Navajo

Navajo or Navaho (both: nä'vuhō) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). A migration from the North to the Southwest area is thought to have occurred in the past because of an affiliation with N Athabascan speakers; the Navajo settled among the Pueblo and also assimilated with the Shoshone and the Yuma both physically and culturally while remaining a distinct social group.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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