Navajo Indian Research Articles

Periodontal disease in adolescents: some clinical and microbiologic correlates of attachment loss.

The influence of several clinical and microbiological variables on the site-specific risk of attachment loss was studied in Navajo Indian adolescents aged 14-19. Diagnoses were made at mesio-buccal sites of the four first permanent molars. Case-control analytical methods were used, with A. actinomycetemcomitans, B. gingivalis, and B. intermedius considered the "risk" variables, and with calculus, gingival bleeding, age, and gender treated as possible confounders. The presence of B. intermedius significantly increased the likelihood that attachment loss would be diagnosed at a site (odds ratio = 2.86). However, this association was confounded by calculus and gingival bleeding; when either or both were present, the effect of B. intermedius was markedly weaker. Step-wise multiple logistic regression analyses showed that, of the variables considered, the combination of calculus, gingival bleeding, and B. intermedius gave the most parsimonious explanation of the presence of attachment loss. The chance that attachment loss would be diagnosed was increased five times when calculus was present, 16.5 times in the presence of both calculus and gingival bleeding, and 37 times when these variables plus B. intermedius were observed at a particular site.

Rapid Group A Streptococcal Antigen Detection Kit: Effect on Antimicrobial Therapy for Acute Pharyngitis

Newly introduced rapid diagnostic tests for group A streptococcal pharyngitis should facilitate appropriate antimicrobial use in patients with group A streptococcal pharyngitis. Because of high rates of acute pharyngitis in Tuba City, AZ, at the Navajo Indian reservation, the use of rapid diagnostic test was prospectively evaluated. The sensitivity and specificity of the test was measured and changes in physician prescribing patterns attributable to use of the test were correlated. Of 320 patients with pharyngitis enrolled during the present 3-week study, 86 met the study's definition of a patient with streptococcal pharyngitis and 163 met the study's definition of a patient with nonstreptococcal pharyngitis. The rapid test was 62.8% sensitive and 96.9% specific in identifying patients from whom group A streptococci were isolated. Although treatment of patients with streptococcal pharyngitis at the time of the first visit increased from 36.5% in a retrospective sample to 72.5% during the study, treatment of patients in whom cultures were negative remained the same. Further analyses showed that physicians tended to treat patients with signs characteristic of streptococcal pharyngitis and, as the study progressed, to rely less on negative rapid test results as a reason to withhold antimicrobial agents. It was concluded that rapid tests with good specificity but limited sensitivity may improve treatment of patients with streptococcal pharyngitis by allowing earlier specific therapy. A more sensitive test with a higher negative predictive value would be necessary to prevent treatment of persons with nonstreptococcal pharyngitis.

Some Navajo Indian opinions about alcohol abuse and prohibition: a survey and recommendations for policy.

In this study a questionnaire was administered to a sample of Navajo Indians in the southwestern region of the reservation to examine (1) their knowledge about the consequences of alcohol abuse and (2) their opinions about alcohol abuse, the etiology of abuse and alcohol legalization. Survey responses indicate that the Navajo surveyed are quite knowledgeable about the various adverse consequences of alcohol abuse. The survey found that 52% of these Navajo adults currently drink at all, and the opinion responses generally characterize alcohol consumption, even in small amounts, as a negative behavior. Sixty-three percent of all Navajos agreed with the popular, but scientifically unsubstantiated, belief that Indians have a physical weakness to alcohol that non-Indians do not have. Alcohol legalization on the reservation is opposed by 81% of the Navajos surveyed. Opinions about alcohol use and policy do not vary greatly even when knowledge of alcohol consequences and current drinking status is considered. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of positive, solution-oriented public education and debate for entertaining new ideas about alcohol policy and for reducing the sequelae of alcohol abuse among the Navajo.

Navajo Lichen Dyes

AbstractThirty-five species of lichens were collected from nine locations on or adjacent to the Navajo Indian Reservation in the southwestern United States. Wool was dyed using the traditional boiling water and ammonia fermentation methods. An additional method was developed using a solvent to extract lichen substances and dye wool, cold; this dimethylsulphoxide extraction method is described and the resulting dye colours were sometimes different. Over 155 individual dye tests were made on sheep's wool; a correlation of dye colour with lichen substances reported for the species was attempted. Predominant dye colours were tan, but yellow, orange, pink, purple, and blue-grey were also produced. These colours were further altered by modifying: (1) fermentation time; (2) dyeing time, temperature, or pH level; (3) exposure to light; and (4) subsequent additional extractions using the same method or different methods. Dyed wool samples, tested for stability in sunlight, generally faded to some degree and some changed colour. Most dyes obtained through the dimethylsulphoxide extraction method were light stable.

Norms for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised for Navajo Indians

The purpose of this project was to develop norms for Navajo Indian students for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R). A stratified random sample of 539 Navajo students distributed in cells of 4 months of age were selected from eight county schools in McKinley County, New Mexico. Sixteen percent of the Navajo school population from first through eighth grade was tested. The norms help to separate cultural and language differences from learning difficulties.

A prospective study of isolation and mortality in a cohort of elderly Navajo Indians

The prospective association between social isolation and mortality in a sample of 271 elderly Navajo Indian men and women living on their reservation in northern Arizona is reported. The follow-up period averaged three years from the time of interview in 1982-3. Self-reported level of physical functioning was predictive of mortality. Of the psycho-social measures, only marital status among men was predictive of increased risk of death, with the unmarried being at higher risk than the married. These results are attributed to the fact that Navajo society is traditionally matrilineal and matrilocal, with the mother-daughter bond being especially significant and with men being relatively more peripheral than their wives to the kin group. Thus unmarried men are far more likely to be isolated from kin than unmarried women and married people of either sex.

Persistence and change in Navajo Indian religion

Persistence and change in Navajo Indian religion

Oral health effects of smokeless tobacco use in Navajo Indian adolescents.

Recent reports have suggested that the use of smokeless tobacco is increasing in adolescents, and is particularly high in Native Americans, causing concern about possible effects on oral health. In this study, 226 Navajo Indians, aged 14-19, were interviewed regarding their use of smokeless tobacco (ST), cigarettes, and alcohol. Midbuccal and mesiobuccal sites on all fully erupted permanent teeth (excluding third molars) were examined for the presence of gingival bleeding, gingival recession, calculus, and loss of periodontal attachment. The oral mucosa was examined for evidence of leukoplakia. 64.2% (145) of the subjects (75.4% of the boys and 49.0% of the girls) were users of ST. Of these, over 95% used snuff alone or in combination with chewing tobacco. 55.9% used ST one or more days per week. 52.2% consumed alcohol, usually beer or wine, and 54.0% smoked cigarettes. 25.5% (37) of the users and 3.7% (3) of the non-users had leukoplakia. The duration (in years) and frequency of ST use (days per week) were highly significant risk factors associated with leukoplakia. However, the concomitant use of alcohol or cigarettes did not appear to increase the prevalence of these lesions. No consistent relationship was observed between the use of ST and gingival bleeding, calculus, gingival recession, or attachment loss, either when comparing users to non-users or when comparing the segment where the tobacco quid was habitually placed to a within-subject control segment. In view of these results, there is little doubt that smokeless tobacco is significantly related to the etiology of leukoplakia. As some evidence exists that smokeless tobacco use is a significant risk factor associated with oral carcinoma, intervention programs to discourage the use of smokeless tobacco by adolescents should be a public health priority.

FLUVIAL EROSION AND FEDERAL PUBLIC POLICY IN THE NAVAJO NATION

A long-standing debate among scientists, environmental managers, and makers of federal public policy has centered on the causes and cures of rapid erosion on the Navajo Indian Reservation (Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah). Federal and tribal policies that address erosion problems have not accounted for the importance of climatic change because supporting data were unconvincing and because of a national preoccupation with the soil conservation-overgrazing relationship. Political and economic concerns in Southern California have influenced hydrologic and geomorphologic research in the Colorado River Basin and the reservation because of interest in irrigation and hydroelectrical power development associated with Hoover Dam. Preliminary analysis of recently developed hydrologic and climatic records shows that adjustments in southwestern regional climate directly affected fluvial processes through variation in surface moisture conditions as measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index. Variation in the index ov...

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer in a Navajo Indian family

The purpose of this report is to describe a unique Navajo Indian kindred that manifests a tumor pattern consonant with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). So far as we can determine this is the first report of HNPCC among American Indians.

Current Developments in Navajo Indian Weaving

Current Developments in Navajo Indian Weaving

Current Developments in Navajo Indian Weaving

(1985). Current Developments in Navajo Indian Weaving. Textile History: Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 211-219.

A community medicine clerkship on the Navajo Indian reservation.

An elective clerkship in community medicine for medical students has been conducted for 16 years on the Navajo Indian reservation. An important part of the clerkship is a project in which most students select a health problem which they investigate using epidemiological methods of assessment and for which they seek a solution. The requisites for the projects are that real health problems are involved, scientifically sound methods are used, usable information is provided, and data collection can be completed within the clerkship tenure. Topics for the projects are selected jointly by the students and the faculty members from several general subject areas; this allows the work of individual students to be carried out as independent subprojects of larger projects, and this, in turn, produces more information about and has more impact on the problems addressed. Other clerkship objectives also are achieved through investigative projects that may involve students in planning, organization, and evaluation of health care and in public health practice.

Excavations at Prehistoric Sites on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, Northwestern New Mexico

The results of a large excavation project in the San Juan Basin of NW New Mexico are summarized in this article. Discussion is limited to prehistoric and protohistoric sites, 22 of which were excavated. The majority of the remains are small, surface aceramic sites that are believed to relate to the Archaic Cultural Complex. These sites reflect a specialized adaptive strategy focusing on seasonal mobility and the exploitation of resources occurring at or adjacent to sand dunes. The lithic assemblages from these sites generally are homogeneous and reflect opportunistic usage. Occupation of the project area during the Anasazi phases was limited. A considerable protohistoric Navajo occupation is apparent, with one excavated site suggesting a very specialized economic orientation emphasizing antelope procurement. The research focus of the project was on comprehensive lithic analysis and on paleoeconomy. Several methodological considerations are discussed, as is the necessity for developing a unified research perspective that will produce comparable data for the region.

Excavations at Prehistoric Sites on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, Northwestern New Mexico

Excavations at Prehistoric Sites on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, Northwestern New Mexico

Recategorized WISC-R scores of learning disabled Navajo Indian children

WISC-R subtest scaled scores for 192 learning disabled Navajo Indian children were recategorized according to the system recommended by Bannatyne (1974), and subsequently analyzed using a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance. A Newman-Keuls Multiple Range Test was also conducted to determine significant pairwise comparisons. Results indicated that, as a group, the subjects failed to demonstrate the Spatial>Conceptual>Sequential pattern predicted by Bannatyne (1974). Implications for use of Bannatyne's system with learning disabled minority children are discussed.

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Developmental Items of Five Ethnic Groups in the Southwest

A population of 3,067 Mexican-American, Pueblo Indian, Navajo Indian, Black, and Anglo elementary children were administered the Draw-A-Person for norming and comparison against the existing Koppitz scoring procedure. A significant number of items for each of the five ethnic groups changed categories with final score interpretation affected. A significant difference in percentage of items drawn by the five ethnic groups was also found, as were regional differences on certain items.

Untreated Congenital Hip Dysplasia in the Navajo

Congenital hip dysplasia without dislocation was identified in 18 Navajo Indian children. Treatment had been declined and the children presented a unique opportunity to observe the natural course of hip dysplasia. In a follow-up period of three to 19 years (average, 11.2 years), none of the dysplastic hips were observed to progress to dislocation. In 15 of the children with dysplastic hips, the condition became roentgenographically normal in the course of normal growth and development. The other three children continued to show roentgenographic signs of hip dysplasia.

Coin Rubbing and Related Folk Medicine

To the Editor.— The article on cao gio (coin rubbing) was of interest, since I have encountered a similar form of bruising in traditional folk medicine on the Navajo Indian reservation. One of the practices by Navajo medicine men is literally to suck out problems the patient may have (eg, gallstones and headaches). Using the mouth in this way causes annular ecchymotic areas over the parts of the body where the patient is treated (eg, abdomen, neck, and arms). Our physicians are oriented to be supportive of traditional healing methods if they are performed in addition to modern medical practice. In cases where patients must stay in the hospital, they are encouraged to have the medicine man perform a ceremony in the hospital room. Medical care provided by the Indian Health Service is free, while that offered by the medicine man is for a fee, either money or goods. For

Western Rangelands: Overgrazed and Undermanaged

Overgrazing and poor management of the western arid lands causes desertification as the levels of water tables and surface waters drop, top soil and surface waters become more saline, soil erodes, and native vegetation disappears. This process had led to severe desertification in an estimated 1.1 million square miles and very severe desertification on 10,500 square miles in the US. The three areas in the very severe category occur in the Navajo Indian reservation in Arizona and New Mexico and on either side of El Paso, Texas. All were subjected to overgrazing. Government policies have only recently tried to bring public land grazing in line with the land's carrying capacity by focusing on long-term productivity. The Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 authorizes better management and multiple use of public lands, but the Bureau of Land Management has not established an effective monitoring system to ensure its implementation or to overcome political constraints against reducing livestock. Ranchers disagree with the assessments made by scientists and support vegetation modification instead of grazing allotments. 58 references, 7 figures. (DCK)