50 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuU. 188 



White man's domain. One or two men from Shonto worked for 

 brief periods in Flagstaff and Winslow, and several went shopping in 

 Flagstaff from time to time, but as of 1941 less than half the members 

 of the community had ever been away from the reservation. 



The Navaho Eeservation, Shonto included, woke up fast when the 

 gi-eat conflict started. Selective service took 3,500 Navahos into the 

 armed forces, primarily from the better-educated eastern portions of 

 the reservation. Far more important still, the war brought labor re- 

 cruiters into every part of the Navaho country for the first time. Prior 

 to 1940, Navahos had been regarded as a significent labor force only 

 in localized agricultural areas; the great majority of Shonto men had 

 never held a paying job, except perhaps for a few days or weeks on a 

 local construction project. 



The beginning of World War II created an immediate shortage of 

 unskilled labor, especially in sections of the United States less favored 

 by wartime economy. Industries in the upper Southwest abruptly be- 

 came aware of the huge and virtually untapped Navaho labor pool, 

 as ammunition depots sprang up near Gallup and Flagstaff, and the 

 overtaxed railroads were unable to secure way labor. By 1943 re- 

 cruiters were in every part of the reservation, assisted by traders, and 

 any able-bodied Navaho, regardless of education, could have his pick 

 of steady, well-paid jobs, with housing and free transportation 

 thrown in. 



Within 3 years, the economy of much of the Navaho country was 

 revolutionized. Before the war it is doubtful whether wage work 

 ever contributed more than 30 percent of Navaho income, and wage 

 work other than Government employment on the reservation certainly 

 contributed no more than 10 percent (cf. Kluckhohn and Leighton, 

 1946 p. 20). Home industry was far and away the most significant 

 source of Navaho livelihood. By contrast, at no time since World 

 War II has wage work contributed less than 50 percent of Navaho 

 income, as ammunition plants and railroads have continued to rely on 

 Navaho labor. Native industry as of 1956 has diminished to a sup- 

 plementary role, in terms of its actual contribution to livelihood. 



The situation at Shonto is characteristic of northwestern Navaho 

 generally. Before World War II not more than six men in the com- 

 munity had ever earned wages except on temporary Government proj- 

 ects, and none had served in the armed forces. At the end of the 

 war only two men had been in the army, but at least 50 out of a total 

 labor force of around 70 had been employed either in the Navajo Ord- 

 nance Depot near Flagstaff or on the Santa Fe Railroad. Many also 

 engaged in seasonal agricultural work in Utah and Idaho. 



Wartime conditions brought other interesting changes in Navaho 

 life. Acceptance of American jobs, and life outside the reservation, 



