Rural western Navajo household income strategies

Abstract

Sources of income in the contemporary rural Navajo local economy have been characterized as multiple and unstable. Data from recent interviews taken in a probability sample of Navajo households in the former Navajo‐Hopi joint Use Area support these characterizations. Clusters representing different allocations of productive resources are derived by grouping households with similar income profiles. The clusters are further assessed for economic return and their demographic and social correlates. The results recommend a multiplex view of the local economy as an improvement over the standard dual economy approach to the study of socioeconomic change in developing areas. [Navajo local economy, methodology, intracultural variation, socioeconomic change, Navajo‐Hopi Joint Use Area]