One of the neatest places I visited while out West was Canyon de Chelly in Chinlee, AZ. The “Chelly” is pronounced “shay” and not as it is looks. I found out that this is a big deal with the native residents, they get very upset if the name is pronounced wrong. The canyon is designated as a National Monument and is home to much fascinating history. I had been told that it was a neat place by both my professor and the regional coordinators I was with, but seeing it in person was a whole different story. As we did not have a guide with us and were limited on time, we were only able to visit certain areas of the monument, but each was well worth it. Navajo guides are required to be with you to visit many areas of the canyon due to the immense amount of historical artifacts and mainly because many Navajo still live on this land as they traditionally did. The guides serve to make sure the inhabitants of the canyon are not disturbed, and the guides also serve as interpreters, describing unique aspects of the area.
As we drove along the winding South Rim Drive of Canyon de Chelly, I could only catch glimpses of canyon walls off to the left. We drove until we seemed to come to the end of the canyon, where we turned off onto a side road. This brought us to the Spider Rocks overlook. As you cannot see the Spider Rocks from the parking area, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but as I rounded the trail and they came in to view, I was immensely impressed. The Spider Rocks are two 800 ft twin towers sitting in the middle of the canyon. I was told by one of the coordinators that Navajo legend states that a woman, known as Spider Woman, lives on top of one of these rocks. Mainly told to children, the story states that if someone was bad or was to climb to the top of the rock, they would fall victim to the Spider Woman and their bones would rest upon the top of the rock forever.
The second area we stopped at is known as the White House Ruins. The ruins cannot be seen from the road and one must hike 1.5 mi down into the canyon to reach them. This is the only area within the canyon walls that someone can visit without a guide. The hike down was fun, yet frightening at times due to the fact that we were basically winding our way down a steep rock face. There were a few tunnels to pass through and many small lizards running about the rocks. Once down on the canyon floor, we came upon a farm with a Navajo Hogan in the middle of a field. The Hogan is used by the Navajo as a place for meetings, spiritual undertakings, and many other things. These structures play an important role in Navajo life and are found next to nearly every house on the reservation. Passing the farm, we came to a stream bed with a small foot bridge crossing it. As we crossed the bridge we came upon a herd of sheep, most likely belonging to one of the inhabitants of the canyon. I remembered being somewhat surprised because they looked different from the sheep I am used to in New England.
As we rounded the bend we came upon some Navajo people with several tables of merchandise. I was told by the regional coordinator that they could actually get in trouble for selling things there because they needed a permit to sell in the area and permits were not usually given to sell down by the ruins. I didn’t really know how to feel about this because I felt like it was their land, and selling souvenirs seems to be a big source of income for them. But I don’t know all the logistics surrounding the situation so I cannot judge. As we passed the merchants, the ruins came into view. I was in awe because the sun was hitting them just right so they looked majestic. I had seen other ruins on the trip, but these seemed different somehow. The White House Ruins are left from when the ancestral puebloan, formerly referred to as the Anasazi, inhabited the canyon, around 1200 years ago and are some of the oldest in Canyon de Chelly. Anasazi, is said to be a Navajo word for “ancient enemy” and so is considered to be culturally insensitive, (Secrets of the Range Creek Ranch, Smithsonian, March 2006, p. 74.) They ruins are set into the wall at the bottom of a 500 foot cliff and are well preserved. As we left the ruins and started the trek back up the canyon, I tried to imagine what it would have been like to live in this place hundreds of years ago. Even though the hike back up in the intense noontime sun was rough, it was still well worth it to have experienced one of Arizona’s natural treasures. –
Alyssa Langley
