WHO WERE THE NAPAC? DECODING AN ETHNOHISTORICAL ENIGMA.

This paper addresses the ethnology of northern and western Arizona, as recorded by Fray Francisco Garcés in 1775-1776. Several terms in Garcés' diary have proven problematic for Southwest ethnohistory-especially Yabipai, Tejua, and Napac/Napao. It is argued that some key problems derive from the standard translation by Elliott Coues (1900). With a close reading of several manuscript and published versions of Garcés' diary and with the aid of now-known Yuman ethnography and linguistics, the problem terms may be recovered as meaningful. The influential hypothesis of Coues and F W. Hodge that Napao=Navajo is shown to be false both textually and factually, requiring a reassessment of Navajo historical geography. it is suggested that Garcés' ethnography, overall perceptive and reliable, is potentially a richer source for Southwest ethnohistoiy than has hitherto been recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]