'Skinwalker': Demise Of The Navajo Nation

Jenna Dela Cruz
Jane Doe
English IV
30 March 2023
They Walk on All Fours
The term Skinwalker will send a cold chill down the spine of anyone familiar with this evil cryptid. The dark magic associated with the Skinwalker is so feared that members of the Navajo Nation will not speak of the creatures. To speak of a Skinwalker is considered taboo because it opens you up to becoming a victim of the Skinwalker. It is believed that the Skinwalker possesses the ability to enchant someone’s mind for the purpose of committing evil deeds. Moreover, the Skinwalker can inflict harm such as illness, or even kill their victims. Though cryptid scholars and followers of the paranormal are still gathering evidence to prove the existence of the Skinwalker,

White settlers in the area created a panic fearing for their lives, however, the “war party” was never after the white men but the suspected witches (Blue). While torturing one of the Skinwalkers, the boy proclaimed that it didn’t matter if they killed him because they had “buried their belongings in the ground” and because of this curse they all were “already dead” (Blue). Under torture, the boy gave up the location of the buried items. The Navajo did not want to unearth these items themselves, so they had Charles Hubble, the white settler who was running the trading post, unearth the items. They discovered that many of the tribe’s belongings had been buried with “copies of the Treaty of 1868” wrapped around them (Blue). The items had been buried “in the belly of a dead man” with a clear message to those who benefited from or agreed with the

Because despite what we can prove, we need to honor the beliefs of the Navajo people. To them, and to the Utes, the Skinwalker is very real and very dangerous. Perhaps one day, there will be evidence of this shapeshifting witch, however, one must wonder at what cost? For if the Skinwalker goes on all fours among us, we should be cautious about what we wish