Nakai

    Article

    A Navajo term which means “those who wander around,” in reference to Spaniards who conducted expeditions into the Southwest and Great Plains during the 1500s, beginning with Coronado's search for the Seven Cities of Cibola. The earliest recorded contact between the Spaniards and Navajo occurred in 1583 near Mount Taylor in New Mexico. This term is used colloquially by some Navajo to denote someone who is ethnically Hispanic or Mexican.

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    References

     
    Cuch, Forrest S. and David Begay
         2000   A History of Utah's American Indians. Salt Lake City: Utah State Division of Indian
             Affairs.