The Navajo are a hardworking people. Before World War II, they divided family responsibilities along traditional lines.

• Navajo women took an active part in handling the sheep and goats and were responsible for most of the shearing.



• Women would also card, spin and dye the wool which was then turned into yarn, suitable for weaving beautiful Navajo blankets and rugs.



• While mothers worked, their babies rested in a cradleboard.



• By 1937, Navajos were still cultivating their corn, a Navajo staple, by hand. The same was true of thrashing and grinding.



• The Navajo dried their corn on a "summer shade" or directly on the land.



• Because of the arid conditions, squash could be stored in a pit called a root cellar.

Even at a time when the United States was mostly an agrarian country, the Navajos lived differently from other Americans. But they also took time to have fun.

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