bout eight thousand men, women and children were forced to make the three hundred-mile forced march, known as the ?long walk?. They journeyed across New Mexico to a dry desolate area known as Bosque Redondo. Carleton thought that the Indians would become content there.At Bosque Redondo the Navajo men were forced to build Fort Sumner. The soil was no good, water was bitter, and they were given no wood for fires. And without the land and their corn these people were in a state of desperation to make it through the harsh winter months. This experience was all made worst by disease, and the Indians were practically wasting away. ?Cage the badger and he will try to break from his prison and regain his native hole. Chain the eagle to the ground- he will strive to gain his freedom, and though he fails, he will lift his head and look up to the shy which is his home- and we want to return to our mountains and plains, where we used to plant corn, wheat and beans.? --Written by a Navajo in 1865 In the end the imprisonment of the Indians had its desired effect. Another treaty was signed in eighteen-sixty-eight. This treaty granted the Navajo three and a half million acres of land, which included their old home area.During the imprisonment of the Navajo people they had lost about twenty-five percent of their population. They were no longer considered a threat and began their long journey home to rebuild their lives. ...
