Adams] 



SHONTO: ROLE OF NAVAHO TRADER 



217 



Chart E. — Charter functions and activities of Shonto Trading Post^ 

 [Officially sanctioned pctivities in italic] 



1 For explanation of categories see "A Note on Terminology," pp. 214-216. 

 J See "Railroad Work," pp. 129-133. 

 ' See "Types of Trade," pp. 186-201. 



et al., 1953, pp. 233-234) . The overall pattern of cliarter functions 

 and activities is diagrammed in chart E. 



EMPLOYMENT AGENCY 



No function of Shonto Trading Post is more important to the 

 Navaho community of today than its complex of activities in securing 

 wage employment for its clientele (cf. Collier and Collier, 1953, p. 

 220). In the case of railroad labor, the trader's activity as recruiter 

 and contractor is given official sanction in his appointment as claims 

 agent for the Railroad Retirement Board. This activity has been 

 described in earlier pages ("Railroad Work," pp. 129-133). It is not 

 by any means the limit of the trader's function as an employment 

 agent. He often refers Navahos to other jobs, particularly at the 

 Navajo Ordnance Depot, and sometimes furnishes them with recom- 

 mendations. Shonto's trader has also been active in promoting the 

 employment of favored clients in local jobs at Shonto School, Navajo 

 National Monument, and on the Tuba City police force, and has fre- 

 quently furnished character references. 



Shonto Trading Post regularly disseminates job information, partly 

 in its own interest and partly at the behest of potential employers. 

 The Arizona State Employment Service maintains a field office at Tuba 

 City, but its agent has visited Shonto in person only once to the writer's 

 knowledge. As a rule he contacts the trader by telephone, requesting 

 him to circulate information and to post clearance orders on the store 

 bulletin board. On two occasions in 1955 agricultural employers wrote 

 directly to Shonto's trader, requesting his assistance in recruiting labor. 



Even when no information is posted or volunteered, Shonto men 

 not uncommonly seek job information and advice from the trading 



