History Emeritus Bob McPherson publishes new book about the Navajo culture and Monument Valley

 

 

Stories from the Land: A Navajo Reader of Monument Valley provides a traditional Navajo view of this iconic landscape and its people.  Couched in the oral tradition of the elders, the reader is invited to view their history and culture through the eyes of those born at the turn of the twentieth century before massive inroads from the dominant culture began to erode the old ways.  Each chapter follows a chronological sequence beginning with the creation of the world (specifically Monument Valley), teachings about the Anasazi, then later the Long Walk Period and incarceration at Fort Sumner.  Subsequent chapters discuss traditional life and values, trading posts and their ties to the community, the devastation of  livestock reduction, the film industry during the John Wayne/John Ford years, Anglo induced cultural change, uranium mining, and reaction to the current explosion of tourism.  All of this as seen through the eyes of the Navajo people of Monument Valley and filtered through their unique cultural perspective.  For the reader interested in authentic Navajo teachings, these people’s ties to the land, and a very different perspective of the world and how it functions, Stories from the Land offers a fascinating insight that is fast disappearing from our world.

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