Nesjaja Hatali

Nesjaja Hatali was a

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

leader. Hatali was a medicine man in the

tribe, but soon resisted US expansion into the southwest, alongside

Manuelito Chief Manuelito or Hastiin Chʼil Haajiní ("Sir Black Reeds", "Man of the Black Plants Place") (1818–1893) was one of the principal headmen of the Diné people before, during and after the Long Walk Period. ''Manuelito'' is the diminutive fo ...

. Alongside several other war chiefs such as

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

and

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...

, he was able to use guerrilla tactics to defeat American columns of troops and harass supply lines until the Navajo nation surrendered in 1866. But in the wartime, he was a very successful war leader despite being more knowledgeable in the arts of medicine. Navajo leaders People of the American Old West Folk healers {{navnat-stub