Indians 2 Navajo Nation

Mike Leco — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:52:00 GMT

The Navajo Nation is larger than some European countries. It encompasses 27,000 Square miles (70,000 sq. kms.) in the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. It is the largest Indian reservation in the USA, but to the Navajo people it is their homeland and their own sovereign nation.

When you visit the land of the Navajo Nation, you can see why it was allocated to them by the US government. Most of it is arid, barren desert country useless for agriculture and only marginally useful for grazing cattle or sheep. The early European colonists to this area ceded the Navajo tribe the lands that they considered worthless. Yet, this area contains some of the most unusual and beautiful natural scenery in North America.

As you drive across the arid plains of the Nation, you typically see only a few scattered cattle and sheep grazing on the sparse vegetation. Occasionally, you spot an isolated mobile home set far back from the highway. An old water tank on stilts towers above its roof. Abandoned cars, appliances and debris are often scatterd about. Sometimes, the igloo shape of a traditional Navajo hogan stands near the mobile home.

I asked Harold why there were so few modern homes constructed on the Navajo lands, He explained that only the tribe can communally own the land. Individual Navajo residents can lease land for 99 years, but cannot own it or sell it. The banks will not loan money for the construction of a home that they cannot repossess or sell, so they do not finance houses. Since they can repossess mobile homes, they are willing to finance them.

Of all the beautiful natural scenery on the Navajo Nation, perhaps the most spectacular lies near the border of Arizona and Utah in Monument Valley. Here, massive red sandstone mesas and delicate pinnacles rise hundreds of feet straight up from the vast plains. Monument Valley is one of the great natural wonders of our planet and it all belongs to the Navajo Nation.

Many local Navajos work as tourist guides in Monument Valley or as merchants selling crafts and souvenirs to the many visitors. Some of them are employed by the tribal council while others are independant operators. Harold Simpson is both an independant guide and an entrepreneur owner of his own Trail Handler Tours business.

We spent several days visiting Harold. He proudly showed us his spectacular homeland in Monument Valley. We spent the night in the traditional Navajo hogan that was used by his father, a local shaman or medicine man, for various religious ceremonies. The next day, he took us on a backcountry jeep tour of nearby mystery valley and its many ancient cliffside ruins.

As the sun was setting, Harold parked the jeep before a great natural alcove rising a hudred feet or more up the side of a rock wall. He disappeared into the shrubs at the base of the wall. Moments later, we heard the steady throbbing of a drum and the lilting sonorous chant of an Indian song echoing from the natural acoustic amplifier. The sound of this ancient traditional music echoing from the rock wall as the sun set on the spectacular natural scenery created a sense of reverence and awe that cannot be described. Harold, an accomplished drummer and singer, was serenading us.

Life in the USA : Navajo

Indians 2 Navajo Nation