American Indian Culture and Research Journal

The Navajo Nation occupies more than 27,000 square miles in the Four Corners region of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. Population is widely dispersed. The Navajo (Diné) People are isolated both culturally and physically from the mainstream population of the region. Unemployment rates consistently exceed 20 percent and nearly 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. In this unlikely setting a retail chain of supermarkets, Bashas' Diné Markets, is thriving. This study analyzes cross-cultural trade practices on the Navajo Nation from the early traders to today's supermarkets and the positive impact the Diné Markets have had on the Navajo Nation. The study also looks at the potential for the Diné Markets to serve as a model for niche marketing to similar cultural clusters.