Johnston] 



NAVAHO POPULATION 37 



tion of $210.69. Thus the per capita dollar value of the Navaho live- 

 stock holdings was about the same in 1915 as it was 25 years earlier. 

 However, the reader should note that during this period, the dollar 

 value of sheep increased by 160 percent, from $1.25 a head in 1890 

 to $3.25 a head in 1915. Other livestock experienced similar increases 

 in dollar value. Hence the real value of these livestock holdings must 

 have declined seriously during this period. 



Paquette's rejDort also included some information on the estimated 

 value of other property and resources held by the Navaho tribe at 

 this time. His summary was one of the first indications of the great 

 stores of natural wealth contained in Navaho country.^^ On the basis 

 of the value of the agricultural products from the land under cultiva- 

 tion by Navahos in 1915, Paquette estimated the average value of all 

 land held by the Navahos under his jurisdiction as about $4.00 per acre, 

 instead of the $1.50 figure commonly assumed. This gave a total 

 value of $12 million for the 3 million acres included in his study. 

 He further estimated the value of all personal property and monies 

 owned by Navahos at about $430,000. Summing the values he esti- 

 mated for the land, livestock, and personal property held by the 

 Navahos under his jurisdiction in 1915, we obtain a total of $14,940,- 

 000, or about $1,250 per capita. 



However, it was the untapped natural resources of the Navaho 

 country that suggested the true wealth of the tribe. The merchant- 

 able timber resources of the Paquette jurisdiction were estimated at 

 3 billion feet, having a total stumpage value of $7.5 million. The value 

 of the known coal deposits, estimated on the basis of an assumed royalty 

 to the tribe of 1 cent per ton, came to $167 million.^^ These latter 

 figures were highly speculative, but they did serve as an early indica- 

 tion that the Navaho would find a large proportion of their future 

 income in the exploitation of their natural resources rather than in 

 their traditional livestock and agricultural activities. 



The Meriam Report, the recommendations of which underlaid many 

 of the developmental programs carried out in the 1930's, provided 

 additional information on the economic status of the Navaho as of 

 1926, the year of their survey in that area. Table 4 includes sum- 

 mary data on property valuations and income obtained by combining 

 the reported figures for the several Navaho jurisdictions (Meriam 

 et al., 1928, pp. 442, 445, 452, 455, 544). 



Although all comparisons of the data with previous figures 

 must be viewed with extreme caution, it is apparent at least that the 

 population of the Navaho was increasing at a faster rate than its 



^ Paquette's information was evidently derived from the findings of Gregory's geologi- 

 cal survey which was conducted at this time. 



8^ The first oil and natural gas deposits on the reservation were not discovered until 

 several years after this report of Paquette's. 



