<P> Like some internment camps involving several tribes, the Bosque Redondo had serious problems . About 400 Mescalero Apaches were placed there before the Navajos . The Mescaleros and the Navajo had a long tradition of raiding each other; the two tribes had many disputes during their encampment . Furthermore, the initial plan was for around 5,000 people, certainly not 10,000 men, women, and children . Water and firewood were major issues from the start; the water was brackish and the round grove of trees was quite small . Nature and humans both caused crop failures every year . The corn crop was infested with army worms and failed repeatedly . The Pecos River flooded and washed out the head gates of the irrigation system . In 1865 Navajo began leaving . By 1867 the remaining Navajo refused to plant a crop . Comanches raided them frequently, and they raided the Comanche, once stealing over 1,000 horses . The non-Indian settlers also suffered from the raiding parties who were trying to feed their starving people on the Bosque Redondo . And there was inept management of what supplies were purchased for the reservation . The army spent as much as $1.5 million a year to feed the Indians . In 1868 the experiment--meant to be the first Indian reservation west of Indian Territory--was abandoned . </P> <P> The Treaty of Bosque Redondo between the United States and many of the Navajo leaders was concluded at Fort Sumner on June 1, 1868 . Some of the provisions included establishing a reservation, restrictions on raiding, a resident Indian Agent and agency, compulsory education for children, the supply of seeds, agricultural implements and other provisions, rights of the Navajos to be protected, establishment of railroads and forts, compensation to tribal members, and arrangements for the return of Navajos to the reservation established by the treaty . The Navajo agreed for ten years to send their children to school and the U.S. government agreed to establish schools with teachers for every thirty Navajo children . The U.S. government also promised for ten years to give to the Navajos annually: clothing, goods, and other raw materials, not exceeding the value of five dollars per person, that the Navajos could not manufacture for themselves . </P> <P> The signers of the document were: W. T. Sherman (Lt. General), S. F. Tappan (Indian Peace Commissioner), Navajos Barboncito (Chief), Armijo, Delgado, Manuelito, Largo, Herrero, Chiquito, Muerte de Hombre, Hombro, Narbono, Narbono Segundo and Ganado Mucho . Those who attested the document included Theo H. Dodd (Indian Agent) and B. S. Roberts (General 3rd Cav). </P> <P> On June 18, 1868, the once - scattered bands of people who call themselves Diné, set off together on the return journey, the "Long Walk" home . This is one of the few instances where the U.S. government permitted a tribe to return to their traditional boundaries . The Navajo were granted 3.5 million acres (14,000 km2) of land inside their four sacred mountains . The Navajo also became a more cohesive tribe after the Long Walk and were able to successfully increase the size of their reservation since then, to over 16 million acres (70,000 km2). </P>

The navajo long walk to the bosque redondo