Navajo Long Walk

by Nancy M. Armstrong, Paulette Livers-Lambert (Illustrator)

Navajo Long Walk is the story of Kee, a young boy who traveled this long, arduous route with his mother, grandmother, sister and what few domestic animals they could bring. Over the four-year period, Kee learns to adapt to his inhospitable surroundings. Ultimately, Kee realizes the frailty of his people in the presence of the white soldiers and that to survive, they must find a way to get along with the white man. Ages 9–12.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Native Americans, Indigenous

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 1983

Reviews

[Madissen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that it wasn´t a very good book,because it was getting off topic.

[Rosalinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rate this a one because although it does somewhat convey the tragedy of the “Long Walk” & the deaths that occurred, the tone of the book came off as preachy & condescending at times. I wouldn’t include this in my class library & will be researching other books on this theme that are more appropriate to educate students about this tragic period of American history.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good illustrations...but not much else.

[Scott Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written for much younger readers than I am. I found I could forecast what was going to happen and I was able to forecast things in the end of the book when they were still a ways off. But this is a story of a tragic event in our history which did not end well for many. I know that, but children in younger grades do not need to have a stark reality of death and loss thrown at them without some kind of positive ending to help them with the sadness.

Some of the story was a little trite, but I think the younger readers will need that. There were some words which younger readers would have problems with, but in a supervised reading, I think this book would be awesome for those readers who are just starting chapter books. For me, this book is a three. For a second or third grader, I would hope this book could awaken their imagination and help to get them on a path toward life long reading. I would hope this book would become a five for a younger reader.

[Darci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read aloud for the kids. They enjoyed it, even though it was a slow read. Based on true facts.

[Arizonagirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a children's book but it helped me understand what the experience of the Long Walk may have been like.

[Stefanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to get back on Smoke before he dumped me, or I'd never have enough nerve to ride again.

He saw his grandmother really cry. THis time it was for joy.

THe quiet was glorious. He could hear only sounds he loved, the subdued voices of his family, and Moises made by contended animals moving in their corrals. Peace settled over him.

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Missing Their Desert”

Sponsored by the Council for Indian Education this short book presents a fictionalized account of the Navajo tribe in the mid 1860’s. Presented with sympathetic historical fidelity the story is related from the viewpoint of Kee, a young Navajo boy who comes of age over the four years that his family is in military exile. He struggles to mature with only one parent; first his father (Strong Man) who disappears, then his mother (Gentle Woman) who returns after many years of slavery in another tribe. He also helps his grandmother (Wise One) and little sister, Hasba.

During the enforced migration march East with 8000 Navajo over 300 miles Kee learns many survival techniques: emotional and
psychological as well as physical. The new reservation, on land
strange to his tribe and hostile to agriculture, proves dissatisfactory, unproductive and depressing as traditional Navajo ways are scorned, remolded, neglected or disallowed. Secretly wondering if his father has been killed or captured elsewhere the boy grows in understanding--especially re the soldiers whom he first loathed and lumped together as the faceless, enigmatic enemy.

Gradually Kee realizes that learning white man’s language is key to understanding another culture; he gradually permits one particular soldier to befriend him through repeated acts of kindness and consideration. Possessing a special way with horses Kee is promoted to stable boy for the magnificent stallion of the Post commander—which proves of real benefit to his family’s meager rations. His mother’s talent as a weaver of blankets is also praised and prized. Best of all he makes friends with a white boy—the first he ever met. The book contains many gentle expressions of compassionate philosophy, mainly spoken by his grandmother and mother. But could a free spirit like his father, if he lived, learn to adapt to peaceful coexistence with white men and with other tribes? Still Kee longs for the colorful, pine-scented desert of Navajoland, where their ancient gods protect and bless them.

(April 20, 2010. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Navajo Long Walk read like fiction! The tone did not relay the seriousness of the Navajo Long Walk. I don’t know if the writer was trying to underplay the actual brutality, viciousness and the victimization that the Navajos experienced to protect young readers or to paint the white politicians and soldiers in a light not to expose their actual behavior, but, whatever the writer was attempting to do, it made the Navajo Long Walk appear to be everything it was not.

Parents who are truly interested in teaching their children about History, no matter how gruesome it was, will pass on any book written or published by The Council for Indian Education. I know I won’t be reading any of their stories to my grandchild.

[Candance Doerr-Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book while traveling with my family through Utah and Arizona. We made several stops at National Parks. I bought this particular book at a gift shop in the Grand Canyon after having visited the Interactive Navajo Museum in Tuba City, AZ, where I learned about the Long Walk of the Navajo to Bosque Redondo (1864).

I enjoyed the child narrator perspective The young boy narrator is very concerned for his grandmothers health and the well-being of his animals on the long journey. While I realize this book is geared for younger readers, I would have liked a bit more historical backdrop. The depictions of the soldiers guiding the walk were quite generous and at times playful — very different from the depictions at the Navajo Museum

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written for children in grade 5, started with what seemed to be a story written to make the forced internment of the Indian (Native American) peoples something they were okay with. However, as it progressed I realized the Natives may have submitted but never surrendered their belief in their rights to their freedom and homeland. An excellent easy reader book for young people.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my class. It tells only part of the story of the Navajo forced march, relocation to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and four years of imprisonment which ended in 1868. Very little detail of the true horrors they faced are included. It could be the basis of in-depth discussions and factual information. Children are strong enough to face the truth.

[Leeann · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what this book is supposed to do I think it does it very well. I am assuming this book was written to teach young people about one of many travesties Native Americans suffered when settlers and soldiers moved into their lands. I thought the book was very readable and it handled some of the uglier aspects of this event carefully.

[Mauro Coss · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is very iontresting because the navajo people had to walk really far and pass throught many hard sitiations.this kid name knee is the main character,knee's grandma almost die when she was crossing el rio grande.

[Tara]

i read this for a book report it was good

[Liam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really think this book should be 2 and a half.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Council for Indian Education Series. - The reading of this book should be a part of every child's education.

[Keri Keehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to relate to their experiences.

[TuffStudio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!!! Very descriptive of the main character's travel with his family, a must read!

[Kylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a very interesting book