Due to the paucity of literature and statistics that deal with battered women in the Navajo Nation, most of the information in this paper comes from the author's research in Shiprock, N. Mex., the most urban and populated subdivision in the Navajo Nation. Information was obtained from discussions with battered Navajo women living in a Reservation shelter, professors of anthropology and native American studies, and professionals who serve battered Navajo women. Traditional Navajo society was matrilineal, matrilocal, and matriarchal. Family name, blood line, and inheritance came from the mother; women controlled the land and owned the home and livestock. Women participated in all aspects of Navajo life, including decisionmaking for the family and clan. Systematic "devaluation" of Navajo women began around 1868. Under U.S. laws and Indian policies, women's traditional roles began to erode as the society became increasingly masculine. Efforts to Americanize and Christianize the Navajo undermined the role of women in the home and community as the teachers of the Navajo way of life. In the boarding schools that Indian children were required to attend, they were taught Anglo values. They were often beaten by teachers, thereby learning that violence was an acceptable method of reprimand and social control. Women's political and economic roles also suffered. This article also discusses how Navajo cultural values have influenced the responses of battering victims. Help provided for battered Navajo women is described as well. 10 references