The Long Walk of the Navajo People – Sun Lakes

The Long Walk of the Navajo People, 1864-1868

In 1864, Navajo people were forced to walk over 450 miles to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico.  Imprisoned on a 40-square mile reservation for four long years the people suffered from hunger, loneliness, illnesses, and severe environmental conditions. On June 1, 1868, U. S. officials and Navajo leaders reached an agreement, allowing the Navajos to return to a portion of their original lands located in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. The Long Walk has been collected in historical literature by non-Navajo authors.  Absent from the literature is the Navajo perspective.  The audience will hear the Navajo elders’ version of the Long Walk in this presentation.