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Navajo Word of the Day: "Navajo Treaty"

2,423 views · Published 2 June 2012 · 3:44 · Indexed 29 October 2026

Channel: daybreakwarrior · 2012 · People & Blogs

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Today is "Navajo Treaty Day" on the Navajo reservation. On this day in June 1 of 1868, the Navajo Nation signed a treaty with the U.S. government that established the Navajo reservation. Before this time, the Navajos were forced away from their homes from 1864 to 1868 in the Four Corners area of the US and relocated to a new area in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, also called Bosque Redondo. In Navajo, we call this area "Hwéeldi," which is the Navajo rendering of the word "fuérte" for fort in Spanish. This relocation time period of the Navajos from their homelands to Fort Sumner is called "The Long Walk."

On June 1, 1868, the Navajo Nation signed a treaty that allowed the Navajos to return to their homeland. The treaty is called "Naaltsoos Sání," which literally means "Ancient Papers," in English. This is our Navajo Word of the Day, "Naaltsoos Sání," or "Navajo Treaty." The breakdown:

Naaltsoos: paper(s) or book
Sání: old or ancient one(s)

This is not the proper term for a "treaty," but "Naaltsoos Sání" is a specific Navajo name for the "Navajo Treaty." For other legal terminology, you can follow the link:

http://www.navajocourts.org/indexglossary.htm

The above link will lead you to the Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation's website that has an English/Navajo Glossary of Legal Terms available for free online! :-) I like free!

I conclude the video with a song, just a reminder that as a people, we have been able to retain our language and culture... which I thank God in heaven for! Also, I share in conclusion how to use this phrase in a sentence. You can use this in a sentence by saying, "Díí jí̜ Naaltsoos Sání hadilyaa há̜a̜dá̜á̜' bééhániih," which means, "Today we remember the signing of the Navajo Treaty." The breakdown:

Díí jí̜: today
Naaltsoos Sání: the Navajo Treaty
Hadilyaa: it was established
Há̜a̜dá̜á̜': back then or back at that time
Bééhániih: it is remembered

Have a nice day & "Happy Treaty Day!" :-D By the way, the general responsible for the generation of the treaty was William Tecumseh Sherman, the same general that is famous for his destruction of the south in the American Civil War!

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