"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
On 1/17/2007 12:24 PM, RG wrote:
As odd as this sounds, Navaho on my mother's side (two back) and
Cherokee (four back) on my father's side.


I believe Navajo is the preferred spelling, although your version is
sometimes found in English writings.

Either spelling is correct usage for Anglos. The Native Americans
themselves tend not to use either word amongst themselves. The word
derives from Tewa Navahú, the name referring to a large area of land and
to the people who lived on the land. Navajo is a Spanish word, coined as
part of the phrase Apaches de Navajo, which the 17th Century Spaniards
used to differentiate one Apache band and area from another.

.....which indirectly explains the "J" in Navajo: It's sounded the way we
pronounce "H".