The Dynamic Diné

Today,our Social Studies methods class once again explored the idea of Cooperative Learning. We went back to our original groups and each decided which Native American tribes we wanted to research. I chose to the Diné tribe and was put into an expert group with Julie, Julia, and Jean. 

When researching our tribe, we were supposed to really put an emphasis on how geography influenced the tribe. 

A distinctive Diné, also known as Navajo, culture came into play around 1100-1500 A.D. in the four corners area of the Colorado Plateau. On this Plateau, the Diné suffered from periods of drought, and wind and water erosion. They were also hit with undependable Summer rains, which often arrived as severe thunderstorms, and undependable Winter snow, which they relied on as a water source. However, the Diné people never backed down, so we gave them the following slogan:

"When the going gets tough, we get tougher."

With such unpredictable weather, the Diné tribe heavily depended on family ties to survive. They were an extremely unified group of people, who worked together to deal with all aspects of life. Though the land did not always work to their advantage, they still held a very high value of it because it played a big role in their survival. In fact, many games and traditions have emerged from their love of the land and their attachment to it. On top of this, they also have many typed of ceremonies that are focused on land and family.




We concluded that the geography of the Diné tribe promoted a love for their land and family. Though there were often harsh conditions, it is clear that this geography led to a highly unified, traditional, and loving group of people who who knew that working together created the amount of strength needed for survival. 

After teaching our classmates about our tribe, we then tested their understanding by taking a quiz on Kahoot. This was highly engaging and interactive and I will definitely be exploring this website more in the future.