Community flocks remained the foundation of restoration

The Navajo Sheep Project’s own history describes an organized preservation effort beginning with planning in 1977 and a nucleus flock assembled in 1978. Its account links the sheep with Navajo and Hispanic food production, weaving and regional livelihoods.

Some founding animals came through a California flock descended from sheep associated with the former USDA laboratory at Fort Wingate. Further animals were located with traditional families in remote parts of the Navajo Reservation. This means the project built upon sheep that communities had already maintained, rather than creating the breed from nothing.

The project subsequently traded and placed breeding stock with growers and artisans. Its history joins genetic preservation with the continuation of wool-based cultural and economic activity. The flock and program moved repeatedly, and historical counts in the account belong to their reported periods. The central continuity is the relationship between living sheep, the people keeping them and the textiles and food they provide.