Navajo Long Walk

Abenaki Joseph Bruchac and Navajo Shonto Begay combine their talents to tell the tragic story of how, in the 1860s, U.S. soldiers forced thousands of Navajos to march to a desolate reservation 400 miles from their homeland in an effort to “civilize” them. Hundreds died along the way; those who survived found unspeakable living conditions at their destination. When word of the Indians’s plight finally gained public attention, President Andrew Johnson sent a Peace Commission to investigate. The resulting treaty allowed the Navajos to return to their homeland, and ho’zho—harmony—was restored. The Navajos prospered and have lived in peace with the U.S. government ever since while preserving their own proud culture.


Genre: Children's Fiction