The Long Walk of the Navajo refers to the forced relocation of the Navajo people by the United States government in the 1860s. Click here for a comprehensive overview. Click here for maps and images.
Group Reading & Writing Workshop
The Long Walk of the Navajo: First-Hand Voices of Removal & Internment
Disciplines: U.S. History • Indigenous Studies • Ethnic Studies • ELA
All excerpts come from public domain government reports, military correspondence, ethnographic collections, and oral history compilations (19th–early 20th c.)
Core Skills: Primary sourcing • Perspective analysis • Trauma narratives • Policy critique • Environmental history
Essential Questions
Historical Framing Mini-LessonKey context for students:
SESSION 1 — Scorched Earth Campaign
Primary Source
Gen. James H. Carleton — Military Correspondence
Complete Excerpt
“The Navajo Indians must be made to see the folly of resistance. Their planting fields must be destroyed and their flocks seized.
When their crops are gone and their sheep are taken, they will be forced to surrender and remove to the Bosque Redondo, where they can be controlled and taught to live in peace.”
Group Roles
Experiential Activity
Scorched Earth Strategy Council
Students debate military objectives vs. humanitarian impact.
Writing Task
Policy memo defending or condemning crop destruction.
SESSION 2 — Homeland Destruction Testimony
Primary Source
Navajo Oral Histories (Bureau of American Ethnology collections)
Complete Excerpt
“The soldiers came into our country. They burned our homes. They cut down our peach trees and destroyed our cornfields. They killed our sheep so we would have nothing to eat. We were left with nothing. That is when we knew we must surrender or die.”
Experiential Activity
Homeland Loss Mapping
Students map:
Writing Task
Homeland remembrance narrative.
SESSION 3 — The Long Walk March
Primary Source
Navajo Survivor Narratives (ethnographic testimony)
Complete Excerpt
“We walked many days. We had little food and no shoes. The old people could not keep up.
Some fell by the way. If they could not rise, they were left behind. Mothers carried children until they had no strength left.”
Experiential Activity
March Simulation
Stations simulate:
Writing Task
Travel journal entry from Day 20 of the march.
SESSION 4 — Death Along the Trail
Primary Source
Military Escort Observations
Complete Excerpt
“Many of the Navajo died on the journey to Bosque Redondo. They were weakened by hunger and exposure.
Burials were made along the road. The march could not stop long. Graves were shallow, marked only by stones.”
Experiential Activity
Trail Memorial Installation
Students create roadside grave markers with:
Writing Task
Epitaph or graveside reflection.
SESSION 5 — Bosque Redondo Internment
Primary Source
Government Reservation Reports
Complete Excerpt
“The water of the Pecos River is brackish and unfit for drinking. It causes sickness among the Indians.
The soil is poor and crops have failed. Many of the Navajo are suffering from hunger and disease.”
Experiential Activity
Reservation Sustainability Study
Students evaluate:
Writing Task
Inspection report on Bosque Redondo conditions.
SESSION 6 — Navajo Survivor Memory
Primary Source
Washington Matthews — Navajo Narratives
Complete Excerpt
“Our people were not used to that place. The land was strange. The river water made us sick.
We longed for our own country. Many died there. We prayed to return home.”
Experiential Activity
Exile Reflection Circle
Students analyze:
Writing Task
Letter home from Bosque Redondo.
SESSION 7 — Government Justification
Primary Source
Carleton Reports to U.S. Government
Complete Excerpt
“At the Bosque Redondo the Navajo will learn agriculture and industry. Removed from their former haunts, they will abandon raiding and become a peaceful people under government supervision.”
Experiential Activity
Policy vs. Reality Tribunal
Compare:
Writing Task
Argument essay evaluating removal policy.
SESSION 8 — Treaty of 1868 & Return
Primary Source
Treaty of Bosque Redondo
Complete Excerpt
“The United States agrees that the Navajo shall return to their own country…
They shall be supplied with sheep, seeds, and agricultural implements to rebuild their lives.”
Experiential Activity
Nation Rebuilding Project
Students design:
Writing Task
Reconstruction plan for Navajo Nation.
Portfolio Artifacts
Verified Public Domain Source URL List
Below are working, classroom-usable links to the public domain texts used.
Military Correspondence — Carleton
Report of the Secretary of War (includes Navajo campaign letters):
https://archive.org/details/reportofsecretar1864unit
Navajo Oral Histories / Ethnography
Washington Matthews — Navaho Legends:
https://archive.org/details/navaholegends00matt
Ethnographic & Tribal Accounts
Hubert Howe Bancroft — History of the Pacific States: Arizona and New Mexico:
https://archive.org/details/historyofpacific28banc
Indian Tribes Reports
Bancroft / Government compilations:
https://archive.org/details/indiantribesofso00band
Bosque Redondo Reservation Reports
U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs Annual Reports:
https://archive.org/details/annualreportofco1865unit
Treaty of 1868 (Avalon Project — Public Domain Text)
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/nav001.asp
The Long Walk of the Navajo: First-Hand Voices of Removal & Internment
Disciplines: U.S. History • Indigenous Studies • Ethnic Studies • ELA
All excerpts come from public domain government reports, military correspondence, ethnographic collections, and oral history compilations (19th–early 20th c.)
Core Skills: Primary sourcing • Perspective analysis • Trauma narratives • Policy critique • Environmental history
Essential Questions
- What was the lived experience of the Long Walk?
- How did military policy shape removal?
- What role did environment play in suffering?
- How did Navajo survivors remember the march and internment?
Historical Framing Mini-LessonKey context for students:
- 1863–1864 Navajo War campaign
- Scorched earth strategy
- Led by Kit Carson under Gen. James H. Carleton
- ~8,000–9,000 Navajo forced to march
- Destination: Bosque Redondo (Fort Sumner, NM)
- Thousands died from starvation, disease, exposure
SESSION 1 — Scorched Earth Campaign
Primary Source
Gen. James H. Carleton — Military Correspondence
Complete Excerpt
“The Navajo Indians must be made to see the folly of resistance. Their planting fields must be destroyed and their flocks seized.
When their crops are gone and their sheep are taken, they will be forced to surrender and remove to the Bosque Redondo, where they can be controlled and taught to live in peace.”
Group Roles
- Military Strategist
- Navajo Homeland Protector
- Policy Interpreter
- Ethical Analyst
Experiential Activity
Scorched Earth Strategy Council
Students debate military objectives vs. humanitarian impact.
Writing Task
Policy memo defending or condemning crop destruction.
SESSION 2 — Homeland Destruction Testimony
Primary Source
Navajo Oral Histories (Bureau of American Ethnology collections)
Complete Excerpt
“The soldiers came into our country. They burned our homes. They cut down our peach trees and destroyed our cornfields. They killed our sheep so we would have nothing to eat. We were left with nothing. That is when we knew we must surrender or die.”
Experiential Activity
Homeland Loss Mapping
Students map:
- Farms
- Herds
- Water sources
- Sacred land
Writing Task
Homeland remembrance narrative.
SESSION 3 — The Long Walk March
Primary Source
Navajo Survivor Narratives (ethnographic testimony)
Complete Excerpt
“We walked many days. We had little food and no shoes. The old people could not keep up.
Some fell by the way. If they could not rise, they were left behind. Mothers carried children until they had no strength left.”
Experiential Activity
March Simulation
Stations simulate:
- Distance pacing
- Food rationing
- Illness spread
- Weather exposure
Writing Task
Travel journal entry from Day 20 of the march.
SESSION 4 — Death Along the Trail
Primary Source
Military Escort Observations
Complete Excerpt
“Many of the Navajo died on the journey to Bosque Redondo. They were weakened by hunger and exposure.
Burials were made along the road. The march could not stop long. Graves were shallow, marked only by stones.”
Experiential Activity
Trail Memorial Installation
Students create roadside grave markers with:
- Age
- Cause of death
- Quote
- Location
Writing Task
Epitaph or graveside reflection.
SESSION 5 — Bosque Redondo Internment
Primary Source
Government Reservation Reports
Complete Excerpt
“The water of the Pecos River is brackish and unfit for drinking. It causes sickness among the Indians.
The soil is poor and crops have failed. Many of the Navajo are suffering from hunger and disease.”
Experiential Activity
Reservation Sustainability Study
Students evaluate:
- Water quality
- Soil viability
- Food production
- Shelter
Writing Task
Inspection report on Bosque Redondo conditions.
SESSION 6 — Navajo Survivor Memory
Primary Source
Washington Matthews — Navajo Narratives
Complete Excerpt
“Our people were not used to that place. The land was strange. The river water made us sick.
We longed for our own country. Many died there. We prayed to return home.”
Experiential Activity
Exile Reflection Circle
Students analyze:
- Cultural displacement
- Environmental trauma
- Spiritual loss
Writing Task
Letter home from Bosque Redondo.
SESSION 7 — Government Justification
Primary Source
Carleton Reports to U.S. Government
Complete Excerpt
“At the Bosque Redondo the Navajo will learn agriculture and industry. Removed from their former haunts, they will abandon raiding and become a peaceful people under government supervision.”
Experiential Activity
Policy vs. Reality Tribunal
Compare:
- Government rhetoric
- Survivor testimony
- Camp reports
Writing Task
Argument essay evaluating removal policy.
SESSION 8 — Treaty of 1868 & Return
Primary Source
Treaty of Bosque Redondo
Complete Excerpt
“The United States agrees that the Navajo shall return to their own country…
They shall be supplied with sheep, seeds, and agricultural implements to rebuild their lives.”
Experiential Activity
Nation Rebuilding Project
Students design:
- Herd restoration
- Farming systems
- Settlement plans
Writing Task
Reconstruction plan for Navajo Nation.
Portfolio Artifacts
- Homeland destruction map
- March journal
- Grave memorial
- Camp inspection report
- Policy tribunal ruling
- Treaty reconstruction plan
Verified Public Domain Source URL List
Below are working, classroom-usable links to the public domain texts used.
Military Correspondence — Carleton
Report of the Secretary of War (includes Navajo campaign letters):
https://archive.org/details/reportofsecretar1864unit
Navajo Oral Histories / Ethnography
Washington Matthews — Navaho Legends:
https://archive.org/details/navaholegends00matt
Ethnographic & Tribal Accounts
Hubert Howe Bancroft — History of the Pacific States: Arizona and New Mexico:
https://archive.org/details/historyofpacific28banc
Indian Tribes Reports
Bancroft / Government compilations:
https://archive.org/details/indiantribesofso00band
Bosque Redondo Reservation Reports
U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs Annual Reports:
https://archive.org/details/annualreportofco1865unit
Treaty of 1868 (Avalon Project — Public Domain Text)
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/nav001.asp