Great Leader: Narbona of the Navajo, 1766-1849
Natives of the Southwest had a two-front war with both the Mexicans, who had taken over from the Spanish after 1821, and later the Americans, who took over from Mexico in 1848. The Navajo were and are a highly successful and adaptable people who quickly learned horse and livestock raising, weaving and other skills from the Spanish and were allies of the various Puebloan peoples. Narbona, 1766-1849, was not only a skilled warrior and charismatic leader, he was also personally wealthy as a result of livestock raising, primarily sheep, and trade. Though he was referred to by Mexicans and Americans as a chief of the Navajo, in the sense of a principal chief, there was no such institution among the Navajo, who like many Natives, were composed of several clans or bands which were self-sufficient and didn't answer to a central authority. Narbona entered the historical record in 1824. Several Navajo leaders had been invited to a peace parley with Mexican authorities at...