Henry Chee Dodge
(1857 - 1947)
Hastiin Adiits'a'ii -- Mr. (Sir) Interpreter
Ashkihih -- Boy Interpreter
Kiilchii’ - Red Boy
Ma'íí deeshgíízhiníí -- Coyote Pass People - Jemez Clan
Henry Chee Dodge was a U.S. official government Interpreter, the last official Head Chief of the Navajos, and first Tribal Chairman of the Navajo Tribe. He was born at Fort Defiance, Arizona, the son of a Navajo-Jemez mother - Bisnayanchi, and Mexican Silversmith - Juan Cocinas (Aneas, Anea, Anaya, Cosinisas, Goshinashu). Bisnayanchi died looking for food while leaving her son with relatives during the Navajo Tribe's trek to imprisonment to Fort Sumner. His name, Chee came from his Navajo name, Kiilchii’, and Henry Dodge from the white Agent that his father had respected. When his mom did not return, Chee was passed on to different Navajo families, until being adopted by his new family, and old man and daughter, and then official Navajo Chief, chosen by a white Indian Agent and approved by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs. His leadership brought the tribe to an effective modern day organization. He also encouraged education and continuance in the traditional Navajo beliefs. His stern discipline at home caused his children to work hard and eventually become leaders in the Navajo political system.
The survivors, including Dodge, were forced to walk hundreds of miles from northeast Arizona to northwest New Mexico, where they were confined on the Bosque Redondo Reservation at Fort Sumner. In 1868 Dodge returned to Fort Defiance with his adopted Navajo family.
After attending the Fort Defiance Indian School, his curly hair and Spanish looks caused him to be chosen at a pre-teenage age to become Interpreter for white Agents governing the Navajos. This led to him becoming official Interpreter of the Tribe. Later he translated for the ethnographer Washington Matthews and helped write two of his classic works on the Navajos, Navajo Legends (1897) and The Night Chant (1901). In addition to his interpretive abilities, Dodge was also known for his skill in diplomacy, and he was often called in to mediate territorial disputes between Navajos and white settlers in the region. In 1884 Navajo agent Dennis Riordan named Dodge chief of the Navajo police force and, a short time later, head chief of the Navajo tribe.
Dodge eventually won the confidence of his people, serving as a bridge between the white world and the traditional world of the Navajo.
In 1923 Dodge became the first chairman of the Navajo Tribal council, a position he held until 1929. He served as chairman a second time, from 1942 until his death in 1947. Throughout this period, he dominated Navajo politics. At his death he was survived by five of his six children, including Tom Dodge, who also became tribal chairman, and his daughter, Annie Dodge Wauneka, who served as a member of the Navajo Tribal Council.
Painting of Henry Chee Dodge courtesy of Gerorge Yazzie
