Anthropological films and the myth of scientific truths

This article describes, analyzes, and interprets various cultural influences on the representational drawings of young Navajo students, in order to understand their changing cultural viewpoint. The data and drawings were gathered from two elementary art classes in one Navajo public school in northeastern Arizona, as part of an ongoing study. This information is compared to anthropological data gathered on adult Navajo drawings nearly 30 years ago, as well as to some dominant theories on child art. Data reveal students are influenced by Navajo traditional images, classroom teachers’ versions of school art, popular art images, pan‐Indian influences, and peer copying. Results reveal the persistence of traditional nature imagery, the incorporation of similar schemas and color use with mainstream children, a keen ability to render realistic images and space, and the incorporation of those American things that the Navajo regard as “good for them.” Keen drawing abilities appear at a young age among the Navajo because of the high status of the arts, traditional education through observation and demonstration, peer imitation, and male drawing competition.     

Identity and healing in three Navajo religious traditions: sa'ah naagháí bik'eh hózh [symbol: see text

In this article, we elucidate how the Navajo synthetic principle sa'ah naagháí bik'eh hózh [symbol: see text] (SNBH) is understood, demonstrated, and elaborated in three different Navajo healing traditions. We conducted interviews with Navajo healers and their patients affiliated with Traditional Navajo religion, the Native American Church, and Pentecostal Christianity. Their narratives provide access to cultural themes of identity and healing that invoke elements of SNBH. SNBH specifies that the conditions for health and well-being are harmony within and connection to the physical/spiritual world. Specifically, each religious healing tradition encourages affective engagement, proper family relations, an understanding of one's cultural and spiritual histories, and the use of kinship terms to establish affective bonds with one's family and with the spiritual world. People's relationships within this common behavioral environment are integral to their self-orientations, to their identities as Navajos, and to the therapeutic process. The disruption and restoration of these relationships constitute an important affective dimension in Navajo distress and healing.     

Revisiting the Navajo way: lessons for contemporary healing

Given the paradox of the success of modern medical technology and the growing patient dissatisfaction with present-day medicine, critics have called for a reevaluation of contemporary medical practice. This paper offers a phenomenological analysis of traditional Navajo healers and their ceremonies to highlight key aspects of healing. A phenomenological view of medical practice takes into account three key features: the lifeworld, the lived body, and understanding. Because of their closeness to a phenomenological view, traditional Navajo mythology and healing practices offer insight into the healing process. Contemporary physicians can appreciate the phenomenological elements of Navajo healing ceremonies, including the Mountain Chant. Navajo healers help patients make sense of their illnesses and direct their lives accordingly, an outcome available to contemporary practitioners, who are also gifted with the benefits of new technologies. By examining scientific medicine, Navajo healing practices, and phenomenology as complementary disciplines, the authors provide the groundwork for reestablishing a more therapeutic view of health.     

Depressive illness and Navajo healing

What is the experience of Navajo patients in Navajo religious healing who, by the criteria and in the vernacular of contemporary psychiatry, would be diagnosed with the disorder called depression? We ask this question in the context of a double dialogue between psychiatry and anthropology and between these disciplines' academic constructs of illness and those of contemporary Navajos. The dialogue is conducted in the arena of patient narratives, providing a means for observing and explicating processes of therapeutic change in individuals, for illustrating variations in forms of Navajo religious healing sought out by patients demonstrating similar symptoms of distress, and for considering the heuristic utility of psychiatric diagnoses and nomenclature in the conceptualization of illness, recovery, and religious healing. From among the 37 percent of patients participating in the Navajo Healing Project who had a lifetime history of a major depressive illness, three are discussed herein, their selection based on two criteria: (1) all met formal psychiatric diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode at the time of their healing ceremonies, and (2) together, their experiences illustrate the range of contemporary Navajo religious healing, including Traditional, Native American Church (NAC), and Christian forms. We suggest that, despite the explicit role of the sacred in religious healing interventions available to Navajo patients, differences between biomedical and religious healing systems may be of less significance than their shared existential engagement of problems such as those glossed as depression.     

Jesus, peyote, and the holy people: alcohol abuse and the ethos of power in Navajo healing

Of the three religious healing traditions that coexist within the contemporary Navajo health care system, the Native American Church (NAC) and Pentecostal Christianity are more actively involved in the treatment of alcohol and substance abuse than is Traditional Navajo healing. This article examines these two more recent healing traditions as religious responses to the contemporary Navajo crisis of alcohol and substance abuse as well as to socioeconomic changes. These traditions offer new kinds of power, social networks, and personal meaning that facilitate a transformation of self, a revitalized sense of community, and a new vision of the possibilities of the future for Navajo people who suffer. Examining the ethos of power that underlies Navajo healing can complement the theoretical emphasis on harmony and beauty in anthropological research on Navajo culture and religion.     

Nostalgia and Degeneration: The Moral Economy of Drinking in Navajo Society

This article focuses on how some members of Navajo society use narratives regarding alcohol and drinking to comment on cultural degeneration and the decay of the traditional Navajo moral economy. These narratives drinking are seldom solely about alcohol but refer to a host of distinct yet interrelated concerns involving moral values, individual and collective identities, underdevelopment, imagined histories, psychic conflict, and social contention. This article sheds light on how evaluations of alcohol and drinking problems, as encapsulated in narratives of degeneration, fit into the overall context of contemporary Navajo society. Narratives of degeneration juxtapose a degenerate present to a nostalgic past and in the process direct moral censure toward two primary groups in Navajo society, namely, young people and others who drink to excess, [drinking, Native Americans, Navajo, narrative, alcohol]     

Peach cultivation and use among the Canyon de Chelly Navajo

The Navajo of Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, learned peach cultivation from the Hopi in the eighteenth century. Navajos plant volunteer seedings and seeds. Slip planting, grafting, budding, pruning living branches, and fruit thinning, which had no precedents in Navajo agriculture, were rejected. Navajos protect their orchards against mammalian pests, and now practice spring spraying. Mapping of present orchards showed them to be located on alluvial terraces receiving runoff from cliffs and small tributary drainages; irrigation is occasionally practiced. Peaches are eaten fresh, boiled, or dried and stewed, and are used as a ceremonial purgative. Kernels are used in polishing stone griddles and in witchcraft.     

Navajo tribal mortality: A life table analysis of the leading causes of death

Abstract

The five leading causes of death for Navajo males and females are analyzed by life table methods. Navajo male and female life expectancy at birth were 58.8 and 71.8 years, respectively. The greatest increase in Navajo male life expectancy would result from the elimination of motor vehicle accidents (5.17 years at birth, and 3.11 years for working ages 15–65). The life expectancy of Navajo females would be lengthened the most (3.70 years) by elimination of circulatory system disease. For working‐ages gains for both sexes, however, the greatest benefit would result from elimination of motor vehicle accidents. The implications of the results are discussed in relation to the various public health programs and health planning efforts for the Navajo Nation.     

The whole universe is my cathedral: a contemporary Navajo spiritual synthesis

This article discusses the three major spiritual healing ways used by Navajo Indians today: Traditional healing practices that have been used for generations and still have a dynamic existence relevant to everyday Navajo life; Christian healing traditions, ranging from Catholic Charismatic to Protestant Pentecostal; and practices of the Native American Church (NAC). The complex relationship among these healing traditions on the Navajo reservation is examined through a case study of a Navajo woman whose personal spirituality includes all three. Faced with serious medical problems, this devout Catholic turned to Navajo Traditional and Native American Church spiritual diagnosis and treatment. This analysis is the occasion for a reflection on the contemporary relevance of the kind of spiritual synthesis characterized in this woman's experience.     

Comparative craniofacial variation in Navajo Indians and North American Caucasians

Landmarks digitized from lateral cephalometric radiographs of 107 Navajo Indians between 10 and 12 years of age were analyzed to determine coefficients of variation or standard deviations for 38 cephalometric measurements. These values were compared with the same measures of variation for identical measurements on North American whites derived from the Michigan and Philadelphia Growth Studies. For the majority of variables, there were no differences between groups. Variation for the genetically and environmentally isolated Navajo Indians was the same as that of the highly diverse Caucasian samples. However, measurements of upper, lower, and total anterior facial height (N-ANS, ANS-Me, and N-Me, respectively) indicate that these features are substantially less variable in Navajo Indians relative to the Michigan and Philadelphia populations.     

遗产旅游地居民对生态移民影响感知的历时性研究——以武陵源风景名胜区为例

安置区居民的生态移民感知状况对于把握生态移民实施效果、实现遗产旅游地可持续发展意义重大.以湖南武陵源3个不同移民安置方式的社区居民为调研对象,通过对比分析2010和2016年两次系统性调研数据,分析不同时段安置区居民对生态移民影响感知的历时性变化和促成感知差异的主要影响因素.结果表明: 2010、2016年,研究区居民对“就业机会增多”、“科教培训机会增多”、“景区环境卫生得到改善”和“认同移民后的‘农转非’身份”等指标反应消极;强烈赞同“传统价值观受到冲击”、“政策实施过程中缺乏监督”等指标选项. 2016年,不同性别、年龄、月均收入水平的安置区居民对生态移民经济和心理影响感知差异较为显著;不同文化程度和收入水平的居民对移民政策的感知分异明显;投资兴业安置方式的居民对生态移民经济影响感知相对积极.经济影响感知和移民政策感知成为影响居民对生态移民整体感知的主要因素;就业问题、子女教育问题和移民保障体系等问题是居民持续关注的重点.     

Frequent nest relocation in the ant Aphaenogaster araneoides: resources, competition, and natural enemies

Sessile and vagile organisms differ from one another in some fundamental ways, including methods of resource acquisition and competition. Ant colonies are typically studied as sessile entities, even though a large fraction of ant species frequently relocate their nests in the course of their life history. Little is known about the causes and consequences of nest relocation, but it is likely that the costs and benefits of relocation are driven by nest quality, neighborhood competition, or resource availability. In this paper, we document several cycles of nest relocation in a population of the Central American ant Aphaenogaster araneoides . In our first experiment, we tracked the pattern of relocation, testing whether environmental characteristics and colony demography were associated with relocation behavior. In our second experiment, we manipulated resource availability by adding or subtracting leaf litter, which is known to predict colony growth. We found that colonies relocated their nests once per week on average and colonies often reoccupied nests from which they had once emigrated. Larger colonies relocated more frequently than smaller colonies, and quickly growing colonies utilized a greater number of nests within their home range compared to slowly growing colonies. Relocation events were most likely to occur in periods when vapor pressure deficits were greatest. Nearest neighbor distance and other measures of environmental conditions were not associated with relocation behavior and there was no significant effect of litter removal or supplementation. We found evidence that multiple natural enemies attacked A. araneoides colonies. Based on the demographic correlates of relocation and our rejection of other plausible hypotheses, we propose that nest relocation is driven by the escape from natural enemies.     

The Role of Education in American Indian Self-Determination: Lessons from the Ramah Navajo Community School

Since 1975 the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act has enabled American Indian communities to enact self-determination through community-based schooling. In this study conducted by a Navajo researcher, the Ramah Navajo community defined self-determination and how it was operationalized within the community and school. The study demonstrates how education based on Navajo epistemology has been integral to self-determination at Ramah, underscoring the importance of incorporating Native American epistemologies in schooling for Indigenous students.     

The prevalence of hypertension among elderly Navajos: A test of the acculturative stress hypothesis

This is a study of the prevalence of hypertension among a sample of Navajo Indians 65 years of age and above. It is not clear whether prevalence has increased over the past generation in this age group. When men and women are compared, conventional measures of "acculturation" are related to hypertension among women but not among men. The differences between men and women seem most probably related to differences in the situation of men and women within both Navajo and Anglo-American society. Several alternative explanations are discussed as well.     

Bringing Navajo Storytelling Practices into Schools: The Importance of Maintaining Cultural Integrity

This article examines storytelling practices among Navajos as one example of a non-Western approach to education. The article discusses two stories—one regarding the perspectives of Navajo storytellers concerning the importance of the context of storytelling practices and the other about the research process that led to these perspectives. Eight storytellers were interviewed about storytelling practices in the past and those they would like to see in the future. Implications of the importance of key storytelling practices for Navajo education as well as for changes in Western approaches to schooling are presented.     

Evolutionarily Stable Relocation Strategy in an Antlion Larva

Antlion pits are often spatially aggregated even though there are potential negative effects associated with the aggregation (e.g., heightened competition and predation risk). This study investigated the possibility that a strategy leading to aggregation can be an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS). In particular, the strategy considered was ‘decreasing relocation tendency when there are neighbors’. An individual based model showed that the strategy can be the unique ESS when the spatial distribution of prey is not completely random and antlions can learn it from their past foraging experiences. A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of the presence of neighbors and foraging success on the relocation behavior of antlion larvae. Antlions reduced their relocation tendency with respect to these factors, consistent with the predicted ESS. The results suggest that pit aggregations are formed because antlions reduce their relocation tendency when neighbors exist, and this strategy is an ESS.     

A 122.5-kilobase deletion of the P gene underlies the high prevalence of oculocutaneous albinism type 2 in the Navajo population

Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder. There are four known types of OCA: OCA1-OCA4. The clinical manifestations of all types of OCA include skin and hair hypopigmentation and visual impairment. Although there are a few documented observations of high frequency of albinism among Native Americans, including the Hopi, Zuni, Kuna, Jemez, Laguna, San Juan, and Navajo, no causative molecular defect has been previously reported. In the present study, we show that albinism in one Native American population, the Navajo, is caused by a LINE-mediated 122.5-kilobase deletion of the P gene, thus demonstrating that albinism in this population is OCA2. This deletion appears to be Navajo specific, because this allele was not detected in 34 other individuals with albinism who listed other Native American origins, nor has it been reported in any other ethnic group. The molecular characterization of this deletion allele allowed us to design a three-primer polymerase chain reaction system to estimate the carrier frequency in the Navajo population by screening 134 unrelated normally pigmented Navajos. The carrier frequency was found to be approximately 4.5%. The estimated prevalence of OCA2 in Navajos is between approximately 1 per 1,500 and 1 per 2,000. We further estimate that this mutation originated 400-1,000 years ago from a single founder.     

Associations of Circulating Oxidized LDL and Conventional Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease in a Cross-Sectional Study of the Navajo Population

The prevalences of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) have increased among the Navajo Native American community in recent decades. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is a novel CVD biomarker that has never been assessed in the Navajo population. We examined the relationship of oxLDL to conventional CVD and T2D risk factors and biomarkers in a cross-sectional population of Navajo participants. This cross-sectional study included 252 participants from 20 Navajo communities from the Diné Network for Environmental Health Project. Plasma samples were tested for oxLDL levels by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the relationship of oxLDL and oxidized- to non-oxidized lipoprotein ratios to glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL6) and demographic and health variables. Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and obesity are very prevalent in this Navajo population. HbA1c, CRP, body mass index (BMI), high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides were at levels that may increase risk for CVD and T2D. Median oxLDL level was 47 (36.8–57) U/L. Correlational analysis showed that although oxLDL alone was not associated with HbA1c, oxLDL/HDL, oxLDL/LDL and CRP were significantly associated with HbA1c and glucose. OxLDL, oxLDL/HDL and oxLDL/LDL were significantly associated with CRP. Multivariate analysis showed that triglycerides were a common and strong predictor of oxLDL, oxLDL/HDL and oxLDL/LDL. OxLDL was trended with HbA1c and glucose but did not reach significance, however, HbA1c was an independent predictor of OxLDL/HDL. CRP trended with oxLDL/HDL and was a weak predictor of oxLDL/LDL. This Navajo subset appears to have oxLDL levels comparable to subjects without evidence of CVD reported in other studies. The high prevalence of T2D, hypertension and obesity along with abnormal levels of other biomarkers including HbA1c indicate that the Navajo population has a worsening CVD risk profile.     

Nest relocation in the ant Pheidole dentata

We studied nest relocation in the ant Pheidole dentata, a common species in the southern US, by following colonies for 6 weeks. We correlated probability of relocation with several abiotic and biotic environmental factors, such as air temperature, humidity, leaf litter depth (LLD), nest type and presence of phorid fly parasitoids. Colonies moved often, on average every 16.2 days. By the end of our study, fewer than 5 % of colonies marked at the start remained in their original nests. Only 3.1 % of colonies returned to a previously used nest. The mean distance of relocation was 0.76 ± 0.73 m. Colonies nested in a variety of locations, such as in the ground, by tree trunks, under rocks and inside wood. Several factors affected probability of relocation. Higher LLD and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increased probability of relocation. Probability of relocation varied by nest type, by plot and week of study. We found no evidence that surface cover or rain affected relocation behavior. Colonies appear to avoid nests that become dry by nesting against tree trunks. Phorid fly abundance correlated negatively with VPD, yet it had no effect on colonies’ likelihood of relocation. We discuss other implications of frequent nest relocations.