Navajo Land (1936)

Summary: 
Overview of Navajo/Diné living conditions, amenities, boarding schools, women working in an Indian hospital, spinning wool and weaving, men building an irrigation system, silversmithing, sand painting, and more.
Description: 

Series of wide shots of Navajo reservation landscape and hills; wide shot of a group of men on horseback riding up to the top of a rocky cliff all looking down; close-up from behind of a man pointing out onto the range; wide shot of two men with wide-brimmed hats and ponchos squatting and standing between two horses with the cliffs and a herd of horses in the distance; medium shot of man on horse with bow & arrow, bare-chested wearing breechcloth, white cloth headband, watching off into the distance, two men behind; close-up in profile of man with white hair and headband; close-up in profile of man with longer salt/pepper hair and weaved headband; wide shot of a group of men on horseback riding up to the top of a rocky cliff all looking down, the man in front signals to ride down; series of wide shots of them riding down the slope from the side and from the front towards the camera; shot from POV of the camera behind as they ride away; aerial shot of riders on the range below, riding into the distance, cliffs to their right; back to the two men with wide-brimmed hats and horses, as group of men ride towards they jump on their horses and race off quickly; wide and medium shots of the group racing around, rounding up the herd of horses; medium shirt of a young man, bare-chested wearing breechcloth, white headband on horseback, carrying a long staff, looking behind him; cross-fade to the same man now in leather leggings and pants, leather vest over a long-sleeved (velveteen?) shirt, concho belt, headband/bandana now tied around this neck, no staff; he turns and rides alone; wide shot of man riding into shot where another rider and a herd of sheep, lone conical rock formation in background; shots of the two herding sheep, one image shot through a fence; wide shot of man, woman, and child walking towards and into a hogan, two women weaving at a loom (dah iistłʼǫ́) outside; medium shots and close-ups of two women demonstrating at the loom; close-ups of one woman's beaded turquoise necklace and the other's hands with several turquoise (and other) and silver rings and bracelets; medium and close-up shots of a man crafting a silver concho belt; medium shot of a woman waving her hand in front a baby beside her wrapped in a cradleboard; close-up of baby; same woman inside the hogan decorated with rugs and pottery, etc. feeding a small fire in the center of the room; wide shot of (identified as government) buildings and parked cars in a clearing set between trees and rock faces including Window Rock; aerial shot looking at the buildings through Window Rock; closer wide shot of cars marked outside the buildings, conical rock formation behind; interior shot of a man identified as E.R. (Era Reeseman) Fryer, Superintendent of the Navajo Reservation 1936-1942, in a suit seated, writing at a desk with Navajo rug hung on wall behind; two other men walk in and he rises to join them at a map on the wall, Fryer points things out to them; wide exterior shot of Fort Defiance Indian Hospital; interior shot of a row of babies in bassinets in a maternity ward, nurse and equipment in background; close-up of baby; same view, nurse picks up and holds baby as she walks off; hallway with Navajo women and man in street clothes and nurses in hospital/azeeʼálʼį́ attire; various shots of a nurse fitting hospital gown and cap over woman and then a young man in street clothes; all file into the viewing area of the surgery theater and sit down, various angles of them and doctors and nurses working at an operating table; wide and medium shots of horse and buggy with children inside riding up a dirt road towards a group of single-store brick buildings that are an (unidentified) day school; various interior shots of school room where the teacher and children read and do work at desks and tables; close-up shots of a boy's hand writing and then over the shoulder as he writes numbers on a piece of paper; a young woman sewing at a machine; wide shot of men hammering and using tools while one gives a boy a haircut; medium shot of a man sharpening an ax on a spinning grinder as another looks on; medium shot from above as a man mends the sole of a shoe, close-up of his feet, one with shoe, one barefoot; medium close-up of man cutting a boys hair with manual clippers; exterior of unidentified two-story brick secondary school, people exiting; interior and closer shots of a room with women seated and knitting, winding skeins of yarn, de-seeding wool/aghaaʼ, spinning wool, with a rack of yarns in the background; a medium shot of a teenage girl stringing beads on to a thread at a table, close-up of the thunderbird design she's beading onto cloth; medium-wide and close-up shots of a teacher and young men carving silver conchos and placing turquoise gem; wide shot of male students working in a silversmithing studio with fire places and forging tools; young men sanding a wooden bench in a woodworking lab; exterior of a path running alongside a forest; medium-wide shots of two men sawing a base of a tree with a two-handed saw; the tree falling; wide shot of a group of buildings (perhaps a lumber yard?); cut lumber tumbling from the back of a truck; wide shot of dried river bed and brushy desert landscape; closer shot of dried creek bed; wide shot of dried river bed; closer image of dried, cracked ground; wide shot of a group of men placing big, flat stones in creek bed, mountains in background; closer shot of men placing the stones as a barrier and cementing them in place (for an irrigation system); close-up of a man as he places a rock towards the camera beneath; back to men creating the barrier; wide shot of a manmade irrigation dam with Window Rock and other rock formations in background; shot of man opening a dam valve to release water through small door into the irrigation channel, then closer shot of water flowing out and through planted field; wide and medium shots of two horse-drawn plows plowing a field; wide shot of a group of men harvesting a planted field; interior shot of students in farming class with implements, pictures of cows and 3D topographical map; shots of male students picking and sorting seeds from corn cobs (naadą́ą́ʼ) at a table; E.R. Fryer seated at his desk pointing something out to a Navajo man sitting with; wide shot of auditorium full of people in seats, table with Fryer and Navajo men sitting behind on a stage at the front, Fryer rises; reverse shots of Navajo men in audience; Fryer addresses the audience and sits as a Navajo interpreter stands up to translate; wide shot of men on horseback herding horses; shot of herd running past and away; various shots of horses running into livestock auction corrals; wide shot of corrals to include sheep, men sitting along a fence inside; wide shot of sheep grazing; wide shot of a fence separating longer grass from shorter; closer shot comparing the two; wide shots of sheep grazing, shorn with numbers written on their backs; interior of a hogan where men create a sand painting ('iikááh); medium shots and close-ups of their hands at work and of their faces; overhead shot of the finished painting of (?) Monster Slayer (Nayéé’ Neezghání) and Child-of-the-Water (Tóbájíshchíní) surrounded by the Rainbow Spirit (Nááts’íílid); exterior of Wheelwright Museum; interior of museum with man reviewing items in a booklet and looking up at recreated sand paintings on the walls; closer shot of a painting/diorama; various nighttime shots of bare-chested men in breechcloths dancing around a bonfire, swinging wooden handmade torches.