NPR Commentary: Navajos in Tibet
by jessica on Sep.10, 2011, under JOURNAL: Nature, art, cultural perspectives
This 5-minute clip from ‘All Things Considered‘ describes a fascinating episode of ‘meeting of cultures’ that occurred when two Navajo Indians joined a journalist friend in a Tibetan community.
The striking similarities of appearance, language, culture & customs between the two peoples were just a backdrop for a rekindling of a very deep and very ancient connection.
On the other hand, it’s possible that their bond may be not quite so ancient: the topic is controversial, but linguistic and genetic evidence strongly suggests that the origins of the Athabaskan peoples (including the Navajo and Apache) may have more recent links with Central Asia.
Renowned Lakota scholar Vine Deloria Jr. once said in an article entitled Indians, Archaeologists, and the Future,
“I personally feel that unless and until we are in some way connected with world history as early peoples, perhaps even as refugees from Old World turmoils and persecutions, we will never be accorded full humanity. We cannot be primitive peoples who were suddenly discovered half a millennium ago.”
Here is a scholarly publication from the University of Western Australia’s Anthropology department that gives a pretty detailed overview of the subject:
Relatives Halfway Round the World by Joseph Wilson
Can you tell which of the women below are Navajo and which are Tibetan?
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Columbus Day 2011 - Jessica Crabtree
October 7th, 2011 on 9:12 am[...] jessica on Oct.07, 2011, under Journal Recently I posted about the research positing a link between peoples of the Na-Dene/Athabaskan family (e.g. Navajo, Apache, Tlingit) and Central Asian refugees of Genghis Khan’s conquests. The [...]
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Jessica Crabtree, Pastel Artist
Native American Portraits & Wildlife Original Fine Art Paintings
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October 8th, 2011 on 7:35 pm
The unlikely link between Native Americans and Genghis Khan offers an interesting case of “6 degrees of connection.” Author/professor/anthropologist Jack Weatherford, whom I have cited frequently, has made significant contributions to research about the global impacts of Indian cultures (his short book “Indian Givers” has sold millions of copies and is essential reading).
Incidentally, he is also renowned for his award-winning studies about the worldwide effects of Genghis’ Mongolian conquests.