| This study explores the lived experiences of members of the Alamo Band of the Navajo Tribe for evidence of a unique ethnic identity within the Navajo Nation. Contemporary oral traditions of the Alamo Band reveal their identity as a distinct people as enunciated in stories, personal experiences, phrases, and statements contained in life story interviews of the Alamo people. Phenomenological analysis was applied to ten life story interviews obtained on and around the Alamo Navajo Reservation. The analysis clarified seven themes indicating how the participants perceive their own history, identity, and place in the Navajo world. Examination of the seven themes (Fatalism, Family, Education, Culture, Origins, Place & Identity, and Hardship) resulted in interpretive findings of identity confusion arising from conflicting elements in the traditional Navajo worldview and the hegemonic Anglo culture. This study argues that traditional Navajo culture, Apache intermarriage, and historical circumstances shape the contemporary Alamo identity.;Keywords: Phenomenological Analysis, Alamo Band Navajo, life story interviews, oral history, Navajo culture. |
