The Navajo Nation

After I finally closed my mouth (no comments people), and quit gaping at the beauty of the Grand Canyon, it was time to head toward The Navajo Nation and Monument Valley.

Well maybe one last peek....

We went back up the East Rim road but this time I was on the picturesque side and didn't have to shoot through snoozing passengers.

On the way to Monument Valley we saw many changes in the topography.  There are some fascinating formations designed from wind and rain.

Lots of different homes, single wide mobile homes, Hoguns (hoogans in Navajo), basic wood frame, but no wig wams or teepees -  those were Plains dwellings.

One thing for sure, the front door will always point east - even the outhouse doors point east.  The reason they point east is to welcome the sun as it rises. 

The sign on the mobile home says "Bed and Breakfast" - yup, you can spend the night in an authentic Hogun.

Some were in better shape than others

One of the octaganol Hoguns - a favorite design

Shopping Mall :)

We even took a side trip to the moon.  

Painted Desert, home of the Navajo Nation

I try very hard to remain apolitical but this was heart wrenching I had to share. You can Google it and draw your own conclusions.  I haven't researched it enough to draw mine, but do know the methods used were barbaric in my estimation.

I borrowed this from http://navajopeople.org/blog/mount-hesperus-navajo-sacred-mountain/

That website is an excellent source of information about the culture, beliefs, and traditions of the Navajo.

 The Four Navajo Sacred Mountains

Mount Blanca (Tsisnaasjini’ – Dawn or White Shell Mountain – East
Mount Taylor (Tsoodzil – Blue Bead or Turquoise Mountain) – South
San Francisco Peaks (Doko’oosliid – Abalone Shell Mountain) – West
Mount Hesperus Dibé Nitsaa (Big Mountain Sheep) – Obsidian Mountain – North

It was important to the Navajo and their peace of mind and spirit that they live within the confines of these four sacred mountains.  This they did in the Painted Desert until the United States in its infinite wisdom decided it would be a good idea to relocation them to Bosque Redondo in Eastern New Mexico.  

As with any conflict there are two sides, but there is also humanity and I see little of that in the method of relocation.  Men, women, children, and the elderly and infirm were forced at gun point to walk the 300 miles in 18 days beginning in the spring of 1863.  The estimate is that 8-9,000 individuals were made to endure this walk and an estimated 200 perished along the way.  There were more than one group converging on Ft. Sumner, in the Bosque Redonda (river bottom forest containing Cottonwood trees).  

The 40 square miles was not adequate for that many individuals to live together and thrive.  Crops were infested, rival tribes continued their disputes, inadequate management of supplies by the military and sickness as well as the trials of nature made life unbearable.  Raids on non-Indian settlers were carried out in order to feed their families, raids on other tribes happened for the same reason.  


In 1868 a treaty was signed giving the Navajo back their land with various stipulations (schooling for the children, seeds and agricultural instruments, protection rights).  One signer of the treat was General W. T. Sherman of Civil War fame.  On June 18, 1968 the Navajo began their long walk home.  The treaty granted them 3.5 million acres, within their four sacred mountains, which they have increased over the years to 16 million acres.  It is said that the Navajo became a more cohesive group after the Long Walk.

OK, on to happy happy land.

 But first we have to get there and have lunch at Goulding's Trading Post.  A combination of motel, restaurant, museum and trading post.  I

n 1921 Harry and his wife, Leone (Mike), bought 640 acres of land next to Monument Valley.  They set up a trading post out of a tent and in 1928 erected a stone trading post with an apartment on the second floor (now the museum).  The Depression hit the western states too and things were looking bleak for both the Gouldings and the Navajo.  Harry Goulding took several photographs of the area and headed to Hollywood touting the land as the perfect locale for movie westerns.  One director was intrigued and began filming with a young new actor - that director was John Ford, the young actor was John Wayne, and the movie was the award winning Stagecoach.  Both Ford and Wayne returned many times to film in the Monument Valley. The locals were hired in many areas including extras in the movies.  The goodwill of the Gouldings did not stop with bringing Hollywood to the valley, they to this day still support various causes within the Nation.


 We had lunch at Goulding's and luckily Bruce had warned us they were very generous with their portions.  He specifically mentioned the Indian Fry Bread Taco and to order the mini.  I trusted him thank heavens.  I wish I had taken a photo of the what I sent back, all I could manage was eating around the edges.  It was excellent, by the way.

 This is a normal sized dinner plate from a cafe/diner, not salad plate size.  Looks like a mouse got into mine. :)

When we left Goulding's the crossing guards were on duty at the corner.  Coming in we had to wait for some sheep to cross.  It is their land, not ours, after all.

Off we went into Monument Valley on a jeep tour.  The jeep held twenty passengers and had never see a pair of shock absorbers in its long life.  It was well worth the new organs I had to buy to replace my original spleen, liver and kidneys. 

Merrick Butte

Named after one of the two prospectors who discovered silver in the valley.  Unfortunately, the Ute discovered the prospectors, stole the silver and killed Mr. Merrick and Mr. Mitchell.

The Mittens, left and right or east and west.  Although they look like hands they signify that spiritual beings are watching over the land and people.


 

We had a couple of stops, I think they were hoping our organs would return to the correct position.

There were usually jewelry for sale, drinks (hot coffee at one?????), and great views.  The booth above was not open but proudly flying the flag.

This guy was at Ford's Point and selling photographs with the horse, either astride or standing beside him.  After a bit the man brought the horse back and let him get a drink, then took him over to a shade (a rough structure made of branches providing shade but loosely built so air could circulate).

The Three Sisters....a Catholic nun facing her two students.

I did what I could with the stops and the jeep from Hell (wouldn't have missed the ride for anything) but if you want to see some spectacular shots that are identified much better than I could do go to:

http://www.digital-images.net/Gallery/Scenic/Southwest/IndianLands/MonumentVly/Scenics/scenics.html

POWER!

One interesting part of the trip into the Painted Desert and The Navajo Nation was that the Hopi reside on top of Black Mesa in the middle of the nation.  The Hopi and the Navajo are not what you would call kissing cousins so it was surprising the Hopi were there.

At any rate the Hopi have Black Mesa mine on top of that mesa and they harvest coal.  I believe Bruce said they have a 200 year reserve of coal, so they will be in business for awhile.  Anyway, they mine it and then it goes down this conveyor belt from the top of the mesa to the silo.

 

The silo sits on a train track and holds the coal until it is shipped via railroad car to the Navajo Generating Station close to Page, Arizona on the Utah border.  The rail cars are fully automatic and run 24 hours a day.

The NGS is a 2250 megawatt coal fired power plant that provides electricity to customers in Arizona, Utah and Canada.  After seeing the vast desert vistas with few man made structures it was a bit jarring to see the big thingies that transport the electricity.  God ran out of left brains when he made me, but I did find it interesting from start to finish.  The lack of the left brain makes it impossible to tell you why the emissions from the power plant are so little, but it is by design.

A peek at Lake Powell and a promise of things to come.