Guided by the Mountains: Navajo Political Philosophy and Governance [Paperback]

What do traditional Indigenous institutions of governance offer to our understanding of the contemporary challenges faced by the Navajo Nation today and tomorrow?Guided by the Mountainslooks at the tensions between Indigenous political philosophy and the challenges faced by Indigenous nations in building political institutions that address contemporary problems and enact good governance. Specifically, it looks at Navajo, or Din?, political thought, focusing on traditional Din? institutions that offer a new (old) understanding of contemporary governance challenges facing the Navajo Nation.

Arguing not only for the existence but also the persistence of traditional Navajo political thought and policy,Guided by the Mountainsasserts that traditional Indigenous philosophy provides a model for creating effective governance institutions that address current issues faced by Indigenous nations. Incorporating both visual interpretations and narrative accounts of traditional and contemporary Din? institutions of government from Din? philosophers, the book is the first to represent Indigenous philosophy as the foundation behind traditional and contemporary governance. It also explains how Din? governance institutions operated during Pre-Contact and Post-Contact times. This path-breaking book stands as the first-time normative account of Din? philosophy.

LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
FOREWORD: IS THERE A NAVAJO GOOD GOVERNANCE? by Hataalii Avery Denny
INTRODUCTION: DZIl LEEZH - ENTER, EXIT, and RETURN HOME
CHAPTER I: SISNAAJINI (Mount Taylor) - PHILOSOPHY OF DIN? THINKING
CHAPTER II: TSOODZIL (Mount Blanca) - INTERRUPTED PLANNING IN THE HISTORY OF DIN? GOVERNANCE
CHAPTER III: DOOK'O'OSLIID (San Francisco Peaks) - LIVING CONCEPTS OF DIN? GOVERNANCE
CHAPTER IV: TEARING DOWN 'IIN? HOOGHAN - CONCEPTS OF MODERN NAVAJO NATION GOVERNANCE
CHAPTER V: DIB? NITSAA (Mount Hesperus) - REGENERATING CONCEPTS OF DIN? GOVERNANCE
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