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/lp/university-of-nebraska-press/navajo-pawn-a-misunderstood-traditional-trading-practice-gxP5H1ws6g
- Publisher
- University of Nebraska Press
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2008 The University of Nebraska Press.
- ISSN
- 1534-1828
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
Navajo Pawn A Misunderstood Traditional Trading Practice william s. kiser Navajo trading has been a crucial component of that tribe's localized economy for generations and has been the subject of much scholarship over the years. The role of the Navajo trader in influencing the types and styles of crafts that Navajos created as well as providing tribal members with an outlet for those items remains important to their traditional culture. However, a subsidiary component of trading, known as Navajo pawn, also comprises an important element of their craft-based economy and has been analyzed in less detail. Despite the contentious nature of pawn as it exists among the Navajos, it remains vital and has withstood the test of innumerable lawsuits and legislative maneuverings. This work examines the controversial role of pawn in the Navajo economy with an emphasis on legal and regulatory issues surrounding on- and off-reservation pawning practices. Navajo trading posts originated in the mid-nineteenth century, tracing their roots to 1868, when the tribe returned to its homelands from a devastating five-year captivity at the Bosque Redondo reservation in southeastern New Mexico. Beginning in the early 1870s, European American settlers slowly filtered into the Navajo realm and built
Journal
The American Indian Quarterly – University of Nebraska Press
Published: Mar 28, 2012