''Ádahooníłígíí'' ( ) was a Navajo-language monthly

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

that was published in the Southwestern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from 1943 to 1957. After the ''

Cherokee Phoenix The ''Cherokee Phoenix'' () is the first Native_American_newspapers, newspaper published by Native Americans in the United States and the first published in a Native American language. The first issue was published in English and Cherokee on Febr ...

'', operating from 1828 to 1834, it was the second regularly circulating newspaper in the

that was written in a Native American language. It was the first newspaper to be published in Navajo and the only one to have been written entirely in Navajo. In April 2019, roughly 100 issues of the newspaper were digitized as a part of the University of Arizona Library's National Digital Newspaper Program and they are currently available online.

History

''Ádahooníłígíí'' was published by the Navajo Agency of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

Window Rock, Arizona Window Rock, known in Navajo language, Navajo as Tségháhoodzání (), is a city and census-designated place that serves as the capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, Nativ ...

, from 1943 to 1957 and contributed to the

standardization Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

of Navajo

orthography An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis. Most national ...

as it was widely distributed. Until that time, the only widely available texts intended for a Navajo audience had been religious publications and parts of ''Diyin God Bizaad'' (a Navajo translation of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

). Its first issue was published in August 1943. The paper was edited by Robert W. Young and William Morgan, Sr. (Navajo), who had collaborated on ''The Navajo Language'', the standard dictionary used until the present day.Sharon Hargus, "Review: ''Analytical Lexicon of Navajo'' by Robert W. Young; William Morgan; Sally Midgette"
''Anthropological Linguistics'', Vol. 38, No. 2, Summer, 1996, , accessed 2 October 2014 The newspaper was originally printed on a single folded sheet of newsprint; it was distributed through the chapter houses. From 1943 to 1947, it was written entirely in Navajo. After that, articles were published bilingually or with an English summary of its contents. In its early years, the paper's main editorial function was to convey the opinions of '' "Wááshindoon"'' regarding

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to the Navajo people. In addition, it provided a connection between those Navajos who served in the United States military (including

code talkers A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is most often used for United States service members during the World Wars who used their knowledge ...

) and those who had remained at home. As the effects of the federal government's

Indian termination policy Indian termination describes United States policies relating to Native Americans from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. It was shaped by a series of laws and practices with the intent of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream American soci ...

reached the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

in the 1950s, the paper's funding was withdrawn by the BIA. ''Ádahooníłígíí'' ceased publication in 1957. Shortly thereafter, the ''

Navajo Times The ''Navajo Times'' – known during the early 1980s as ''Navajo Times Today'' – is a newspaper created by the Navajo Tribal Council in 1959; in 1982 it was the first daily newspaper owned and published by a Native American Indian Nation. No ...

'' – written in English – began publication. It continues as the Navajo Nation's main print-medium to this day.

References

External links

Ádahooníłígíí
on the Arizona Memory Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Adahooniligii Defunct newspapers published in Arizona Navajo mass media Newspapers established in 1943 Publications disestablished in 1957 1943 establishments in Arizona 1957 disestablishments in Arizona Non-English-language newspapers published in Arizona Defunct Native American newspapers Defunct bilingual newspapers

History

See also

References

External links