Many people have asked, "What is a chapter?" or "What is an agency?" Due to the extreme size of Navajoland, which is 27,000 square miles, Navajo leaders divided the reservation into 5 agencies and subdivided into 110 chapters.
Agency: Agency is a term used for the Navajo Nation. Window Rock is the tribal capitol, such as Washington D.C. is the capitol of the United States. Agencies act like 'states'. (Example: There are 50 states that make up the United States; there are 5 agencies that make up the Navajo Reservation.)The problem is if a Navajo family living in the Utah side of the reservation, they would have to travel more than 200 miles away to Window Rock! So there was a need to create a subdivision of a 'tribal capitol'. So agencies were created in the 1920's. Now, instead of traveling more than 200 miles to Window Rock, Navajos living on the western side of the reservation could travel to Tuba City, which is the headquarters for the western side of the reservation. That is what an agency is.
Chapter: Chapter is a term used for the Navajo Nation. Just like counties, the chapters are communities that are on the reservation. There are 110 communities. Local houses or buildings are built for the community called chapter houses. Chapter houses are used for community gatherings or for voting for tribal president, etc. So that is the term for chapter. Chapters are Navajo communities.
Still don't understand??? I've added pictures below to make a better understanding of agency and chapter.
Agency: It has been said the Navajo Nation is a nation within a nation. For example... The United States is broken into 50 states. The Navajo Nation is broken into 5 agencies (states).
Chapter: Now, take an individual state. For example, take the state of New Mexico. New Mexico is made up of counties such as Sandoval County, San Juan County, etc... Same thing, take the Navajoland agency (state) and it is made up of chapters (counties). Chapters are communities such as Shiprock, Upper Fruitland, Two Grey Hills, etc...
These are the similarities between the United States and the Navajo Nation. And why the Navajo people and Navajo land is known as a nation within a nation.
Click on links below to learn more!
Navajo Nation
Central Navajo Chapters
Eastern Navajo Chapters
Northern Navajo Chapters
Southern Navajo Chapters
Western Navajo Chapters
Navajo Satellite Reservations
