The Long Walk of the Navajo

The Long Walk of the Navajo was the 1864 forced relocation of thousands of Navajo people by the United States federal government and the United States army from their ancestral homelands in western New Mexico Territory (modern-day Arizona and New Mexico). Navajo were relocated to Bosque Redondo, a desolate internment camp in eastern New Mexico. Some 53 different forced marches occurred between August 1864 and the end of 1866. Following conflicts between the Navajo and US forces, and scorched earth tactics employed by Kit Carson, which included the burning of tribal crops and livestock, James Henry Carleton issued an order in 1862 that all Navajo would relocate to the Bosque Redondo Reservation in what was then the New Mexico Territory. Those who refused would face "immediate military action". A U.S. soldier stands guard over Navajo people during the Long Walk. The Journey and Conditions The Trek: Starting in January 1864, the U.S. Army led by figures like Kit Carson and General James Carleton, forced by gunpoint roughly 8,500 to 10,000 Navajo men, women, and children to walk between 250 and 450 miles to the Bosque Redondo reservation near Fort Sumner. There were as many as 50 groups taking one of seven known routes. They each took a different path but were on the same trail. The Hardship: Captives walked through harsh winter conditions with minimal food and protection. During the forced march and internment, up to 3,500 people died from exposure, exhaustion, starvation and disease over a four-year period. They were also treated cruelly by the soldiers leading the march. They were never informed as to where they were going, why they were being relocated, or how long it would take to get there. Internment at Bosque Redondo The destination was the Bosque Redondo Reservation near Fort Sumner. The camp was plagued by poor soil, poor crop yields, brackish water, disease, overcrowding, and starvation. Over a four-year period, roughly 2,000 Navajo people died from the harsh conditions. Recognizing the internment camp was an expensive and humanitarian failure, the U.S. sent Peace Commissioners—including General William Tecumseh Sherman—to negotiate an end to the crisis. The Treaty of Bosque Redondo On June 1, 1868, tribal leaders signed a treaty with the U.S. government that acknowledged their suffering and allowed them to return to a portion of their original homeland. The final agreement, handwritten into an army ledger book, included several critical terms: Return to Homeland: The Navajo were permitted to leave Fort Sumner and return to a newly established 3.5-million-acre reservation spanning parts of Arizona and New Mexico. While this was only a fraction of their original territory, it included their sacred lands. Sovereignty: The treaty established a direct government-to-government relationship, recognizing the Navajo Nation as a sovereign entity. Federal Assistance: The U.S. government agreed to provide materials, livestock (such as sheep and goats), and food provisions to help the Navajo rebuild their pastoral lifestyle. Compulsory Education: The treaty included a clause requiring Navajo children between the ages of 6 and 16 to attend school, a provision the U.S. later used to justify the creation of forced Indian boarding schools. Return Home The survivors of Bosque Redondo began their long walk back home on June 18, 1868, laying the foundation for the modern Navajo Nation.