Some additional comments about the article I would like to mention.
The government was still trying to "assimilate" the Indigenous people in the 1940's, but after 100 years, why did they think it was still possible?
And I wondered why the government didn't add land to the reservation, instead of taking away cattle.
It seemed to me that these communities and labor colonies that the BIA wanted employers to establish would be just like smaller reservations, just in a different place.
In regards to the poor housing conditions on the mining camps, I wondered why if they wanted the Navajos to assimilate and stay in these communities, why didn't they provide them housing equal to that of the Anglo workers? Not that it would have made a difference with the strong ties the Navajo had to the reservation (after all, don't we all go home to familiar places and have strong ties to a place)but it would have given them a better view of Anglo life.
I just wanted to emphasize that wage work allowed them to maintain and preserve their life on the reservations and preserve their culture, instead of assimilating to the white world. The Navajos were in control of their lives and economic status, much like earlier Indigenous Peoples in trading with French and British. They made the wage work for them without changing their identity.
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2 comments:
Did the article say anything about the reasoning for the bad housing being because the mine owners figured on the Navajo leaving anyway. If they're not going to be there, why spend the money on them?
No, the mining companies didn't provide bad housing because of the Navajo's absenteeism or constant return to the reservation. The housing in the mining companies was better than that of agricultural employers where Navajos were lucky to get a tent to sleep under and a stove to cook with. The mining companies did it because they could get away with it. Mining companies needed steady employers, and even offered incentives for Navajos and their families to move and settle near mining camps, includiing building more housing, depending on the employer. Rico, Co was just an example of bad housing. The bad housing was just another reason for them not to stay because it was a form of discrimination.
But it's important to point out that Rico, Co., had been a mining time for a while, and at the boom of the town in 1954, 35% of the population was Navajo. So some of them stayed.
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