Navaho Trading Days [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Compton Hegemann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1987

Elizabeth Hegemann, born in Cincinnati in 1897, was an accomplished photographer and a woman who enjoyed adventure. These qualities along with her marriage to an Indian trader and living most of her adult life in Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico allowed her to leave a significant record of the Southwest's American Indians during the 1920s and 1930s.

Hegemann's photographs document interaction between Anglos and Indians, ceremonial dances, trading post life, and archaeological monuments that have been altered by time. Her text recounts her travels around Navaho country, especially the northeastern portion of the Reservation. She comments on her meetings with John Galsworthy, Charles F. Lummis, William Randolph Hearst, and Will Rogers.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . . The entire work is a fine relation of the Navajos’ life in the period between the two world wars." -- Library Journal

"...the best firsthand account anyone has written of life as an Indian trader." -- Denver Post, March 13, 2005 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

A collection of photographs and first-hand observations of life among the Navaho and Hopi in the early 20th century. "A most valuable historical resource."-American Indian Quarterly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: Univ of New Mexico Pr (March 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826309720
• ISBN-13: 978-0826309723
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,494,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enhanced with the inclusion of 318 rare period photographs, October 12, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Navaho Trading Days (Paperback)

Enhanced with the inclusion of 318 rare period photographs, Navaho Trading Days by Elizabeth Compton Hegemann (1897-1962) presents the firsthand testimony of a woman who lived and worked as an Indian trader in Arizona during the 1920s and 1930s. Hegemann learned the Navaho language, how to spin and weave, the and the subtle nuances of trading in wool, blankets, and pinon nuts. A remarkable and telling look at Navaho and Hopi life in the era between the two world wars, Navaho Trading Days is an inherently fascinating discussion and a very welcome contribution to Native American studies shelves.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Navajo Culture 101, March 19, 2006

By 

PETE MILLS - See all my reviews

This review is from: Navaho Trading Days (Paperback)

This was my first non-fiction reading on the Navajo culture. I had first read my local library's copy. I enjoyed it so much, that I ordered it from Amazon. Although a little tedious at times, it is very interesting. Get the AAA map of the Indian country to follow Mrs Hedgemann's travels.