The Navajo today, the Native American conundrum

The Navajo today is the largest Native American tribe, with over 250,000 inhabiting 16 million square miles, mostly in Northern Arizona. They have dual citizenship (US and Dine), and are subject to US income taxes and Navajo taxes. There are no property taxes, and there are some US govt agencies that offer some benefits to people on the reservation (medical, some recieve royalty payments for mineral rights, depending on what the tribal government decides), plus social security disability benefits, food stamps, welfare, just as other US citizens do. Unfortunately, the current plight of the Navajo people is not healthy (physically, economically, or in any other way we could determine). Unemployment is somewhere between 40-50%, depending on which stastistic you use, per capita income is $5,600/year vs. $22,000/year for the US, drug and alcohol abuse is a serious problem, even though it is forbidden on the reservation and diabetes has become a serious problem because of the sedentary life, overweight and too much sugar/fat in the diet. The largest employers are the Federal government and the Tribal government. In speaking with some of the local Navajos guides, education (including college) is made available, vocational training is made available, jobs are found for those that want them, but the jobs are off the reservation. Many cannot integrate successfully and return home w/a substance abuse problem. One guide said she felt there should be no welfare/govt assistance provided, except for education. She feels that the young women have children w/o husbands in order to get welfare and the young men see their fathers surviving w/o working, and maybe that is not such a bad life.





Marlene and I noticed a distinct lack of entrepreneurship; very few stores, no industry. Education is apparently improving, but one guide said many of the teachers have no college degree (can't verify this), and important life skills like balancing a check book are not taught. A few years ago, I spoke with a member of the World Bank, who was working in Africa. His feeling was that the entrepreneurial spirit is indigenous to the human being, that given the right freedom to pursue, and a fair rule of law, and the right to better yourself and your family, any human group will proliferate entreprenuerism. So what is the problem?





Some think that more money/benefits should be given the Native American because their culture was destroyed many times by Spainish/US govt/outside companies/individuals. Many "experts" have opinions on what is the best way to address the Native American conundrum; I read an interesting commentary by Bill Yellowtail, presenting a paper at a Harvard, 2006 conference (?), making a case for self-suffiency. "Don't give them fish, teach them how to fish". If you have interest check this out http://www.perc.org/articles/article803.php

The current life of victimhood is not healthy, and does not do justice to a once proud people.

Navajo Country May 28-31

It is generally thought that the Navajos (they call themselves Dine (Dee Neh) and the Apache were the last to cross the Bering Strait thousands of years ago. They migrated down from Canada to the Southwestern US starting around 1000 AD, completing migration around 1300AD. Apparently they mixed reasonably well w/Ancestoral Puebloans for a while, then started fighting with them. The Navajos were known as fierce fighters. Eventually they inhabited the cliff dwellings and other areas originally developed by the Ancestoral Puebloans (Anasazi). With the entry of the Spainish in 1560, then the settlements by the US, greater problems developed. In 1864 Kit Carson wiped out a major band in Canyon de Chelly (apparently many, if not all, women and children) and the Navajos surrendered and were forced to walk the "long march" (300+ miles) to New Mexico. Many died, family culture was destroyed. In 1868 a treaty was signed to give the Navajo certain land to live on. In the early 1920s, oil and othere valuable minerals (uranium, etc) were discovered. Leases were signed with outside parties, and royalties continue to this day, although most feel the Navajos got the lesser end of the deal. Finally, over cultivation of livestock resulted in the US govt forcing a reduction in livestock in the 1940's, causing, again, major difficulties to the Navajo.

Shots of Canyon de Chelly (Canyon de Shay). Navajos still farm the valley; this canyon was where Kit Carson killed Navajos to force them to submit to US control. Led to the 300+ mile forced march to New Mexico, where many Navajos died.

Dr. Livingston (er, Richardson) I presume

Famous "spider woman" formation in Canyon de Chelly. Spider woman, according to Indian history, taught the Indian how to weave; an important skill. Notice the white top to the left rock. Indians told misbehaving children the white were the bones of children who did not behave. Wonder how effective that was.

Cliff dwelling at the Navajo National Monument Center

Monument Valley was like this; massive formations everywhere. Some of the buttes were so massive it provided a famous backdrop for many movies; there is even a viewing point named for John Ford, the famous director, since he shot so many scenes from there. Unfortunately, it was extremely windy and the self guided tour was on nearly impassable roads for my Acura; didn't get much in the way of pics.

Ode to Bluff, UT May 30

We left our Cadillac RV park in Bluff, UT today. Very nice little place. Bluff is a great base for seeing a number of highlights, but the town, such as it is, is very small. 1 gas station w/convenience store, a laudromat, a coffee shop, a motel, a post office, an elementary school, 2 rv parks and 3 restaurants. All in a valley surrounded by walls of rock. Cell coverage, forget it; but, we had a very nice time. Very nice owners, they almost had a zoo of animals; pictures follow. Marlene feeding the ducks; don't know their names, but they did enjoy the bread.

Marlene feeding Elvis, one of two emus at the RV park. Elvira not pictured. The owner said someone gave them to her and once she gets an animal, that's it. Emus are much friendlier than ostriches, according to her.

Marlene feeding the two female mules; the male one, Noah (not pictured), makes quite the racket and is separated from the females. Saw one of the horses dragging Noah around by the neck in circles. Asked the owner what the story was. She said Noah irritates the horses a lot, until they can't take it any more, then they start dragging him around. Doesn't seem to stop him. Sounds like some people I know.

Rainbow greeted us on our second day; sign of good things to come

Bluff May 25

When driving watch for falling rocks.

Moki Dugway May 25

Road down from Muley Point (not the only way into there). Gravel road drops 1100 feet in 2 miles; don't do this when it is wet! Exciting.

Muley Point, UT May 25

5 miles in on a dirt road is Muley Point. As the guide book says, when they finally make all of Southern Utah a national park, Muley Point will surely be the centerpiece (some of the most stupendous views in the world). Cannot do it justice with the camera (going to try to get back there w/video camera). San Juan River goosenecks far below, views forever. Saw exactly two other cars of people while we were there. Can you believe it?

Natural Bridges Park May 25

Two of the three natural bridges (if I could make these easier to see I would)

Canyonlands May 24

Mule deer (big ears) feeding near the road. (note the snow)

Interesting lizard

Marlene on a hike

Canyonlands May 24

That's me having fun on the top of the rock.

Marlene in front of interesting sculpture

Flowering cactus

Wooden Shoe (in the middle)

Mother Earth's breasts (my interpretation)

Newspaper Rock petroglyphs May 24

Marlene in front of petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock. The petroglyphs have been created over time, some from as early as 700 AD. The black looking coating on the rocks is called desert varnish; created from iron, manganese, clay and sand. The blacker it is, the more manganese is in the mix. The varnish takes thousands of years to make, but the exact process is not yet known. Theory 1: a chemical reaction between rainwater mixing with clay containing iron/manganese then the mixture oxidized by the water causing the mixture to bond to the rock. Theory 2: Bacteria grows on the rock; as they grow they have more concentration of iron/manganese; then the mixture gets oxidized and becomes cemented to the rock. This wall seems protected from the elements with a generous overhang (not shown); that could one reason it has lasted so long in good shape.

Bluff, UT May 23-30

Southern Utah: GOD's sandcastles

As most of you know, this area of Utah has spectacular landscapes; some have said they should just make all of Southern Utah a national park. The top picture is from an area called Valley of the Gods; the bottom picture is the San Juan River meandering through the rocks, as seen from Gooseneck State Park. You probably can't see the two specks in the river below, but they are rafters; gives you an idea of how high the canyon walls are. There are many national parks here; they are all a little different. The geology that formed these wonders is very interesting.

About 300 million years ago this was ocean; started moving West, leaving salt. After settling, white sand from the West combined with minerals (iron, manganese) flooding in from the mountains, eventually built up about 15,000 feet of multi-colored layers of sedimentary rock. About 15 million years ago most of this area was still at sea level. Then major uplifts and volcanic activity caused the area to rise; much of this area is now 3,000-7,000 above sea level. The salt base has constantly shifted, producing fractures in the rock. The river eroding the rock shown in this picture started about 10 million years ago and the elements, including the rivers and winds continue to this day. The results are spectacular shaped formations and canyons (we haven't even gotten to the Grand Canyon, Bryce or Zion yet).

Our trip from Cortez, CO to Bluff, UT was uneventful; getting the hang of the grades on the roads. Bluff is pretty small, probably 200 people, but the RV park is situated nicely with wonderful canyon walls, a little duck pond (with ducks) and wi-fi. Unfortunately, cell coverage at the park is nil; I wasn't sure if I could handle it (I can), the nearest market (not exactly a supermarket) is 25 miles away and Wal-Mart about 1 1/2 hours away. We are so roughing it!

Telluride May 21

Bridal Veil Falls, Telluride; longest waterfall in CO. Particularly strong now with the melting winter snows.

Mesa Verde Balcony House May 20

Me, along with my group, climbing the 32 ft. ladder into the Balcony House cliff dwelling. This dwelling was facing East (unusual), probably not used for residence, was used for ceremony. There was one other section about this same layout, but with no retaining wall to the canyon below. Yikes!

Mesa Verde museum May 18

Actual basket from approximately 500-700AD. Can you believe how little it deteriorated? Discovered in a sealed room, dry air and lack of exposure to the elements/animals/people are probably all reasons. Amazing.

Mesa Verde May 18

Spruce Tree cliff dwelling, Mesa Verde. Self tour; a great day for Marlene and me.

Hovenweep May 17

Flowering cactus. Spring is busting out all over.

Mesa Verde and the cliff dwellings May 18-20

Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez, CO is a sight not to be missed if you ever get out this way. Not only are the historic ruins amazing, but the park rangers are excellent; each bringing his/her own interpretation to the events that happened on this land (deemed hallowed by Indian descendents). The park is big, has a wonderful museum and a number of different sites, ruins, some of which can be hiked to, some of which can be self-explored and some that come w/guided ranger tours. The tours were the best!

A brief history for those of you interested. The forefathers of the Anasazi Indians (now called Ancesteral Puebloans) came from Russia on boat/land across the Bering Strait and nomadically roamed the western US 10,000-15,000 BC. Evidence, not here, but in the Southwest, has been found in arrowheads. These people hunted bison and mammoths, picked berries and nuts and went where the food was. Evidence in this area shows activity beginning about 1 AD. Until approximately 500 AD they learned agriculture, grew corn and squash, hunted with spears, lived in something called a "pit house" (a mud and stick house) whose floor was several feet below the surface level. Baskets were made (the yucca plant), no pottery.

Around 500 AD they discovered the bow and arrow; life changed for the better. Similar lifestyle but better productivity allowed for larger families/villages; beans added to the fields; pottery developed (helped carry water etc). Around 750 AD evidence of the pueblo as a living space (stone walls w/primitive clay mortar), again on the surface of the land. By 900-1100AD, multi-unit pueblos w/large ceremonial "kivas" (a circular, mostly sub-terrainian stone building for religeous and social purposes). Ruins of many of these still exist.

By 1100 some (not all; many still lived on the surface) Indians had discovered the possibility of living in the rocks. Now, Mesa Verde is particularly well suited for this. The surface (above the cliff dwellings) runs at approximately a 7% grade North to South and, at this time the soil was rich for growing (dry farming was the term used) and moisture/rainfall was greater than it is now. Because of the sandstone (porous) layered on top of shale(non-porous), the water would seep through the rocks and they had water for the dwelling units. Most of the dwellings are located on the eastern side of the canyons; during the summer when it was hot, the sun was overhead, they had shade. During the winter, when it got very cold (-20), they had sun crossing lower on the western horizon which shown into their dwellings. So they would be planting/hunting on the surface and return to the dwellings after work. Around 1250-1300AD they slowly left their dwellings to live near the Rio Grande river. Why? Some say a bad drought, others the soil had been used up, others say they were nomadic by nature and "It was time to go". Most agree the Indians left w/little urgency, and left enough items, as if they planned to return some day. That return may have been interrupted by the Spainish. Many Indians today return to this area as a sacred place; almost return as in a pilgramage.

It was quite the place.

May 16-23 Cortez, CO

After leaving Durango, we took a short ride to Cortez, CO, our next stop. Negotiated my first difficult mountain grade (still learning). Cortez is smaller than Durango, more of a ranching, farming town, not nearly the number of nice restaurants. Close to Mesa Verde (more later), Hovenweep, Canyon of the Ancients. Felt fortunate our campsite was very nice; it is hard to know just what these places will be like, even with reviews, etc. Did take a side trip to Telluride (someone said the billionaires (Oprah and others) were taking over from the millionaires) to see what all the fuss was about. Other that a lot of expensive homes and a lot of realtors, it just looked like another ski town to me. They can claim the best waterfall in CO though, made more impressive by this season's snow melt; will try to post a picture. Next stop Bluff, Utah.

Durango 3 May 12

Took a day trip south to Aztec, NM to see the Puebloan ruins from 1100-1300 AD. Had the only fully restored Kiva (a circular, ceremonial room built into the ground) in the southwest US.

Durango 2 May 13

At Silverton, CO. Although the avalanche hazard was low, the scenic train ride up and bus ride back had many areas of "beware of rock slides" and many long dropoffs w/out guardrails.

Durango 1 May 13

An unusually heavy winter of snow is producing quite the runoff as it melts. This view of the Animas river shows great rapids. We took this as we were riding the narrow guage steam locomotive from Durango to Silverton, CO, an old mining town.

Albuquerque 3 May 11

One of a series of wonderful sculptures in front of the ALB museum. Here the Spainish conquistador is herding his longhorn cattle w/the help of his faithful dog.

Albuquerque 2 May 11

Nice mosaic in front of the entrance to "Old Town" , the historic geographic beginning of Albuquerque.

Albuquerque 1

Me standing next to a sculpture, the "Corn Maiden" in front of the Albuquerque Pueblo Museum. Corn was a critical food for the Indians from 500 AD on. The museum had an excellent exhibit on great Indian women artists. The women were responsible for keeping the tribe together, through the generations. Interesting exhibit, especially one piece by Helen Hardin, who died of breast cancer at a relatively young age of 41 in 1984.

May 6-15

Took off out of HH on Tuesday am, May 6th.

First stop, Birmingham, AL. Getting around Atlanta, no problem. Found a nice campground Birmingham, a concrete pad on the West side of town. We did not have to un-hook (nice) and the satellite tv on the rv worked fine (yea). Weather pleasant; price reasonable ($20?). Next morning off to Ft. Smith Arkansas, only difficulty getting around Memphis, busy, busy, busy Fed Ex land. Interstate in Arkansas needs some infrastructure improvement; Jamie, work on that; thought I would lose my teeth on some of washboard I-40. Campground Ft. Smith very nice, except for the tornado we had that passed right by us(Marlene figured out that the horn sounding was a tornado warning).

Got away to Amarillo the next day; gassed up first ($4.03/gal diesel,roughly $430 for fill-up; yikes). Otherwise uneventful; campground Amarillo fine (had a tornado shelter). Next day on to Albuquerque (approx 5600 ft above sea level); nice campground West side of town. Stayed there 3 nights, left Monday. Upon arriving, filled up again ($4.05/gal or $450; unfortunately because of my leadfoot we averaged under 8 mph on this tank; I know I can do better!). Day of arrival, we went to the Indian Casino 5 miles down the road; actually won $50 on blackjack (yee-hah), inspite of getting our clothes smokey; ate in a fair Mex restaurant. Apparently the casino is a big attraction to the truckers, and by the look of some of the chicks (dressed very provacatively) coming in to the casino around 6pm when we left, I can only imagine. Next day went to a Pueblo museum in Albuquerque (very interesting), lunched in "Old Town" where the original church (St. Felipe) was established when the town was started in 1750?

That evening we went to a party given by one of USAFA classmates (30th wedding anniversary); met a very nice mix of people; most working at Kirkland or for the government on atomic energy projects. Wonderful evening. Sunday went to the ALB museum and the atomic energy museum; both excellent. Learned that dentures cause beaucoup radiation; Marlene is swearing off irradiated food; saw great documentary on the development of the original atomic bomb and excellent video on the Cuban missle crisis. Wonderful.

Monday on to Durango, CO (6500 ft above sea level); got to practice my shifting/braking techniques on some steeper grades. Actually, not bad; we'll see in CO and UT. Staying at a nice campground North of Durango; very interesting town; only 14,000 permanent residents here; you would never know it by the commercial amenities. More restaurants per capita than San Francisco; very nice mix from brewerys to high end. Very nice selection. Also has lots of specialty shops (great gift stores, jewelry shops, accessory shops) plus commercial chain stores (a mall, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Pier One etc). Ft Lewis College is here, free to all Indians; and a lot of money people seem to spend part time here; real estate prices seemhigh to me. Tuesday, took it easy, washed the rv (took all day w/intermittent rain), addressed a few rv breakdowns (had to replace a sheared bolt on one of the engine cover arms, still investigating a small leak front end of the rv we thought we had fixed). Camping site has excellent wi-fi. Wednesday took the famous scenic railroad ride up to old mining town, Silverton. Nothing much to the town, but the ride was great. Guide told us that a new ski development on the eastern side of a mountain there got 550 inches of snow this year; wow. Thursday drove to Aztec, NM and Bloomfield, NM to see archaeological ruins of the early Anastasi Indians, built around 1100AD. Great documentary, good museums, learned a lot about the original Indians in this area.

So far, so good; but I must admit I miss my tennis/golf. Going to have to work on that; at least get more exercise.

John