Sep 21 07

September 21, 2007

What an adventure! We met Ken Brown and his wife, Gladys, at the Chinle Stake Center in Chinle, Arizona at 10:00 AM. After a short meeting we went to the Canyon de Chelly Visitors Center to get permits to enter the National Monument area. When Ken first told us about doing this he said it would be good to have 4-wheel drive vehicles, so we drove and took another couple with us, and 3 other trucks and a jeep also went with our group.

As soon as we turned into the monument lands we realized that Ken was guilty of the Native American tendency to understatement. A 4-wheel drive was not a good idea, it was absolutely mandatory. In the sandy parts we were literally pushing sand with the bumper. Once we got through the sand we went down into ravines, through rivers, and over places where we were up to the axle in mud. Fortunately Robert is an excellent off-road driver.

Ken’s wife, Gladys, actually grew up in Canyon de Chelly. There are beautiful, high red rock mountains all around as you drive into the canyon. There are also ruins from early cliff dwellers. The Hogan in which Gladys lived as a child is still there. Her family still owns their property in the canyon, and will own it forever as long as they use it for grazing or to live on. They only use it for grazing. She showed us where she used to climb out of the canyon when she was little. All the children must have been part mountain goat.

We stopped several times to look at ruins, at Gladys’ (I feel like I’m writing about my mother) home, and at the end a place called Spider Rock. That was fantastic. At the White House ruins we ate a lunch Ken brought for us (sandwiches, fruit, cookies, soda, water). It was very nice. Also at that spot there were a few vendors and Robert bought me a bracelet for my birthday. It’s a beautiful silver bracelet with etchings of all the places we’ve seen in the canyon. The man who made the bracelet was there and he had all his tools out working on another one. He assured us that all his work is handmade. Another woman was looking seriously at the bracelet so I had to whisk it away from her to purchase it. Later we laughed about this whole incident. We said Mr. Henry probably has his computer program at home where he cranks out several machine made bracelets per hour and the other woman was his sister. He pays her to wander around and look interested to motivate the dumb tourists to buy stuff faster.

Gladys told us that when her family lived in the canyon they had peach trees and apple trees that grew delicious fruit. They also grew grapes. Those were the only trees then, but she said all the trees we saw are Russian Olive trees brought west by some unknowing pioneer (probably a Mormon settler). Those trees now grow wild and crowd out everything else in the canyon. Also since they are not made to grow in a desert climate, they need far more water than indigenous trees would. The people used to dig down about a foot to get water in the canyon. Now the water table is six feet below ground level. Of course that undoubtedly is due to the drought, also, but the increased demand of these trees for water is considered another factor. She said that in general the Navajo people are a peaceful people, but in the early days there were a few who went into Mexico and surrounding settlements and raided. So the army came. The people went into this canyon to hide, so the army burned all the fruit trees and grapevines so the Navajos would have nothing to eat. That forced them all to go to the top of the canyon, where they were rounded up and relocated. Eventually they returned to their land, which is now the reservation, but never went back to the canyon.

Gladys also told us that because there was no wood in the canyon the children were sent to the top of the canyon to find firewood. They would gather the wood then roll it over the edge of the canyon. At the bottom her parents, or other children, would gather the wood and use it. Gladys is a truly unique woman. She is a devout Mormon, but still respectful of her people and their ways. One missionary was telling a story about a woman who told her about one of the Navajo rituals that helped her sisters. The missionary said to Gladys that maybe it’s true because it helped this woman’s sister. Gladys replied, “It’s true if you believe it.” I loved that answer.

The last place we stopped was Spider Rock. The story here is that a horse and rider approached the rock once and saw a huge spider. It scared the horse away and was called Spider Rock ever since. There are also legends that say a Navajo woman would come to the rock, find a spider web, rub it between her hands and say a prayer. She would then have the gift of weaving from the spider and would become a beautiful weaver.

This was just a great day. You can only come into the canyon with a Navajo guide. Gladys is not an official guide, but because she owns property in the canyon she can bring in people. We left the canyon about 6:00 and drove to Gallup to spend the night. It was the closest place we could find that had a Hampton Inn and I just love their beds!

The couple that rode into the canyon with us were Brother and Sister Bartholomew from Brigham City. They serve in Window Rock. Their experiences with the Navajo are very similar to ours with the Apache, although the Navajo are a step up economically. Window Rock is a nice town, and so was Chinle, much cleaner and better kept than either Whiteriver or Cibecue. Also, they have way more businesses in their town, i.e. Burger King, McDonalds, Quality Inn, Holiday Inn. Apparently the tribe doesn’t keep quite as tight a stranglehold on the communities as the Whiteriver tribal council. Bartholomews said at one time there was a computer processor plant in Window Rock. But the workers went on strike and demanded more pay, although they were already receiving more in wages than any other employer on the reservation. So the company just closed the plant and moved to another location.

Bartholomews also had a very similar experience to ours when they received their call. They had their eye on a teaching position at BYU-Hawaii, and like us had even called over there and were in touch with the people at the university. They were equally shocked when they got called to the rez. And they have had very similar experiences adjusting to life on the rez. I think it was therapeutic for all of us to have a chance to share these experiences. They also had a son who came home early from his mission. When he left his mission president took away his recommend and said because he hadn’t fulfilled his mission he wasn’t worthy to go to the temple. This young man has never been back to the temple, even to be married. What a sad story.

We really like this couple and hope to see more of them.