Navajo Indian captives under guard, Fort Sumner, New Mexico

Source: United States Army Signal Corps, courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA),Navajo Indian Captives Under Guard, Fort Sumner, New Mexico, photograph, 1864–1868, https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/navajo/bosque-redondo/bosque-redondo.cshtml.

Date: CA. 1864-1868

Text/Transcription:

This photograph documents a solemn moment in Diné (Navajo) history: the internment of Ndés (Apache) and Dinés (Navajo) to the Hwééldi (Bosque Redondo) reservation. In 1863, in what today is known as the “Long Walk,” U.S. Army soldiers led the Ndés and Dinés across Arizona and New Mexico to the reservation. Many prisoners died during the journey or as a result of conditions at the camp, where they experienced starvation, dehydration, and exposure. Due to poor irrigation systems, attempts to grow Diné crops such as corn failed. Some Ndés and Dinés attempted to escape. Photographs such as this example document the misery and suffering of prisoners.