Native Americans

We must concede that the incompatibility of modern civilization with our tradition-bound civilization is one of the most important causes of the crisis in our society. What is to be done? Should we insist on remaining immersed in our tradition, or should we melt fully into Western civilization? Or is there another way of removing this contradiction? Iranian President Mohammed Khatami For the past century, the United States and Western Europe has placed an extremely high premium on modernization. Contemporary ideas, techniques and technologies are seen as being superior to those that are derived from tradition or custom. As a result, Western culture has been defined as being superior to other cultures by terms such as ?first world?, ?development?, ?progress?, and ?modern?. Traditional cultures, particularly those based on oral or visual histories, have come to be described as unenlightened, unprogressive, and backward. This distinction has eroded the unique cultural aspects of traditional societies through a constant process of modernization. I am proposing a project that will explore the erosion of traditional culture through modernization, with architecture serving as a means to mediate between the two aspects of this dichotomy. The question of the relationship between tradition and modern has been a major component of philosophical thought as well as architectural inquiry for decades. In an age when modernization, growth, change and advancement are held as paramount, the relevancy of traditional societies has been challenged. The complexity of this relationship has elicited a variety of responses as to how society might face up to the issue. One such response might consist of a retreat to past ideas, patterns, styles or beliefs, entirely removing the modern aspect. Conversely, a modern response might propose complete annihilation of the traditional aspects of a situation for the sake of achieving a more enlightened state. The process in which I will engage the project will be to seek to understand and appreciate the traditional aspects of a society while at the same time acknowledging modern issues that concurrently impact that culture. By confronting the similarities as well as the differences between modernization and traditional cultures, architecture can serve to defend the distinctive qualities of a society while allowing for the evolution that is a primary aspect of 21st century reality. The exploration of this issue will be focused on the traditional society of Navajo Native Americans. The Navajo are a tribe whose traditional homeland is located in the four corners area of the American Southwest. Unlike most tribes, the Navajo Reservation is located on their traditional homeland. This spatial proximity to sacred sites has created a strong bond between