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Barboncito (1821–1871) was a political and spiritual leader of the Navajo. His name means bearded in Spanish ( Barbon = beard/facial hair and cito= conjucated to add a little flare). He also was known as Hástiin Dághá (Man with the Whiskers),, (The Orator), and  (Blessing Speaker). Barboncito was born into the Ma'íí deeshgíízhiníí (Coyote Pass People) clan at Cañon de Chelly in 1820 and was a brother to Delgadito. He was a signatory of several treaties between the United States and Navajos, including the Doniphan Treaty of 1846 (Also known as the Bear Spring Treaty), which was an attempt to establish peace between the Navajo and whites during the Mexican War. Barboncito was also known as “The Orator” and “Blessing Speaker, and did not participate in skirmishes amongst the Navajo and White people.

Barboncito treaty signer
The Bear Springs treaty proved to be unsuccessful, as not all of the Navajo Chiefs were willing to become signatory to it. This would later lead to armed rebellion against the United States where Barboncito worked together with another Navajo, Manuelito, in order to try and stop the forced relocation of Navajo tribe members to Bosque Redando. Barboncito was the Head Chief of the Navajo when the Bosque Redando Treaty of 1868 was signed. This treaty contained articles which would end hostilities between the United States and the Navajo people, as well as allowing them to return to their ancestral land at Cañon de Chelly in Arizona and having a reservation established there. The impact of this aspect of the treaty was the end of the Long Walk of the Navajo which had claimed the lives of thousands of Navajo people. Of all the Navajos of his time, Barboncito is probably most responsible for the long-term success of the Navajo culture and relations with non-Navajos. As well as being established as a skillful negotiator and leader of the Navajo people. Shortly after the enactment of the Bosque Redando Treaty, Barboncito died in 1871 at Cañon de Chelly.

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Barboncito was also known as “The Orator” and “Blessing Speaker, and did not participate in skirmishes amongst the Navajo and White people. In 1846 the United States Army took Santa Fe from Mexico. In that same year the Barboncito was one of the signers of the Bear Springs Treaty. The treaty said in return for recognizing the United States and for its protection, the Navajo in return would cease raiding. The Navajos were not protected from the traditional raids of New Mexican (Hispainic) militia for slave and livestock.

In 1849, the US Army, with New Mexican milita met the Navajos.

In the 1850s, Barboncito was considered a mediator between the two conflicting groups, and proposed peace between them in order to prevent escalating warfare. Despite this, problems reigned on between the White people and the Navajo people. As part of the US Civil War, "California Volunteers" came into the Southwest to reclaim it from Confederate Forces. established Fort Defiance. Rather than import or pay for food for their horses, the Army grazed its horses on Navajo traditional grazing lands of Canyon Bonito. In 1860, U.S. soldiers slaughtered a number of Navajo horses. Barboncito led one-thousand men on an attack on Fort Defiance. After a fierce battle the Navajos were driven off. The Navajo scattered in bands to the Chuska Mountains and continued to harass the soliders.

Stalemated, Indians and whites sat down at a peace-council once again. Barboncito, Manuelito, Delgadito, Armijo, Herrero Grande, and 17 other chiefs met Colonel Edward R. S. Canby at Fort Fauntleroy, 35 miles south of Fort Defiance. They all agreed to the terms of a treaty in 1861. For a time, the Navajos and the whites tried to forge the bonds of friendship. Despite the treaty, an undercurrent of distrust caused conflict between the two groups to continue. Anglos, New Mexicans and tribes to the North and East took captives, livestock and the lives of the Navajo. Not receiving protection as promised by the treaty, Navajo bands attached others. The Navajos were viewed as breaking the treaty.

In 18627, the United States led an extensive campaign to "burn-and-imprison" the Navajos. Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson with troops and Ute mercenaries. Barboncito made peaceful overtures to General James H. Carleton, Carson's commanding officer, in 1862, but the assault against the Navajo people dragged on. Carson destroyed fields, orchards, and hogans—an earth-covered Navajo dwelling—and he confiscated cattle from the Continental Divide to the Colorado River. Though only 78 of the 12,000 Navajo people were killed, Carson's efforts crushed the Navajo spirit. By 1864, he had devastated Cañon de Chelly, hacking down thousands of peach trees and obliterating acres of corn fields. Eventually, a shortage of food and supplies forced the Navajos to surrender their sacred stronghold. In 1864 Barboncito was captured in his hometown of Canon de Chelly by troops under the command of Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson. After experiencing the terrible conditions under Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson, Barboncito escaped with about 500 followers in June 1865. That same year, the "Long Walk" began, in which 8,000 Navajo people—two-thirds of the entire tribe—were escorted by 2,400 soldiers across 300 miles to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. Almost 200 of the Indians died en route. The remaining 4,000 Navajos escaped west with Manuelito, who eventually surrendered in 1866 (two months before Barboncito). Barboncito was the last Navajo chief to be captured and led to Bosque Redondo. Once he found conditions there worse than imagined, he escaped and returned to Cañon de Chelly, but he was recaptured In 1868, Barboncito, Manuelito, and a delegation of chiefs traveled to Washington, D.C., after General Carleton had been transferred from Fort Sumner at Bosque Redondo and could no longer inflict his policies on the Navajo. Barboncito was granted great status by the whites—more authority than would have been accorded him by tribal custom. He played a leading role in negotiations with General William T. Sherman and Colonel Samuel F. Tappan, telling them that the creator of the Navajo people had warned the tribe never to go east of the Rio Grande River.

However, the U.S. government was not inclined to return all their land to the Navajos. Sherman provided Barboncito and the other chiefs with three choices: go east to Oklahoma (then known as Indian Territory), relocate in New Mexico and be governed by the laws of that territory, or return to a diminished portion of their original lands. The Navajos chose the last option. On June 1, 1868, the Navajo leaders, including Barboncito, signed a treaty with the U.S. government. As reprinted in Wilcombe Washburn's American Indian and the United States: A Documentary History, the agreement begins: "From this day forward all war between the parties to this agreement shall forever cease."

Barboncito was a gifted negotiator, as well as talented ceremonial singer. Despite some setbacks, he ultimately saw more success than anyone when it came to Navajo affairs with other non-Navajos. Shortly after the Bosque Redondo treaty was enacted, Barboncito died in 1871, at the age of 50 in his home village of Canon de Chelly.