The Navajo-Churro: America’s First Domestic Sheep
Christy Hanson
Timeline summary
1493 Columbian Exchange begins with the first livestock brought to the New World.
1540-42 Coronado brings the first sheep to the Southwest.
1598 - Oñate brings 2,900 sheep to the Southwest.
1680 Pueblos and Navajos acquire more sheep after going to war with the Spanish.
1864 Kit Carson orders the killing of many sheep, then forces the Navajos to Bosque Redondo.
1930’s Federal Livestock Reduction nearly eradicates the Navajo-Churro.
1973 Fewer than 450 Navajo-Churro survive among the 300,000 sheep on the Navajo Nation.
1977 The Navajo-Churro Program saves the breed from extinction.
1992 Navajo-Churro breed becomes recognized by the American Sheep Industry Association.
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General Vocab
Breed – A group of sheep with similar characteristics (color markings, size, quality of fleece, etc.) that are passed on to their offspring.
Breeding animal– an animal caused to produce offspring typically in a controlled and organized way
Livestock – domestic farm animals kept for productive purposes (meat, milk, work, wool)
Market animal – livestock bred and raised for food consumption
Sire – a male animal parent
Dam – a female animal parent
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Vocabulary about sheep
Ovine – of, relating to, or resembling sheep
Ewe – a female sheep
Lamb – a sheep less than one year in age
Yearling – A male or female sheep between 1 and 2 years of age.
Ram – a male sheep
Lanolin - waxy, smelly substance naturally secreted by sheep that coats their wool
Products of sheep – meat, wool, lanolin
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Pre-Colonial Fibers of the Navajos and Pueblos
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Plant fibers shoes clothing mats baskets rope (and probably even more!) | Yucca Agave Stool Bear grass Willow Cliffrose Shrubs Mesquite Hemp Milkweed Cotton |
Natural fiber includes clothing and rope made from… | Human hair Domestic dog hair |
What’s a Heritage Breed?
Heritage breeds are traditional livestock breeds raised by one’s forefathers.
They are selected and bred for their best qualities, such as meat and wool.
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Why the Navajo-Churro is considered valuable
Local history and culture
Navajo-Churro sheep historically supported the economic, social, and cultural independence of the Navajo, Pueblo, Apache and Hispanic communities.
These peoples flourished in the Southwest with the help of these sheep. As a result, these communities value this breed.
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Why the Navajo-Churro is considered valuable
Many positive qualities
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A Snapshot of Navajoland
The Navajo-Churro adapted to the harsh and arid conditions of the Southwest. The region has alpine mountains, mesas and basins. Average rainfall is just 6 to 20 inches per year!
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The Columbian Exchange
Ideas, animals, crops, food, people, agriculture and diseases were passed between the Old and New Worlds.
Tribes in North and South America did not have contact with other countries for 12,000 years.
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New Spain
New Spain refers to the Spanish-conquered lands in the New World.
It was founded in 1521 and lasted nearly three centuries. It once included present-day Mexico, the Southwest, Central America and more.
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Churra and Merino sheep come to New Spain
The Churra and Merino are Spanish sheep breeds that were first brought by the Spanish explorers, conquistadors and settlers in New Spain.
The Spanish used them for meat and wool. Settlers used woolen textiles for clothing and blankets.
At right: This is a Merino sheep belonging to a Navajo family in New Mexico. See the sagebrush and cedar trees?
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How did tribal people acquire sheep?
It is generally agreed that Pueblos, Apaches and Navajos acquired livestock, including sheep, through bartering and raiding.
They used the sheep for meat, hides and wool.
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Churra and Merino: Compare and contrast
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Pueblo and Navajo Woven Textiles
Within 100 years, herding sheep and weaving blankets became part of the Navajo and Pueblo livelihood and economy.
Pueblo and Navajo tribes began to use Churro wool in their weaving, which had previously been made up of both plant fibers and natural fiber.
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Characteristics of Navajo weaving
The Navajo-Churro fibers are hand-spun and woven on an upright loom to make textiles.
Lanolin in the wool would keep the textiles waterproof, which was great for keeping warm outdoors.
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1st Phase Navajo weaving
1680s to 1840s
Stripe designs were woven with hand-spun wool in black, brown or white.
Red and blue yarn came from wool trade cloth. Weavers took apart the cloth, strand by strand, and used the yarn in their own textiles.
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2nd Phase Navajo Weaving
1840s to 1860s
More rectangles and stripes are woven.
Weavers were developing more colorful designs and styles.
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3rd Phase Navajo Weaving
1860-1868
Weavers included more rectangles, squares and diamonds using both trade cloth yarn and blue indigo dye.
Weavers took longer to weave these intricate rugs, even up to a year. One blanket could even be traded for several horses.
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After Hweeldi - Late Classic Period
After 1868 - Navajo weavers had high precision in their weaving by this time. They were acknowledged as experienced shepherds by U.S. officials.
The Navajos had suffered for several long years at Bosque Redondo after their forced removal from their homelands. They began returning to their newly established reservation in 1868.
The sheep population totaled 15,000 in the 1870s.
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Transitional Period
1880s - 1890s
Trading posts moved in, bringing a wide variety of dyes.
Traders moved in and did business with Navajo weavers. They would sell their rugs to collectors and tourists.
They would suggest more rug designs to weavers, which influenced designs for the generation to come.
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Prospering with Sheep
By the 1920s, the number of sheep on the Navajo Nation rose to 500,000!
The government culled many of them in the 1930s in the Livestock Reduction. This led many Navajo families to fall into poverty and led to distrust of the government.
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Saving the Navajo Churros
The Navajo-Churros had almost been wiped out by both the Long Walk and the Livestock Reduction.
Dr. Lyle McNeal, an Animal Science professor, founded the Navajo-Churro breeding program that would ultimately save the Navajo-Churros from extinction. He reported that only 450 Navajo-Churros remained on the Navajo Nation after the mass culling.
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Saving the Navajo-Churros
Saving the breed took decades of research. Dr. McNeal needed to locate enough Navajo-Churros to study. Many sheep were bought or donated. The animal scientists began breeding Navajo-Churros.
The sheep program was able to replenished Navajo-Churros in flocks belonging to interested ranchers and shepherds, both tribal and non-tribal alike.
Currently, the Navajo-Churros are not as endangered as they once were. They are still rare!
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Descendants of the Spanish Settlers
Many Spanish families stayed in the Southwest and have been here since the 1600s. Many have relied on farming and livestock ranching for generations.
Some Hispanic ranching families in New Mexico have a saying:
“La Borrega es muy agradecida.” This means, “The sheep is very generous.”
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References
Students can explore this historical web tour of the Pueblo Indian Tribes here: https://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/pueblo_history_kids/introduction.asp
Pueblo Indian History for Kids - Web Timeline: https://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/pueblo_history_kids/timeline.asp
The Livestock Conservancy. https://livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/�Livestock Terminology. https://bigtex.com/livestock-terminology/�Merriam Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caprine�Merriam Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ovine
Current map of the Pueblos of New Mexico: https://www.crowcanyon.org/educationproducts/pueblo_history_kids/modern_map.asp
Martin, D. L., & Goodman, A. H. (2002). Health conditions before Columbus: paleopathology of native North Americans. The Western journal of medicine, 176(1), 65–68. https://doi.org/10.1136/ewjm.176.1.65
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1987&context=nmhr
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