacked Fort Defiance from all directions. They took over the corrals and various buildings. The American soldiers fought and took back the magazine and corrals. All companies, called to order, managed to drive the Indians to the hillside. What was realized as a result of this attack was that the Navajo could become unified and they could muster enough strength to serve as a real threat to the soldiers at Fort Defiance. The army prepared for a full-scale war (Bailey, 1998).

 

The Navajos experienced a “Fearing Time.” The Navajo territory was filled with their enemies. American troops constantly traveled the frontier, their presence was known ahead of time, which caused the Navajo to hide their herds from them. The Utes and New Mexicans presented another problem. When not at war, they traded with them which occurred for many generations. The Utes and New Mexicans knew the territory well. When at war with one another, their enemies became deadly trackers in search of supplies and slaves. The Navajo feared the Utes and New Mexicans, however, the Comanche were feared the most (Bailey, 1998).

 

The Indian Removal Act paved the way for Euro-American settlements east of the Mississippi. By the 1860s, Americans wanted to take over more and more land which included the Navajo land.  R.S. Canby pursued Navajo removal but decided to return his focus to the Civil War. He turned over Navajo removal to James Carleton in May 1861. Part of Brigadier General Carleton’s interest in the removal was fueled by his interest in the reports about gold that may have existed in various parts of the Navajo territory. He contacted a soldier located at the mines in Arizona and informed him of his desire to lead a military unit into Navajo territory. The Mescalero Apaches, who resided nearby, were going to be included in the removal. Carleton decided to secure a place near Fort Sumner even though he was told it was inhabitable. It was suggested that he move the settlement 45 miles further away which would provide more trees and better water. His peers reported that the water had a high alkaline level, the wood was scarce, and the weather was harsh.

Later on, Carleton saw problems with what he originally thought was a natural paradise. The Pecos River appeared to possibly have problems with overflowing, the surrounding land was sandy and sterile and may have a high alkaline level like the river. The ponds and springs near the river were briny and the alkalinity whitened the channels of the tributaries. The reservation, surrounded by hostile Indians, the Comanches and Kiowas, may be in the middle of a war zone. Brigadier General John Garland requested Carleton to revisit the area of Pecos Valley to determine if it would be a good site for a new fort.

The only advantage to selecting the area for Bosque Redondo and the new fort was that some of the land was up high and would not be prone to flooding. “The waters of the stream tested by the medical officer, contained ‘much unhealthy mineral matter,’ and a large part of the surrounding valley, which would be the site of the projected Indian reservations, was subject to inundation by spring floods” (Bailey, 1998, page 76).  Carleton’s superiors recommended the junction of the Agua Negra and Pecos River as the site for Fort Sumner and his reservation experiment.

 

Carleton enlisted an Indian fighter by the name of Kit Carson to push the Navajo and Mescalero Apache from their homeland and force them to travel to Bosque Redondo. The message stated “Go to Bosque Redondo, or we will pursue and destroy you. We will not make peace with you on any other terms” (Denetdale, 2008, page 40).  Carson inflicted a slash and burn attack on the Navajo and Apache. He burned their crops and hogans (homes) and killed their livestock. The Navajos surrendered. Approximately 10,000 Navajos were forced to make the long walk of 400 to 450 miles to Bosque Redondo which they referred to as H’weeldi, a place of suffering. Various groups of Navajos traveled at different times from different areas of the Navajo territory. Some of the Navajo died during the long march. Others were abducted by raiders in search of slaves.  

 

Carleton’s plans for the reservation involved the assimilation of the Mescaleros and  Navajos to American ways. The U.S. decided it was cheaper to remove native people from their homelands than to exterminate them. Carleton was known to his peers as the “Christian General” and he concluded that the best way to ensure native people’s acceptance by Americans was to indoctrinate them with moral and Christian instruction. The Indian people would argue about the Christian or humanitarian perspectives when they thought about the violence and carnages the Indian people faced when they challenged Euro-American expansionism.

The beginnings of a fort consisted of tents with six officers and 133 enlisted men. The site featured poor living conditions along with other difficult factors. A constant shortage of food existed for the native captives, hostilities existed between the Apache, Navajo and the New Mexicans coupled with the dreary weather which made for a doomed reservation.

Carlton continued to have big plans concerning transforming native people into civilized agriculturists. He felt they needed education. By April 1863, he requested the Adjutant General of the Army and the Secretary of War to have Fort Sumner converted into a chaplain post. “If this is done,” wrote Carleton, “the Bishop of Santa Fe will send a minister… who will teach the Indian children Christianity, and to read and write” (Bailey, 1998, page 83). Carleton planned on establishing a school near the post. The school was built in increments, one portion at a time, until it could adequately serve the 800 students.

Carleton ordered the quartermaster to spend $18,000.  to build storerooms to prevent outsiders from stealing their supplies and the quartermaster was ordered to build an Indian hospital. The hospital, large with many rooms, served the Navajo until they felt the hospital was no longer a safe place. They suffered from a variety of illnesses, pneumonia, dysentery, typhoid, cholera, measles, pleurisy, skin problems, rheumatism and some unknown illnesses. George Gwyther, the post’s surgeon, felt the diseases were caused by their poor living conditions. Unbearable smells came from their camps and dead animal carcasses were strewn about outside their dwellings. The Navajo said they were sick from drinking the water from the Pecos River.

“To force a group to assume traits for which they have no preexisting patterns invited disaster” (Bailey, 1998, page 152). Carleton did not give the Indian people’s preexisting cultural traditions a moment’s thought. Cultural barriers existed concerning health care. One of their tribal members died in the hospital and as a result of the death the hospital was no longer a place for them to seek medical treatment due to their cultural beliefs. The Navajo felt confused about the form of treatment they received in which the white medical doctor only spent a few minutes with them. Their medicine men would spend days with them until they felt better. The Navajo’s fear of illness and death was enhanced greatly when remedies failed. Death lurked mysteriously for them. Supernatural causation linked to the world of the dead brought up superstitious manifestations. To make matters worse, the Indian people were not given adequate clothing and blankets to protect them from the cold of the winter months which caused many of them to become sick.

Syphilis and other venereal diseases were the most problematic for the Navajo and soldiers. Since often there was such a shortage of food, the Navajo would go to great lengths to provide for their families. Girls as young as 12 or 13 would serve as prostitutes for the soldiers in exchange for food. Venereal disease surpassed malnutrition as one of the biggest health threats (Thompson, 1976).

Other cultural barriers existed when Carleton thought the Mescalero Apache and Navajos could live in harmony with one another, they were long-standing enemies before coming to the reservation. In addition to outnumbering the Apaches at the reservation, the Navajos did not let go of past grievances. Not long after they began sharing a reservation, the Apaches became the scapegoats of Navajo aggression fed by the disruption of their social and value system. Apache gardens and livestock sere raided by hungry Navajos. Navajos desecrated Apache burials, stealing toenails and fingernails of their dead enemies to make charms. A garrison of 400 soldiers stopped any bloodshed from occurring between the two Indian tribes (Bailey, 1998).

 

Carleton’s agricultural experiment failed miserably the first year and sequential years. The Indians toiled to plant thousands of acres of corn during the first summer at Bosque Redondo. The Navajo worked hard to dig irrigation ditches. Carleton felt his Indian charges were not hostile and appeared to be cooperative. The Navajo built a dam, headgates, and lengthened and widened the irrigation ditches by only using 50 spades. In less than a month they dug fifteen miles of secondary ditches and prepared plots of land for planting (Bailey, 1998). They worked hard in the fields when they received enough food to eat. If hungry, they could not work.

When it came to harvest time, they found acres of rotting corn the first year. Corn worm attacked the corn. Moths flew over the fields and deposited eggs at the top of the ripening ears of corn. Under the husk and out of sight, worms about an inch long ate the growing kernels. The worms bored their way through the husks which left a hole in which other insects finished assaulting the corn. The corn worms or otherwise known as army worms destroyed the Indians’ entire crop. The Apache planted earlier and the same thing happened to their corn crops. The following years the crops failed due to the poor soil which was high in alkaline, torrential rain and incompetent supervision. Rations, reduced to beef and flour, caused many episodes of scurvy.

Purchasing supplies from some of the New Mexican contractors proved to be costly and the goods were sometimes unfit for consumption. New Mexican officials argued that providing supplies for Bosque Redondo aided New Mexico’s economy. William H. Moore, a well-known New Mexican contractor and mining entrepreneur, sold flour with bits of slate, dried bread, and what looked like a mixture of plaster of Paris in it. Other supplies sold to the reservation were of poor quality. Their diet before they were forced to come to the Bosque consisted of beans, corn, squash, and usually mutton for their meat source in addition to what they gathered. They were unsure what to do with flour when it was first introduced to them.

The “civilizing program” suffered a major inadequacy concerning food or better described as a shortage of food. In April 1864, the Navajo prisoners received two and a half pounds of meat (usually beef) and flour every fifth day. They usually ate their rations within two days and had to go three days before they received their next rations. They were reduced to eating hides and begging. Desperation led them to send their boys to extract undigested corn out of manure which were roasted in hot ashes and eaten. Sometimes their meager rations were cut in half. The Navajo agent authorized the Navajo men to supplement their food by hunting.

Price gouging impacted the Indian people concerning necessary supplies. For example, the officers reported the price paid for blankets for the Indians was between $18.50 and $22. for a pair while the military paid $5.85 for a pair of better quality. Other supplies were also over priced as well, such as cattle. During the winter of 1864 and 1865, many Navajos were buried because of a lack of food, clothing and blankets.

 

Navajo men attacked freight trains and made off with their cargo. The Navajo ended up with 5,200 sheep and 13 horses during one attack. The U.S. army, aided by the Mescaleros, recovered most of the livestock. Even though they were the instigators regarding some of the attacks, they served as the victims as well. A report revealed the Navajo captives were attacked at the reservation by other tribal groups, which indicated they were not safe anywhere (Denetdale, 2008).

Constant raiding occurred outside of the reservation. The Navajo and Apache, who lived on the reservation, were often blamed. Apache, Comanche and Kiowa tribes attacked wagon trains carrying supplies to the Bosque. Some of the white ranchers lost their entire flocks. When renegade Apaches conducted raids near the Bosque, the Navajos assisted the military in retaliation. The Navajos overtook the Apaches during one circumstance and captured the 4,000 sheep they were herding. On returning to the Bosque, the Navajos were attacked and the Apache took back the sheep. Hostilities ran rampant between the Navajos and other tribal groups (Thompson, 1976).

By January 1865, Comanche raids on Bosque Redondo increased exponentially. Carleton warned commanders at Forts Bascom and Sumner to be on watch for raiding parties. Herdsmen were alerted to move their livestock to the west side of the Pecos. By the spring of the same year Comanche raids were a weekly occurrence. The Plains Indians killed some of the first Navajos when they were out seeking fire wood. After the incident, the army warned the Navajo to not leave the safety of Fort Sumner (Bailey, 1998).

 

Metal working knowledge was elementary before their Bosque experience. Forging iron was fueled by charcoal. Their resources, limited to scavenged from any metals they could muster, consisted of mostly nails and horses’ shoes. They made lance heads, arrow points and knives. If afforded more metal, they would expand to bracelets, armulets and other decorative ornaments. They experimented with silversmithing to a small degree, the metal was extremely scarce. Navajo blacksmithing gained a large boost at Bosque Redondo by 1864 as the result of the large blacksmith shop available to them at Fort Sumner. They used forges and a multiple group of every metal working tool that existed during that time period. The Navajo constructed a variety of metal objects: hammers, tongs, punches, dies, files, anvils and rollers, an entire military tool box. Carleton invited the Navajo to run the blacksmith shop in which they became familiar with working with other metals such as copper and brass. They became proficient with silversmithing. Melting and casting of metal were skills they picked up at the fort. These abilities continued to be practiced for many generations (Bailey, 1998).

 

The Navajo and Mescaleros had to build their own homes which involved digging holes in the ground, logs and branches were laid across the holes and placed on top of the logs and branches were piles of dirt. The soldiers stayed in adobe structures. To make matters worse, the Indian people would have to walk as far as 25 miles to find enough wood to heat their homes and cook their food. 

 

The Navajo textile industry took a serious hit during the mid-nineteenth century. The New Mexicans focused on abducting Navajo women and children who ended up serving as slaves in New Mexican households. While in these households they continued to weave textiles referred to as “slave blankets.” When they were taken to the Bosque or what they referred to as Hweeldi, they had to improvise by using red bayeta cloth which was part of the annuities distribution given to them by the U.S. government. The fabric was unraveled and spun again. Sheep were scarce. The patterns used during their captivity served as a haunting memory of their time at the Bosque. Weaving has been a continued art for the Navajo (Denetdale, 2008).

 

Another problem at the reservation was the high level of runaways. The Navajo voiced their opinion about their homesickness and that they wanted to return to their homeland.  Michael Steck, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for New Mexico, confronted Carleton on several occasions about the cost of feeding and caring for the Indian people at the reservation and told Carleton he felt they should be sent back to their homeland. At the same time, non-Indian settlers viewed the land the reservation was located and Carleton’s Indian policy which contradicted their desire to own the land. Steck pointed out that a tribe as large as the Navajos was daunting to remove and the removal has immense financial costs for the government.

During one of his visits he reported the Navajos were being fed at a rate of at least $50,000.  monthly and if the numbers increased the military needs of the country would be neglected. Carleton believed the Navajo numbered at approximately 8,000 and he felt the army at Fort Sumner could manage. Steck noted that the food rations amounted to a pound of breadstuff per day for every person no matter the age. The Navajo appeared malnourished and deaths due to malnutrition among infants and children happened on a regular basis.

 

With termination of the Civil War, attention was placed on problems faced by other military operations. The maltreatment of the Indian population was being examined. In Washington D.C. there was a growing belief that many of the Indian wars were provoked by “aggressions of lawless white men” (Bailey, 1998, page 179). Disease was considered another factor associated with the death rate of the Indian people. Governmental officials and irresponsible people viewed as the possible culprits.

A Joint Special Committee met on March 3, 1865, which was composed of both houses of Congress, inquired into the unsavory conditions faced by the Native Americans. The multitude of factors associated with the failure of the Bosque Redondo Reservation were closely examined. Officials of the Indian Department, military officers, the clergy, business and political leaders met and came to the conclusion that the war of attrition between the New Mexicans and Navajo was attributed to the latter’s desire for land. The removal of the Navajo and the establishment of the reservation was inevitable. A determination was made that the removal of the Navajo resembled that of a cattle drive and was harsh but necessary from a tactical standpoint. However, the choice of location for the reservation was ill-fated.

The situation concerning the Navajo was out of Carleton’s hands. His career as the commander of the Department of New Mexico quickly approaching an end while the New Mexican politicians campaigned for his removal. He did not feel he was a failure. He prided himself as benefitting New Mexico from his Indian policy as he was ousted by a group of volunteers on April 30, 1866.

By the fall of 1866, President Grant voiced his opinion that the army should handle military problems instead of supervising Indians. Navajo affairs was switched to the Office of Indian Affairs of the Interior Department. The U.S. Government, unsure where to put the Indians, feared if they were placed back in the homelands of northern Arizona, they would clash with white settlers including stockmen and prospectors. Thoughts of placing them in Indian territory west of Arkansas played on the minds of the government officials, getting them out the way of white settlements.

    President Grant signed Special Orders Number 651 on December 31, 1866 which directed the commander of the Department of the Missouri, General Winfield Scott Hancock, to give “immediate orders to turn over the control of the Navajo Indians… to such agents of the Indian Department as may be… designated to receive and take charge of them” (Bailey, 1998, page 187). Another order followed shortly relieving the military of the responsibility of managing the Indians’ affairs. A. Baldwin Norton, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and the Navajo Agent Theodore Dodd could not take over their given charge of 7,000 Navajos until a decision was made to either feed them or turn them loose (Bailey, 1998).

A multitude of skirmishes occurred between the Navajos and the military. The Navajo had reached their limit on what they were going to tolerate. The army held several meetings with the Navajo leaders. The Navajo voiced their concerns about the failure of the crops, and their enemies who surrounded the reservation. The Comanche told them the Pecos River was theirs along with the land in which the reservation was located along with the grazing land for their sheep. Where they had to trek for wood was considered Comanche country. The Comanche stole their livestock on a regular basis. They complained about the constant shortage of food. The Navajo leaders reiterated their overall dissatisfaction concerning the reservation and wanted to return to their homelands.

Final determination of the U.S. Government involved the Navajos being given 3.5 million acres of land to reside which was a small portion of the original land base of 23 million acres. The settlement would involve a cash settlement and they would be given sheep, goats, and cattle. A treaty delineating the settlement was put into place between the U.S. Government and the Navajo and finalized on August 12. 1868. The Navajo was the only tribe who returned to their homeland after removal and the U.S. Government made a provision for them to do so in the form of the aforementioned treaty.

           

The concept Manifest Destiny reared its ugly head again when white people wanted the Navajos’ land. The negative experience of the Bosque Redondo experiment left a long-lasting damaging mark on their historical memories for many generations. A well laid out plan subdued them into submission and led them in a long march to a reservation set up to change their social and economic structure. The tribe’s resources destroyed, which included their livestock, granaries, corrals, hogans, and fields of agricultural product, led them down a path of despair and an extreme sense of loss. A group of self-sustaining, economically successful people reduced to a depressed, frustrated and angry group who suffered from malnutrition, diseases and homesickness. The Bosque Redondo experiment served as one of the unsuccessful reservation projects for Native Americans. Reservations ended up being one of the long-lasting ways of handling the “Indian Problem.”

 

 

 

 

TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE NAVAJO TRIBE OF INDIANS CONCLUDED JUNE 1, 1868. RATIFICATION ADVISED JULY 25, 1868. PROCLAIMED AUGUST 12, 1868.       ANDREW JOHNSON PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO ALL AND SINGULAR TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING: Whereas a Treaty was made and concluded at Fort Sumner, in the Territory of New Mexico, on the first day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, by and between Lieutenant General W. T. Sherman and Samuel F. Tappan, Commissioners, on the part of the United States, and Barboncito, Armijo, and other Chiefs and Headmen of the Navajo tribe of Indians, on the part of said Indians, and duly authorized thereto by them, which Treaty is in the words and figures following, to wit:    Articles of a Treaty and Agreement made and entered into at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on the first day of June, 1868, by and between the United States, represented by its Commissioners, Lieutenant General W. T. Sherman and Colonel Samuel F. Tappan, of the one part, and the Navajo nation or tribe of Indians, represented by their Chiefs and Headmen, duly authorized and empowered to act for the whole people of said nation or tribe, (the names of said Chiefs and Headmen being hereto subscribed,) of the other part, witness: ARTICLE I. From this day forward all war between the parties to this agreement shall forever cease. The government of the United States desires peace, and its honor is hereby pledged to keep it. The Indians desire peace, and they now pledge their honor to keep it. If bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States, shall commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians, the United States will, upon proof made to the agent and forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington city, proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also to reimburse the injured persons for the loss sustained. If bad men among the Indians shall commit a wrong or depredation upon the person or property of any one, white, black, or Indian, subject to the authority of the United States and at peace therewith, the Navajo tribe agree that they will, on proof made to their agent, and on notice by him, deliver up the wrongdoer to the United States, to be tried and punished according to its laws; and in case they wilfully refuse so to do, the person injured shall be reimbursed for his loss from the annuities or other moneys due or to become due them under this treaty, or any others that may be made with the United States. And the President may prescribe such rules and regulations for ascertaining damages under this article as in his judgment may be proper; but no such damage shall be adjusted and paid until examined and passed upon by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and no one sustaining loss whilst violating, or because of his violating, the provisions of this treaty or the laws of the United States shall be reimbursed therefor.

 

ARTICLE II. The United States agrees that the following district of country, to wit: bounded on the north by the 37th degree of north latitude, south by an east and west line passing through the site of old Fort Defiance, in Canon Bonito, east by the parallel of longitude which, if prolonged south, would pass through old Fort Lyon, or the Ojo-de-oso, Bear Spring, and west by a parallel of longitude about 109' 30' west of Greenwicb, provided it embraces the outlet of the Canon-de-Chilly, which canon is to be all included in this reservation, shall be, and the same is hereby, set apart for the use and occupation of the Navajo tribe of Indians, and for such other friendly tribes or individual Indians as from time to time they may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit among them; and the United States agrees that no persons except those herein so authorized to do, and except such officers, soldiers, agents, and employes of the government, or of the Indians, as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties imposed by law, or the orders of the President, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in, the territory described in this article.

 

ARTICLE III. The United States agrees to cause to be built at some point within said reservation, where timber and water may be convenient, the following buildings: a warehouse, to cost not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars; an agency building for the residence of the agent, not to cost exceeding three thousand dollars; a carpenter shop and blacksmith shop, not to cost exceeding one thousand dollars each; and a school-house and chapel, so soon as a sufficient number of children can be induced to attend school, which shall not cost to exceed five thousand dollars.

 

ARTICLE IV. The United States agrees that the agent for the Navajos shall make his home at the agency building; that he shall reside among them and shall keep an office open at all times for the purpose of prompt and diligent inquiry into such matters of complaint by or against the Indians as may be presented for investigation, as also for the faithful discharge of other duties enjoined by law. In all cases of depredation on person or property he shall cause the evidence to be taken in writing and forwarded, together with his finding, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, whose decision shall be binding on the parties to this treaty.

 

ARTICLE V. If any individual belonging to said tribe, or legally incorporated with it, being the head of a family, shall desire to commence farming, he shall have the privilege to select, in the presence and with the assistance of the agent then in charge, a tract of land within said reservation, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in extent, which tract, when so selected, certified, and recorded in the "land book" as herein described, shall cease to be held in common, but the same may be occupied and held in the exclusive possession of the person selecting it, and of his family, so long as he or they may continue to cultivate it. Any person over eighteen years of age, not being the head of the family, may in like manner select, and cause to be certified to him or her for purposes of cultivation, a quantity of land, not exceeding eighty acres in extent, and thereupon be entitled to the exclusive possession of the same as above directed. For each tract of land so selected a certificate containing a description thereof, and the name of the person selecting it, with a certificate endorsed thereon that the same has been recorded, shall be delivered to the party entitled to it by the agent, after the same shall have been recorded by him in a book to be kept in his office, subject to inspection which said book shall be known as the "Navajo Land Book." The President may at any time order a survey of the reservation, and, when so surveyed, Congress shall provide for protecting the rights of said settlers in their improvements, and may fix the character of the title held by each. The United States may pass such laws on the subject of alienation and descent of property between the Indians and their descendants as may be thought proper.

 

ARTICLE VI. In order to insure the civilization of the Indians entering into this treaty, the necessity of education is admitted, especially of such of them as may be settled on said agricultural parts of this reservation, and they therefore pledge themselves to compel their children, male and female, between the ages of six and sixteen years, to attend school; and it is hereby made the duty of the agent for said Indians to see that this stipulation is strictly complied with; and the United States agrees that, for every thirty children between said ages who can be induced or compelled to attend school, a house shall be provided, and a teacher competent to teach the elementary branches of an English education shall be furnished, who will reside among said Indians, and faithfully discharge his or her duties as a teacher. The provisions of this article to continue for not less than ten years.

 

ARTICLE VII. When the head of a family shall have selected lands and received his certificate as above directed, and the agent shall be satisfied that he intends in good faith to commence cultivating the soil for a living, he shall be entitled to receive seeds and agricultural implements for the first year, not exceeding in value one hundred dollars, and for each succeeding year he shall continue to farm, for a period of two years, he shall be entitled to receive seeds and implements to the value of twenty-five dollars.

 

ARTICLE VIII. In lieu of all sums of money or other annuities provided to be paid to the Indians herein named under any treaty or treaties heretofore made, the United States agrees to deliver at the agency house on the reservation herein named, on the first day of September of each year for ten years, the following articles, to wit: Such articles of clothing, goods, or raw materials in lieu thereof, as the agent may make his estimate for, not exceeding in value five dollars per Indian-each Indian being encouraged to manufacture their own clothing, blankets, etc.; to be furnished with no article which they can manufacture themselves. And, in order that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs may be able to estimate properly for the articles herein named, it shall be the duty of the agent each year to forward to him a full and exact census of the Indians, on which the estimate from year to year can be based.  And in addition to the articles herein named, the sum of ten dollars for each person entitled to the beneficial effects of this treaty shall be annually appropriated for a period of ten years, for each person who engages in farming or mechanical pursuits, to be used by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the purchase of such articles as from time to time the condition and necessities of the Indians may indicate to be proper; and if within the ten years at any time it shall appear that the amount of money needed for clothing, under the article, can be appropriated to better uses for the Indians named herein, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs may change the appropriation to other purposes, but in no event shall the amount of this appropriation be withdrawn or discontinued for the period named, provided they remain at peace. And the President shall annually detail an officer of the army to be present and attest the delivery of all the goods herein named to the Indians, and he shall inspect and report on the quantity and quality of the goods and the manner of their delivery.

 

ARTICLE IX. In consideration of the advantages and benefits conferred by this treaty, and the many pledges of friendship by the United States, the tribes who are parties to this agreement hereby stipulate that they will relinquish all right to occupy any territory outside their reservation, as herein defined, but retain the right to hunt on any unoccupied lands contiguous to their reservation, so long as the large game may range thereon in such numbers as to justify the chase; and they, the said Indians, further expressly agree: 1st. That they will make no opposition to the construction of railroads now being built or hereafter to be built, across the continent. 2nd. That they will not interfere with the peaceful construction of any railroad not passing over their reservation as herein defined. 3rd. That they will not attack any persons at home or travelling, nor molest or disturb any wagon trains, coaches, mules or cattle belonging to the people of the United States, or to persons friendly therewith. 4th. That they will never capture or carry off from the settlements women or children. 5th. They will never kill or scalp white men, nor attempt to do them harm. 6th. They will not in future oppose the construction of railroads, wagon roads, mail stations, or other works of utility or necessity which may be ordered or permitted by the laws of the United States; but should such roads or other works be constructed on the lands of their reservation, the government will pay the tribe whatever amount of damage may be assessed by three disinterested commissioners to be appointed by the President for that purpose, one of said commissioners to be a chief or head man of the tribe. 7th. They will make no opposition to the military posts or roads now established, or that may be established, not in violation of treaties heretofore made or hereafter to be made with any of the Indian tribes.

 

ARTICLE X. No future treaty for the cession of any portion or part of the reservation herein described, which may be held in common, shall be of any validity or force against said Indians unless agreed to and executed by at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians occupying or interested in the same; and no cession by the tribe shall be understood or construed in such manner as to deprive, without his consent, any individual member of the tribe of his rights to any tract of land selected by him as provided in article 5 of this treaty.

 

ARTICLE XI. The Navajos also hereby agree that at any time after the signing of these presents they will proceed in such manner as may be required of them by the agent, or by the officer charged with their removal, to the reservation herein provided for, the United States paying for their subsistence en route, and providing a reasonable amount of transportation for the sick and feeble.

 

ARTICLE XII. It is further agreed by and between the parties to this agreement that the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars appropriated or to be appropriated shall be disbursed as follows, subject to any conditions provided in the law, to wit: lst. The actual cost of the removal of the tribe from the Bosque Redondo reservation to the reservation, say fifty thousand dollars. 2nd. The purchase of fifteen thousand sheep and goats, at a cost not to exceed thirty thousand dollars. 3rd. The purchase of five hundred beef cattle and a million pounds of corn, to be collected and held at the military post nearest the reservation, subject to the orders of the agent, for the relief of the needy during the coming winter. 4th. The balance, if any, of the appropriation to be invested for the maintenance of the Indians pending their removal, in such manner as the agent who is with them may determine. 5th. The removal of this tribe to be made under the supreme control and direction of the military commander of the Territory of New Mexico, and when completed, the management of the tribe to revert to the proper agent.

 

ARTICLE XIII. The tribe herein named, by their representatives, parties to this treaty, agree to make the reservation herein described their permanent home, and they will not as a tribe make any permanent settlement elsewhere, reserving the right to hunt on the lands adjoining the said reservation formerly called theirs, subject to the modifications named in this treaty and the orders of the commander of the department in which said reservation may be for the time being; and it is further agreed and understood by the parties to this treaty, that if any Navajo Indian or Indians shall leave the reservation herein described to settle elsewhere, he or they shall forfeit all the rights, privileges, and annuities conferred by the terms of this treaty; and it is further agreed by the parties to this treaty, that they will do all they can to induce Indians now away from reservations set apart for the exclusive use and occupation of the Indians, leading a nomadic life, or engaged in war against the people of the United States, to abandon such a life and settle permanently in one of the territorial reservations set apart for the exclusive use and occupation of the Indians.

 

In testimony of all which the said parties have hereunto, on this the first day of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, at Fort Sumner, in the Territory of New Mexico, set their hands and seals.

W. T. SHERMAN Lt. Gen'l, Indian Peace Commissioner. S. F. TAPPAN, Indian Peace Commissioner. BARBONCITO, Chief. his x mark. ARMIJO. his x mark. DELGADO. MANUELITO. his x mark. LARGO. his x mark. HERRERO. his x mark. CHIQUETO. his x mark. MUERTO DE HOMBRE. his x mark. HOMBRO. his x mark. NARBONO. his x mark. NARBONO SEGUNDO. his x mark. GANADO MUCHO. his x mark.               COUNCIL.  RIQUO. his x mark. JUAN MARTIN. his x mark. SERGINTO. his x mark. GRANDE. his x mark. INOETENITO. his x mark. MUCHACHOS MUCHO. his x mark. CHIQUETO SEGUNDO. his x mark. CABELLO AMARILLO. his x mark. FRANCISCO. his x mark. TORIVIO. his x mark. DESDENDADO. his x mark. JUAN. his x mark. GUERO. his x mark. GUGADORE. his x mark. CABASON. his x mark. BARBON SEGUNDO. his x mark. CABARES COLORADOS. his x mark.

 

Attest:    Geo. W. G. Getty,         Col. 37th Inf'y, Bt. Maj. Gen't U. S. A.    B. S. Roberts,         Bt. Brg. Gen't U. S. A., Lt. Col. 3rd Cav'y.    J. Cooper Mckee,         Bt. Lt. Col. Surgeon U. S. A.    Theo. H. Dodd,         U. S. Indian Ag't for Navajos.    Chas. McClure,         Bt. Maj. and C. S. U. S. A.    James F. Weeds,         Bt. Maj. and Asst. Surg. U. S. A.    J. C. Sutherland,         Interpreter.    William Vaux,         Chaplain U. S. A.

 

Source: http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1851-1875/navajo-treaty-of-1868.php