structural:expansion, structural:reformatting
Long Walk

Beginning in the spring of 1864, the Army forced around 9,000 Navajo men, women, and children to walk over 300 miles (480 km) to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, for internment at Bosque Redondo. The internment was disastrous for the Navajo, as the government failed to provide enough water, wood, provisions, and livestock for the 4,000 to 5,000 people. Large-scale crop failure and disease were also endemic during this time, as were raids by other tribes and white civilians. Some Navajos froze in the winter because they could make only poor shelters from the few materials they were given. This period is known among the Navajos as "The Fearing Time". In addition, a small group of Mescalero Apache, longtime enemies of the Navajos had been relocated to the area, which resulted in conflicts.

In 1868, the Treaty of Bosque Redondo was negotiated between Navajo leaders and the federal government allowing the surviving Navajos to return to a reservation on a portion of their former homeland.