Navajo Leadership in Antiquity Essay

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Initially, it appears as though leadership of the Navajo tribe is not much different than the leadership attributes and skills found in other cultures. This fact is particularly reinforced by the contemporary view of the Navajo nation, which has a president and implements various factors of democracy such as voting. No matter how much this current inception of the Navajo people strives to maintain its heritage in the face of both modernity and post-modernity, one cannot argue that there are fundamental points of distinction between the leadership of the tribe today and that prior to the advance of Westernization in the indigenous land of these people. The principal point of distinction between contemporary and archival or authentic leadership of these people is predicated on a communal approach to helping preserve the best interests of the tribe as whole.



Perhaps the most compelling notion about the authentic leadership of the Navajo tribe in its original form is the reliance on community as the basis for how the tribe was led. Quite simply, these people have always valued a communal approach which, in some ways, bears similarity to democratic societies. This fact is readily corroborated by a fascinating tale from the antiquity of the Navajo people in which different members of the tribe nominated different animals as their leaders (Mccarty and Wallace, 1983).

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Four animals were selected and each was given the opportunity to prove its worth by procuring some good for the tribe. As all of them succeeded all were selected as leaders, especially because they were able to specialize in various ways of protecting and assisting the tribe. This tale provides the foundation for the very communal spirit which fuels the original form of leadership important to the Navajo tribe to this very day (Navajo Nation 22).



The collaborative approach to leadership of the Navajo tribe is demonstrated in a number of different ways. There are some indications that "Navajo clans historically selected two chiefs: one for domestic leadership and one for ward" (Johnson, 2016). The plurality of this basic function of leadership -- selecting a chief -- helps to underscore the fact that historically these people preferred a collaborative method of leadership. However, there is another fundamental concept implied in this passage and in the previous evidence about the collaborative form of leadership that suits the Navajo. Leaders were typically selected from families who were well thought of and and taken care of, which alludes to one of the central values to Navajo leadership: it….....

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References


Johnson, S. (2016). "The roles and responsibilities within the community of Navajo Indians." http://peopleof.oureverydaylife.com/ Retrieved from http://peopleof.oureverydaylife.com/roles-within-community-navajo-indians-11375.html

McCarty, T.L., Wallace, S. (1983). Navajo leadership and government: A history. sixth-ninth grade Navajo bilingual-bicultural social studies curriculum. http://files.eric.ed.gov/ Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED235973.pdf

Navajo Nation Supreme Court. (2010). Navajo roles and responsibility as a leader. http://nahmus.org/ Retrieved from http://nahmus.org/navajonationsurpremecourt.pdf

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