They are the antithesis of everything Navajo Spirituality represents. The way of the Navajo is called Hozho Naasha or The Way of Beauty. The word Hozho has no translation in English. It means Harmony/Balance/Beauty all rolled up into one. The skinwalkers practice the opposite of this and do everything they can to destroy hozho. They have certain gifts that come with being a skinwalkers. They can jam guns, stall cars, make you immobile, make you sick, kill you, run as fast as car doing about 60, they can assume the form of certain nocturnal animals by wearing their skins but maintain human intelligence. Hence the term skinwalkers.
They perform Navajo healing ceremonies backwards and can curse bones and other items which they can transfer under your skin causing you to become ill or even kill you. They are also said to be able to "sing" corpses out of the ground and pervert them. They then grind the body parts/bones into what is called corpse powder. They blow it on you with a small bone tube which can kill you. Traditional Navajo carry the antidote in their Jish (small bag worn around the neck) and it must be administered immediately.
They can do a bunch of other things that I don't feel comfortable talking about after dark. They are said to know when you're talking about them and it can solicit of visit.
