Window Rock

  Window Rock is the capital of the Navajo Indian Reservation. It is situated on the eastern border of Arizona in the southeastern part of the reservation. Bordering Window Rock on the west is St. Michaels, a town that developed around a Catholic mission school. Bordering 
Window Rock on the east is Tse Bonito, New Mexico. Four miles north of Window Rock is
Fort Defiance, which developed around a United States Cavalry fort.
  Until a few years ago, the Navajo Reservation boundary ran along the state border on the east edge of Window Rock up to a point just north of Highway 264, then the reservation boundary turned east and went into New Mexico. This meant that Tse Bonito was not on the reservation even though it was almost exclusively populated by Navajos. This area was mostly Navajo land even though it was not formally part of the reservation. It was, in fact, an unofficial part of the reservation. It was commonly referred to as "The Checkerboard" because it consisted of alot of tribally owned land interspersed with non-Navajo land such as state owned land, federal land and privately owned land. The population of this area was still predominantly Navajo and many of the towns had Chapter Houses, which are somewhat similar to county courthouses in the fact that they serve as administrative centers of chapters, which are subdivisions of the Navajo Reservation. I will have more to say about Navajo Chapters in a later blog. Anyway, towns in New Mexico such as Crownpoint, Pueblo Pintado, Lake Valley, Nageezi and Vanderwagen were located in the Checkerboard Area, but  were not officially on the Navajo Reservation, yet they were chapter seats of the Navajo Reservation. A few years ago, approximately 2006 or 2007, this Checkerboard Area was officially made part of the reservation, although most maps still do not indicate it is as such. I have a map that does indicate it and I guard it jealously. This new part of the reservation has been shown on the tribal flag for decades. 
So, until recently, the reservation's capital was located right on the very edge of the reservation, but that is no longer the case. 
  Window Rock is located in a very beautiful setting and it is a great place for a government town.
This beautiful setting was part of the reason why the Bureau of Indian affairs chose to establish an Indian Agency here in the first place. That plus the fact that it was located a day's ride from the railroad at Gallup, New Mexico. That made it more accessible in the days when horses and stagecoaches were the most common modes of travel.