From Monument Valley to Grand Canyon; June 18, 2018

We took a little detour on our drive from Monument Valley to Grand Canyon to visit Canyons de Chelley and look at the landscape and the villages in the great Navajo Nation stretching over 3 states and the size of Connecticut. And to visit the Hopi Reservation which is entirely surrounded by the Navajo Nation. The detour ended up in being more than 600 km, so we were rather tired when we eventually arrived to our Grand Canyon hotel. The Navajo Nation (Naabeehó Bináhásdzo) is a Native American territory covering about 71,000 km2; occupying portions of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico in the United States. This is the largest land area retained by a Native American tribe, with a population of roughly 350,000 as of 2016. The Hopi Reservation in north-eastern Arizona has a land area of 6,557 km² and as of the 2000 census had a population of 6,946. The system of villages in the Hopi Reservation unites three mesas (First, Second and Third Mesa) in the pueblo style traditionally used by the Hopi. Walpi is the oldest village on First Mesa, having been established in 1690 after the villages at the foot of mesa Koechaptevela were abandoned for fear of Spanish reprisal post 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The Tewa people live on First Mesa. Hopi also occupy the Second Mesa and Third Mesa. The Hopi consider their life on the reservation (in particular the traditional clan residence, the spiritual life of the kivas on the mesa, and their dependence on corn) an integral and critically sustaining part of the "fourth world". This is the current cultural epoch in which all people of the world now live.

Navajo Village

Navajo Village

The USA, Arizona and Navajo Nation flags

The hogan is a sacred home for the Diné (Navajo) people who practice traditional religion. Every family even if they live most of the time in a newer home -- must have the traditional hogan for ceremonies, and to keep themselves in balance. The Navajos used to make their hogans, of wooden poles, tree bark and mud. The doorway of each hogan opened to the east so they could get the morning sun as well as good blessings. Today, many Navajo families still live in hogans, although trailers or more modern houses are tending to replace them.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located in northeastern Arizona, it is within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America.

White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly. Canyon de Chelly preserves ruins of the indigenous tribes that lived in the area, from the Ancestral Puebloans (formerly known as Anasazi) to the Navajo. The monument covers 339.3 km2 and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument.

White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly. About 40 Navajo families live in the Canyon de Chelly. Access to the canyon floor is restricted, and visitors are allowed to travel in the canyons only when accompanied by a park ranger or an authorized Navajo guide. The only exception to this rule is the White House Ruin Trail on which I hiked to the White House Ruin.

White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly.

Hogan at the end of the White House Ruin Trail, Canyon de Chelly.

White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly.

On the road to the Hopi Reservation. The Hopi Reservation in north-eastern Arizona has a land area of 6,557 km² and as of the 2000 census had a population of 6,946. The system of villages in the Hopi Reservation unites three mesas (First, Second and Third Mesa) in the pueblo style traditionally used by the Hopi.

Fist view of Grand Canyon.

The ravens of Grand Canyon are not afraid of humans.