ARTICLES

Hozhooji Naut’aanii: The Navajo

Justice and Harmony Ceremony

Philmer Bluehouse, James W. Zion

Navajos of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah are
reviving their traditional methods ofjustice to preserve their own ways
and overcome a hundred years of imposed adjudication. Tbe Navajo
Peacemaker Court, a system of court-annexed mediation and arbitra-
tion, is one ofthe primary instruments of revival or “going back to the
future. However, traditional Navajo “mediation” and “arbitration”
”

are different from general American methods, and the Courts of the
Navajo Nation want to avoid new impositions of non-Indian methods.
This article describes the nature of traditional Navajo justice and
contrasts it with non-lndian alternative dispute resolution.

The Navajos in today’s Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah had their own
justice methods for centuries. Despite that, the government of the United
States imposed adjudication methods on Navajos in 1892. After almost a
century of adjudication, in 1981, the Courts of the Navajo Nation began a
process of consciously returning to traditional ways. While Navajo judges
used principles of traditional law prior to that time, it was only recently that
the Navajo Nation judiciary began an open and intentional program of
reviving it.
As it is with other American justice planners, the judges and lawyers
of the Navajo Nation are attempting to bring individuals into the dispute
resolution process so they can resolve their own problems. That was one
reason the Navajo courts returned to traditional mediation and arbitration.
However, there is a difference: traditional Navajo “mediation” is not
mediation as others understand it, and Navajo “arbitration” is different
as well.
Navajos are very aware of their justice traditions and, as Associate
Justice Raymond D. Austin of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court puts it,
Navajos are “going back to the future” by reviving traditional justice
methods (Austin, in press). To go forward into the next millennium (and
the next half-millennium of contact with non-Navajos), there is a return to
vol 10, no 4, Summer 1993 0 Jossey-Bass Publishers
MEDIATIONQUARTERLY, 32 7
328 Bluehouse, Zion

old justice ways. That includes initiatives to use Navajo common law in
opinions and policy documents, the return of justice responsibilities to
communities through the Navajo Peacemaker Court, and research on
Navajo values to use as principles of law.
The Navajo courts are a leader among the 170 or more American Tribal
Courts: they preserve Navajo cultural values to an unusual extent, and
Navajos are actively using their contemporary traditional law (that is,
ancient law in modern settings). That persistence, which is the product of
the Navajo language, religion, and traditions, motivates conscious judicial
initiatives. The Courts of the Navajo Nation apply Navajo common law as
the law of preference. This approach reflects the customs, usages, and
traditions of the Navajo People, formed by Navajo values in action.
In 1982, the Navajo Nation Judicial Conference created the Navajo
Peacemaker Court (Zion, 1983). This unique method of court-annexed
“mediation” and “arbitration”uses Navajo values and institutions in local
communities. Today, it struggles to overcome the effects of adjudication
and laws imposed by the U S . government. The alien Navajo Court of
Indian Offenses (1892-1959) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (HA) Law
and Order Code (written in 1934; adopted by the Navajo Nation in 1959)
made Navajos judge others, using power and force for control. That
arrangement is repugnant to Navajo morals. The BIA court and code
illustrate the failure of legal structures and methods imposed on Indians by
non-Indian outsiders. Given the contemporary enthusiasm for alternative
dispute resolution, Navajo judges must also guard against new imposed
methods. Navajo justice has different goals and methods, which are more
successful than imposed or imported models. This article describes the
foundations of traditional Navajo justice and traditional dispute resolution
methods and makes comparisons with non-Indian mediation and
arbitration.

K’ei: A Horizontal System of Justice

Alternative dispute resolution allows an escape from adjudication in
judicial systems. The dynamics of adjudication and mediation are differ-
ent. Adjudication uses power and authority in a hierarchical system. A
powerful figure (the judge) makes decisions for others on the basis of
“facls,” which are developed through disputed evidence, and by means of
rules of “law,”which are also contested by the parties. Decisions based on
those competing versions of “truth”and “law”are enforced using coercion
(the power of the police). (In a 1992 presentation to the Royal Commission
on Aboriginal Peoples of Canada, Professor Leroy Little Bear of the Univer-
sity of Lethbridge wondered how it is that a [non-Indian] “law shaman” can
declare “the truth,” based on “lies” presented by lawyers.) In sum, adjudi-
The Navajo Justice and Harmony Ceremony 329

cation is a vertical system of justice, which is based on hierarchies of power,

and it uses force to implement decisions (Barkun, 1968, p. 16).
In contrast, mediation is based on an essential equality of the dispu-
tants. If parties are not exactly equal or do not have equal bargaining
positions, mediation attempts to promote equality and balance as a part of
its process. It is a horizontal system, which relies on equality, the preser-
vation of continuing relationships, or the adjustment of disparate bargain-
ing positions between parties.
Most modern-world systems of municipal law are vertical and positiv-
ist and use sanctions. That makes law authoritarian. Authoritarianism is an
abuse of authority, and abuses are easiest in systems which rely on
hierarchical or class authority as the source of decisions and that utilize
force as their instrument.
The primary examples of horizontal legal systems are international law
and the laws of many Native peoples (Barkun, 1968, pp. 14-55). The core
of the common law of most Native peoples is the “segmentary lineage
system,” which is a method of tracing relationships and adjusting disputes
among people who are related to each other in various ways (Barkun, 1968,
pp. 17-24). With Navajos, the method of tracing relationships is the clan
system.
The traditional Navajo legal system-a horizontal one-is based on
clan relationships. All Navajos identify clan membership through their
mother. They are members of their mother’s clan and are “born for” their
father’s. Thus, each Navajo has relationships and relatives in extended
families. Differences or disputes can be adjusted between individuals using
learned values and with the help oP family or clan members on the basis of
the strength of relationships.
The two dynamic forces of traditional Navajo law are h’e and k’ei. K’e
translates into English as compassion, cooperation, friendliness, unselfish-
ness, peacefulness, and all the other positive values which create an
intense, diffuse, and enduring solidarity (Witherspoon, 1975, p. 37). Na-
vajo ceremonies, stories, and traditions, and for that matter the language
itself, teach and reinforce those values and the utility of solidarity. K’e is an
essential part of the clan system and is the dynamic which makes it work
as a horizontal system of law and dispute resolution. K’ei is a special kind
of k’e: it refers to the clan system of descent relationships and groups of
relatives a person is connected to, tied by the virtues of k’e (p. 3 7 ) . Thus,
Navajos know their clan relatives and interact with them, prompted by
strong values which create Navajo solidarity. Those values are virtues
which become an engrained emotional cement to bond the individual to
the clan and the clan to the individual. Navajo children learn the impor-
tance of their clan relationships, and they express them in daily life by
introducing themselves by clan, parentage, and grandparentage. The k’e
330 Bluehouse, Zion

values are expressed in traditional lore, stories, and ceremonies which are
a common part of Navajo life, and Navajos cite them in ordinary conver-
sations as a kind of case law. In Navajo culture, words often have more
powerful connotative force than in English. It is difficult to describe the
powerful impact of the terms discussed here.
The Navajo language has great connotative force. Words are strong,
taken literally, and they often have a great deal of meaning by connotation.
The way a Navajo speaks tells the listener a great deal about his or her state
of Navajo knowledge or ability to relate to traditional values. If the
individual appears to be aloof, that may mean that he or she does not know
the values being related to the listener. If the individual is abruptly direct,
given the great weight of words, that most likely means that the person
knows the values. This cues the peacemaker and allows him or her to set
the stage for the person’s response to peacemaking. In addition, the way a
person speaks will let the peacemaker know the nature of the problem and
the individual’s response. The peacemaker wonders, “Is it hashkeeji (mov-
ing toward disharmony) or hozhooji (moving toward harmony)?” Lan-
guage is a powerful tool and an essential component of peacemaking.
Most Americans have heard of the Indian concept of “elders.” An
“elder” is not simply a person who is old and thus wise. An elder is a
distinguished person who earns that status. A s is true of most Indian
groups, Navajos identify their elders by recognizing their spirituality, good
works, and personal achievements. For Navajos, that person is the naat’aanii.
The word naat’aanii has been inaccurately translated as “headman” or
“principal leader.” This unfortunate translation is the product of American
Indian policy. Non-Indians need to have some powerful leader to deal or
treat with to conclude peace or take land. Most tribes did not have strong
leaders with absolute or hierarchical power, as was typical of European
vertical systems of authority. Most tribal leaders were persuasive and not
coercive. The Navajo “peace chiefs” were civil leaders, and the word
naat’aanii refers to a person who speaks strongly, wisely, and well. They are
leaders who are known for their ability to guide others and plan for
community solidarity and survival. Their authority comes from the force
of k’e in k’ei relationships. Beyond relationships in the family and clan,
Navajos acknowledge their naat’aanii as community leaders because of
demonstrated leadership abilities.
In Navajo society, there are war leaders or war planners (hashkeeji
naat’aah) and peacemakers or peace planners (hozhooji naat’aah). Both
have demonstrated leadership abilities, depending on whether war or
peace is necessary. ln the way of warfare, leadership is a tool of last resort.
Peace planning has been a predominant force in Navajo life, as is reflected
in the Emergence narrative, where peace planning was done with the intent
of promoting peace. War is avoided at all costs. This dictates always
seeking peace and harmony. Peacemaking guidelines were established in
The Navajo Justice and Harmony Ceremony 33 1

the Emergence narrative. As one elder peacemaker said, “I have waited for
the day I would hear again of the peacemakers as was provided for in the
Emergence No Sleep Ceremony. I’m glad we are getting away from war
ways, which our children have learned much of-they are so used to
war ways, they have become our own enemy. We must speak of peace and
harmony to be back in hozho.” The modern term for a peacemaker is
hozhooji naat’aanii-Peace and Harmony Way Leader, the key person in
the Navajo Peacemaker Court and its operation.
The Navajo horizontal (peace planning) system of justice uses Navajo
norms, values, moral principles, and emotions as law. K’e and k’ei are only
two of these precepts. There are many others, which are expressed in Navajo
creation and journey scripture, songs, ceremonies, and prayers. Navajos also
have saylngs which are in fact legal maxims. The denial of k’e and k’ei is
expressed in the maxim, “He acts as if he had no relatives.” A person who
acts that way betrays solidarity and kinship; he or she is not behaving as a
Navajo and may behave in a “crazy” way (see Kaplan and Johnson, 1964,
pp. 216-217).

Hozhooji Naat’aanii
The Navajo term hozhooji naat’aanii denotes the process of peacemaking.
Navajo common law is a process which uses principles that are internalized
by songs, prayers, origin scripture, and journey narratives. It builds on k’e
solidarity in a procedure to summon assistance from the Holy People and
humans to diagnose how people are distant from k’e or their k’ei relations
(to identify the disharmony which creates disputes), teach how Navajo
values apply to the problem, and restore the continuing relationships of the
parties in their community. It is in fact a justice ceremony.
In the Navajo worldview, disharmony exists when things are not as
they should be. This condition is called anahoti’, the opposite of harmony.
Hozho is a fundamental Navajo legal term, and it is related to the forces of
solidarity (k’e) and clan membership (k’ei). It is difficult to translate hozho
into English, because of differences in perceptions. According to Philmer
Bluehouse, hozho measures the state of being in complete harmony and
peace. It provides the framework of Navajo thought and justice. It takes
into account both the hashkeeji naat’aah (war planning or war philosophy)
and hozhooji naat’aah (peace planning or peace philosophy). Hozho is the
balance obtained from the two plans. Peacemaking applications are simple,
because hozho measures the root cause of one’s conduct and prompts the
participants to seek solutions to regain that hozho. It means that reality and
the universe are unified, and there is a unity in existence itself. Reality is
not segmented or compartmentalized in the Navajo worldview. There is no
separation of religious and secular life. Everything has its place in reality
and in a relationship to the whole which is something like the clan re-
332 Bluehouse, Zion

lationship. All animate and inanimate beings, and all supernatural beings
(or forces), have their proper places and relations with each other. Thus,
hozho is a state of affairs or being where everything is in its proper place,
functioning in a harmonious relationship with everything else (Witherspoon,
1975, p. 8). It is also a state which sometimes translates as “beauty,”as in
the phrase non-Navajos often hear, “walk in beauty.” The term hozhooji
refers to the Beautyway, one of the fundamental Navajo ceremonies. As
with the Beautyway, the goal of hozhooji naat’aanii is to restore disputants
to harmony.
Hozhooji naat’aanii is itself a ceremony. Navajo prayers are based on the
concept that the processes of prayer and ceremony create hozho or har-
mony. Many Navajo prayers (including those said by Christians) end with
a repetition of the phrase hozho nahasdlii four times. This repetition
expresses a feeling of the restoration of hozho, meaning something like “the
world is hozho again” (Farella, 1984, pp. 165, 167). At the conclusion of
the prayer, which ends a ceremony, individuals are again in their proper
place, functioning harmoniously and in beauty with everything else. Hozho
nahasdlii is the end goal of hozhooji naat’aanii, which, as a peacemaking
ceremony, uses a similar orientation as the Beautyway ceremony.
The process is closely related to Navajo concepts of illness and healing.
When people are ill, they are out of harmony and must be restored to
harmony to be well. Some describe Navajo healing as holistic, where
supernatural power can be directed to remove or overcome evil and to
restore order (Kaplan and Johnson, 1964, p. 221). Navajo healing ceremo-
nies are effective and use two major processes: suggestive words and
symbols to purify the patient, and a reaffirmation of solidarity with the
community and deities by making the patient the center of goodwill and
reintegration with the group (Kaplan and Johnson, 1964, p. 228). The
process of helping a patient return to harmony involves invoking super-
natural powers for assistance, driving out evil forces, and utilizing the force
of solidarity (k’e) to help the patient achieve a return to continuing
relationships with the group.
The peacemaker’s role in the justice ceremony is to guide the parties
to hozho. The peacemaker’s authority is persuasive, not coercive. Coercion
(forcing someone else to do one’s will) is alien to Navajo thought about
human relationships. It is contrary to Navajo morals and can be an evil in
itself. (This overstates some very subtle Navajo thought; one can use
coercion in the sense that one can “force”the assistance of the supernatural
through prayer. Just as authoritarianism is an abuse of authority, an abuse
of supernatural coercive power is witchcraft, one of the most feared evils.)
A naat’aanii uses authoritative (not authoritarian) persuasion to lead and
guide others. Navajos have a great deal of respect for tradition, so relevant
information from Navajo narratives helps provide authority.
The Navajo Justice and Harmony Ceremony 333

For example, if there is a land dispute, this story may be told by the
peacemaker to guide the parties:

Before humans assumed their present form, the Holy People had their
own problems to address. During that time, Lightning and Horned Toad
had a dispute. Horned Toad was walking on some land, when suddenly
Lightning confronted Horned Toad and asserted that he, Lightning,
owned the land and Horned Toad must leave immediately. Horned Toad
replied, “My brother, I don’t understand why you should have possession
of this land, and I certainly don’t lay claim to it.” He continued along.
Again, Lightning asserted his claim, and he threw a bolt of lightning as
a warning. Homed Toad said, “I am very humble, and 1can’t hurt you as
you can hurt others with your bolt of lightning. Could we talk about this
tomorrow? I’ll be waiting to talk with you on top of the refuse left there
by Brother Water.” Lightning agreed.
The following day, Horned Toad arrived, wearing his armor. Light-
ning announced his arrival and asserted his power by throwing more
lightning bolts at Horned Toad.
Horned Toad sat atop a pile of driftwood, which was left behind after
a storm. From atop that pile, he discussed the matter with Lightning.
Horned Toad said, “You are very powerful; you can certainly strike me
down with a bolt of lightning.” “I certainly can,” said Lightning. “That’s
not what we are here about,” said Horned Toad. “We are here to discuss
the land ownership issue, and we must talk.” “There is nothing to
discuss; the land is mine!” Lightning got angry and threw another bolt of
lightning, which hit Horned Toad. “Brother, you did not hurt me,” he
said. The bolt bounced off Horned Toad’s armor. “Brother,”he said, “this
armor was given to me by the same source as your bolts of lightning. Why
is it we are arguing over the land, which was also loaned to us?”

This story takes land complainants back to the true “owner,” and it is a
forceful traditional precedent to take the parties to common ground.
In the process, a naat’aanii will teach Navajo values to guide people in
the right way. Many values use the strong moral and emotional connota-
tions of k’e, particularly in the context of k’ei obligations.
The peacemaking ceremony has stages and devices to instruct and
guide disputants in their quest for hozho. It begins with an opening prayer
to summon the aid of the supernatural. The prayer also helps frame the
attitudes and relationships of the parties to prepare them for the process.
There is a stage where the peacemaker explores the positions of the parties
in the universe, verifying that they are in a state of disharmony, deciding
how or why they are out of harmony, and determining whether they are
ready to attain hozho. It is similar to diagnosing an illness to find causes.
334 Bluehouse, Zion

There are lectures on how or why the parties have violated Navajo values,
have breached solidarity, or are out of harmony. Lectures are not recita-
tions or exhortations of abstract moral principles, but practical and prag-
matic examinations of the particular problem in light of Navajo values. The
peacemaker then discusses the precise dispute with the parties to help
them know how to plan to end it. The word hozhoojigo describes a process
of planning-another Navajo justice concept. It means to “do things in the
good way” or “go in the right way” by identifying practical means to
conform future conduct with values. The entire process is called “talking
things out,” and it guides parties to a noncoercive and consensual conclu-
sion to restore them to harmony in an ongoing relationship within a
community. The relationship aspect is central, because the community is
entitled to justice and the return of its members to a state of harmony
within it. As with the process of ceremonial healing, the method is effective
because it focuses on the parties with goodwill to reintegrate them into
their community, in solidarity with it.

Comparisons with Other Forms of Mediation and

Arbitration
General American mediation uses the model of a neutral third person who
empowers disputants and guides them to a resolution of their problems. In
Navajo mediation, the naut’aanii is not quite neutral, and his or her
guidance is more value-laden than that of the mediator in the American
model. As a clan and kinship relative of the parties or as an elder, a
naat’aanii has a point of view. The traditional Navajo mediator was related
to the parties and had persuasive authority precisely due to that relation-
ship in a k’ei way. The Navajo Nation Code of Judicial Conduct (1991)
addresses ethical standards for peacemakers and states that they may be
related to the parties by blood or clan, barring objection.
Peacemakers have strong personal values, which are the product of
their language and rearing in the Navajo way. Those values are also the
teachings of Navajo common law. A peacemaker, as a naat’aanii, is selected
because of personal knowledge of Navajo values and morals and the
demonstrated practice of them. Peacemakers teach values through prayer
and a “lecture” to tell disputants what is right and wrong. Navajo peace-
makers, unlike their American mediator counterparts, have an affirmative
and interventionist role to teach parties how they have fallen out of
harmony by distance from Navajo values.
A peacemaker is a guide and a planner. As a guide, a peacemaker helps
the parties identify how they have come to the state of disharmony. Non-
Indian dispute resolution tends to focus more on the act which caused the
dispute. Navajo peacemaking is more concerned with the causes of the
The Navajo Justice and Harmony Ceremony 335

trouble. A peacemaker tries to find the sources of disharmony and conflict.

Persuasion and guidance help the parties make practical plans to resolve
problems. Lectures-which are not simply speeches that urge people to do
good and avoid evil-help them explore concrete means of repairing
disharmony.
A peacemaker intervenes but is not coercive. Navajos have definite
opinions about good and evil and about how parties can be at variance with
hozho and the good way. The intervention has the end of making the parties
come to feelings of being at one with all, of being beautiful in the resolution
of the dispute at hand, and of having restored a good relationship with
others. The peacemaker summons supernatural help through prayer and
uses ceremonial knowledge as a guide to promote goodwill, self-examina-
tion, and reintegration in continuing relationships. Navajo peacemaking,
like Navajo healing, actively involves the disputants in the process. This is
not a doctor treating a passive patient; the patient is actively involved in
the cure.
Peacemaking is not quite “mediation,” in the sense of a completely
neutral intermediary who leaves the process wholly in the hands of the
parties. It is almost, but not quite, “arbitration.” Peacemakers generally do
not make decisions for others, because coercion is wrong. (But under the
rules of the Peacemaker Court, a peacemaker can make decisions for
others, where the parties agree to use that method.) The peacemaker’s
authority is persuasive, but it has an element of arbitration. An individual
selected for personal qualities and respect can use guidance, instruction,
and persuasion to help others, and if they respect what the peacemaker
does, they will most likely follow the guidance they receive. It is much like
the process of complying with the healing instructions of a medicine man
or woman. Perhaps we can best say that a naat’aanii’s word is law.
These attempts to translate Navajo legal terms into English show that
it is dangerous to use English terms to describe what Navajos actually do.
For that reason, non-Navajos should take great care when applying an
English term to describe Navajo processes. The English words mediation
and arbitration do not accurately reflect how Navajos feel about their
justice ceremony. Navajo legal terminology shows that Navajo culture
approaches justice processes with different values and procedures from
mainstream American society. Just as the non-Native society is now having
problems with adjudication in courts, Navajos also suffer because of this
approach. Navajos are still coping with a century o l coerced law-law that
makes individual acts criminal and subject to punishment, rather than
emphasizing restoration to harmony with others and the community.
Given the differences between Navajo and general American alternative
dispute resolution processes, no outsider should come in to impose any
other way of handling social problems.
336 Bluehouse, Zion

Conclusion
Navajos have a valuable system of law that is different from the American
adjudication system. It is a horizontal system of justice which relies on the
essential equality of Navajos and on their solidarity in kinship relations. It
differs from modern alternative dispute resolution, which attempts to
avoid state coercion or authoritarianism (when coercion is excessive) by
perhaps going too far in the direction of neutrality. Navajo peacemaking
is an example of restorative justice.
The Navajo Peacemaker Court and its hozhooji naat’aanii are a model
for non-Navajo initiatives. The dynamics of community solidarity, rein-
forcement of relationships, and wise guidance by community leaders who
have the people’s respect can be developed in other systems. Following the
creation of the Navajo Peacemaker Court in 1982, officials and leaders
from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa studied it as a
possible model. In 1991, the Manitoba Public Inquiry into the Administra-
tion of Justice and Aboriginal People recommended the use of native
peacemakers in that Canadian province (Public Inquiry into the Adminis-
tration of Justice. . . , 1991, p. 654). A group of South African visitors
which came to the Navajo Nation recognized the similarity of peacemaking
to their native processes, and some of them said that Navajo peacemaking
would work there. In 1992, the Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples examined the operations of the Peacemaker Court for possible use
in Canada.
As Navajos go back to the future, others can join them.

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Farella, J. The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy. Tucson: University of Arizona
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Kaplan, B., and Johnson, D. “The Social Meaning of Navajo Psychopathology.” In A. Kiev
(ed.), Magic, Faith, and Healing: Studies in Primitive Psychiatry Today. New York: Free
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Public Inquiry into the Administration of Justice, Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba.
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New.” American Indian Law Review, 1983, 11, 89-109.
The Navajo Justice and Harmony Ceremony 33 7

Philmer Bluehouse (Navajo) is a member of the Red House Clan and is born for the To
Walk Around You Clan. He is the peacemaker court coordinator ofthe Navajo Peacemaker
Court, Navajo NationJudicial Branch. He is working toward a degree in public admin-
istration at Northern Arizona University, Flagstafl.

James W. Zion is affiliated with the Red House Clan by marriage. He is a graduate of the
University of Saint Thomas and the Columbus School of Taw, Catholic University of
America. He is the solicitor to the Courts of the Navajo Nation.