BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

[Music] This land is my home. The reservation of the Navajos, America's largest Indian tribe. It is in northeastern Arizona, extending slightly into Utah and New Mexico. This is a vast area, as large as four eastern states. [Music] In the last h 100red years, as we have tended the flocks which make our livelihood, the Navajo population has grown from 8,000 to more than 80,000 here on our reservation. As we are forced to turn more and more from sheep raising to new and strange ways of living, our people are caught between two conflicting worlds. Most of our 15 million acres are too barren to raise enough sheep for an increasing population. Some of the reservation is mountainous and forested, good mainly for timber. Only four acres in a thousand have enough moisture for crops. In many parts of our land, the old ways have not yet changed. Life centers about the isolated hogan and the enlarged family circle which means much in our lives. [Music] Our food is simple since the land grows few crops. From the sheep comes our meat. We cook our bread in mutton fat. Most of our simple needs are obtained at the trading post where we barter rugs and wool and sheep skkins for flour and coffee. and cloth. Sometimes to buy these things we pawn our jewelry which is our means of credit but we always try to redeem it. Water hauled from distant wells is scarce and precious. We live close to our mother, the earth, and our father, the sky. Nature plays a large part in our lives for we see her in every mood. Winter brings snow and cold. Our reservation is more than a mile high. In many places, temperatures drop far below zero. During the spring, winds and sandstorms sweep our land. in summer. The rains come all at once. Valuable top soil is washed away. Roads are flooded and bridges destroyed. Students being taken to schools off the reservation face long delays. Many of our people buy trucks on bad roads. These are less dependable than the horse. But roads are hard, even on the buck boards. [Music] Bad roads, barren land, and great distances have formed the warp and woof of our lives. They have been the pattern of our ancient Navajo way symbolized by the horizontal threads which give design and color to our woven rugs. [Music] The stark vertical threads still without pattern which symbolize our new and unfamiliar world are oil and natural gas and uranium. These things are turning the eyes of many people toward our land. Large plants have been built at the edges of the reservation. For uranium and gas and oil rights, the white man pays royalties to our tribal council and the money is used to help our people. Navajos make good workers in the new industries which provide much needed jobs for our men close to home so that the family circle is not broken. But the backgrounds of our people are of a different world. Changes are good, provided they do not come too fast before we can adjust to the strange new ways of a strange new life. Education is by far the most important thread in the new pattern of Navajo living. In the past, because of bad roads and isolation, there have been few schools. Children's report cards often are signed by thumbrint. Many adult Navajos cannot read or write or speak English. But the United States government in the last few years has built many new elementary boarding schools which go to the sixth grade. As a new term starts at Shiprock boarding school, our conflicting worlds are clearly shown. Parents bringing their children to school say goodbye to them for nine months. For the parents, there is a return to the life of the hogan, the ancient way of our people. For the children, there are nine months away from the vital family circle as they learn new ideas which their elders will not understand. In contrast to the boarding schools, the government has established experimental trailer schools about the reservation, testing permanent locations and educating some children close to home. Each morning as the youngsters ride into their trailer school from the surroundings of their hogans, they are making the change from an old to a new world. The story of Robert reveals this most clearly of all as he leaves his hogan in his checkered green shirt to ride with an uncle to school. Robert did not start the term with the others. He had never attended classes of any kind until this day. Lonesome and frightened, his mind swam with the thoughts of his life back home. Robert's world had always been that of a little herder as he helped care for the family sheep while living in the ancient way of his people. [Music] But here at school, a new world was opening. He had never seen so many buildings. The teacher and his family were from a land called Back East. One building had an engine which made something exciting to Robert, electricity. In the lavatory trailer, he could get water just by turning a handle, even hot water, even enough to waste a little. He learned the rules of health and how to use a flush toilet. To Robert's surprise, before classes, food was served. This was milk. Not goat's milk, but cow's milk. And just as cold as though it were winter. The favorite pet lamb was fed from a bottle. The children knew it was happy because lambs smile with their tails. [Music] At the morning flag raising, Robert saw his first American flag. He liked its shining brightness. The teacher told of strange things about a city called Washington and about a president. Robert liked the charts, for he could not speak English yet. As the new meal was served, the children were taught to give thanks and to use knives and forks, then vitamins. The school cook said they were good, but the youngsters did not think they had any taste at all. After recess came singing. The boys and girls loved the song America. Land where my father's died. Land of the pilgrims bright. Just before the school day ended, there was a visitor, a member of the famous Navajo tribal council elected by our people, which helps to govern the tribe. He gave a talk in Navajo telling more about the changes on our reservation, which the boys and girls must grow up to face. Within an hour after school was out for the day, Robert was back midst ancient ways and surroundings. [Music] The contrast even between a trailer school and the life of the hogan shows how different are the two worlds of the Navajo. For many, the adjustment will not be easy. The best of the new ways should be adopted. The finest of the old ways, including love of family, should be preserved. More than anything else, what is needed is understanding by others that there are two conflicting worlds within our reservation today and that the adjustment between them must not be forced too fast. Given this understanding, the Navajos, as they face the future, can contribute permanently to the richness of America. As Navajo children while studying about a new and strange world sing the song America, it is easy to imagine the pictures in their minds that reveal the greatness of a Navajo's America. My native country the And now a postcript and forecast. Each year brings important changes to the Navajos. Power lines cross many areas. Some Navajos now have lights and television, subtle agents of change. In many places where electricity is at hand, coin operated make washing easier. Occasional new markets provide lower prices than the familiar trading post. An official Navajo newspaper is published. There are a few factories, some Navajo owned, providing much needed employment. Population is increasing at three times the national rate with a probability of 200,000 Navajos in the 1980s. But this will still be an average of only one person for every 72 acres on the Navajo land. The traditional Hogan will be used for years to come, although small contemporary houses are supplementing them more and more. In some areas, modern housing projects are developing. Tiny crossroads are growing into settlements, and settlements are expanding into communities. In this land of great distances, back roads are still often impassible in bad weather. But in many areas, pavements are replacing them. Interstate highways are bringing in outside influences which accelerate the changes. By the 1980s, most major roads will be paved. Water precious as gold is still scarce, but in a few places it is becoming more available. Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River has created Lake Powell on the reservation's northern boundary. Rainbow natural bridge, once remote, is now easily reached by boat. And Navajo tribal council is developing scenic and other natural resources through careful planning. The tribe has its own government, administrative offices, judicial branch, and police force. More and more it is being called the Navajo Nation. Strip mining for coal reveals the two distinct worlds between which the Navajos are caught. The Navajos call themselves da people of the earth. Care and reverence for the earth are part of their total livelihood. Yet strip mining scars the land. Power plants on the reservation cause pollution. The slooing of coal to distant power plants off the reservation depletes the deep reserves of water so important to the Navajo future. Some of the most significant changes continue to occur in the field of education. The trailer schools have been replaced by permanent public schools under state, federal, or local community supervision. Rough Rock Demonstration School conducted by the Navajos is attracting worldwide attention. Also under tribal authority, Navajo Community College is the first college on any Indian reservation. Basic subjects are taught here, but a great thrust of this college is to preserve the true values and heritage of the Navajo people. As they adjust to the changes which are invading their world. [Applause]