Long Walk was the forced removal of Navajo peoples from areas of what are now the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah during the 1860’s. The United States Army rounded up the Navajo because settlers from other parts of the country wanted the land for farms and ranches. In 1864, the Army forced over 8,000 native peoples to walk more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) to Fort Sumner, in southeastern New Mexico. The Navajo were kept at the fort under harsh conditions. Several thousand Navajo died on the journey and during their internment.
Background.
The Navajo called themselves Diné, meaning the people. In the 1600’s, Spanish colonists began to settle near Navajo lands. Over the centuries, the two groups often raided each other, seizing livestock and captives. Some settlers captured Navajo and held them as slaves. The United States gained control of the New Mexico Territory as a result of the Mexican War (1846-1848). It tried to enforce peace by arranging treaties and building forts, but these efforts failed. Meanwhile, pressure was also growing from ranchers who wanted to settle on Navajo lands.
In 1851, the U.S. Army established Fort Defiance on Navajo grazing lands in eastern Arizona. Arizona at that time was part of the Territory of New Mexico. Relations grew tense between the Navajo and both the U.S. Army and the New Mexico territorial government. In 1860, the Navajo leader Manuelito led an attack on Fort Defiance. The next year, Navajo leaders signed a peace treaty with the United States. However, fighting soon resumed. See Manuelito .
The Long Walk.
In 1862, Brigadier General James H. Carleton became New Mexico’s military commander. He established Fort Sumner at a spot called Bosque Redondo (Round Forest) at a river bend in a valley near the Pecos River. Carleton wanted the region’s native peoples to settle on the land near the fort. He sent troops led by the frontiersman Kit Carson to force the Navajo to surrender. See Carson, Kit .
In 1863 and early 1864, Carson’s forces systematically destroyed Navajo farms, livestock, and homes. The Army then moved the Navajo away from their homelands. Over several marches in 1864 and 1865, soldiers forced about 8,000 Navajo to walk to Fort Sumner. Small groups of Navajo continued to arrive as late as 1866.
Several hundred Navajo died during the walk. Over 2,000 more died during their forced stay at Bosque Redondo. Carleton’s plan to create a reservation with self-sustaining farms failed. Conditions were dismal. Poor planning and meager harvests left many native people near starvation. The fort also faced attacks from other native peoples.
In 1866, the Army removed Carleton from his post. In 1868, the U.S. Congress approved a treaty with the Navajo. The government set up a Navajo reservation within part of the native homelands. Over the next several decades, the reservation expanded. It grew to occupy 25,000 square miles (65,000 square kilometers) in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah.
See also Navajo Indians .
