Consisting of both primary-first-hand accounts of families visited, events observed, and actions taken in which the writer participated directly-and secondary-the historical record based on the writings of others-sources of Franciscan writings, the Franciscan literature sampled in this book mirrors the Navajo of the early and mid-20th century. The texts created by the Franciscans and their associates in the course of their labors, constitute a seldom-quoted, little-read, generally difficult-to-access literature of enormous importance to the history of Navajo-white relations. Many of the Franciscans who came to the reservation stayed there for their entire working lives, spending decades learning the Navajo language and serving the population. Their writings to each other, whether published in mission journals or preserved in their correspondence, present an intimate view of Navajo life as observed by missionaries dedicated to serving the Navajo, burying their dead, serving as their advocates with the institutions of white America, teaching their children, and trying themselves to learn the Navajo language.
![The Navajo as Seen by the Franciscans, 1920-1950 The Navajo as Seen by the Franciscans, 1920-1950](https://www.angusrobertson.com.au/images/9780810867529.jpg?width=250)
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