Sixteen miles north of Window Rock is the town of Navajo, New Mexico. This town is located on Navajo Highway 12 and sits just inside New Mexico. The town is only about one-third mile from the Arizona border.
Navajo was a planned community that was built by Navajo Forest Products Industries in the 1960s to provide housing for employees of the new sawmill that had been built to harvest the lumber from the nearby Chuska Mountains. The mill went out of business in the 1980s and now sits silent, looking almost spectral, leaving the nearby town to wither away into the dust.
The town of Navajo was drawn up on blueprints and was built from scratch in the
pinon/juniper grassland. Most people do not think of forest land when they think of the Navajo Reservation, but there is, particularly in the Chuska Mountains and on the Defiance Plateau and in other high elevation locales as well. This is why the sawmill and the accompanying town of Navajo were constructed, to provide a source of income and jobs for the tribe.
During its heyday, the town of Navajo had about 3,200 people. Now it has about 1,800, but the population loss has slowed to a trickle. The town perseveres even though its primary reason for existence has disappeared. It survives because of the schools. All grades are represented, kindergarten through 12th grade. All of the schools, as well as the school district itself, are called
Navajo Pine. The town also continues to survive because of the rather large supermarket called
Navajo Pine Supermarket. The school district, the gas station and the supermarket provide the jobs in this impoverished community. Many people commute to other towns to work.
The most vivid memory I have of Navajo is the non-functional traffic lights at the intersection of
Cleveland Boulevard (Navajo Highway 12) and Cedar Avenue. The traffic lights have been sitting there, turned off and non-operational, for close to ten years that I know of, ever since I went through Navajo for the first time. Seems like they could be taken down instead of just sitting there being exposed to the harsh winters and the summer monsoons. Meanwhile, Cedar Avenue, the street that was once busy enough to warrant traffic lights at the intersection with the highway, runs past mostly abandoned houses now and the street is full of giant potholes, some of them one to two feet deep.
I am impressed that Navajo, New Mexico survives when its sole reason for existence went out of business nearly thirty years ago.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Window Rock, part 2
The heart of Window Rock is the intersection of State Highway 264 and Navajo Highway 12. Most of the businesses in town are clustered around, or near, this intersection. This intersection is only half a mile from the New Mexico border. This area is where you will find such businesses as McDonalds, Church's Fried Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Burger King, etc.
About half a mile north of this intersection, at the next set of traffic lights, is
Window Rock Boulevard. Window Rock Boulevard is lined with Tribal government buildings and ends in a circle where the Navajo Nation Capital Building, Navajo Nation Legislative Council Chambers and the Navajo Nation Department of Justice are located. There are other streets radiating off of the circle that contain other tribal government buildings as well. One of these streets is a dirt street. The street is unpaved, and yet it is lined with tribal government buildings.
The Legislative Council Chambers is shaped like a hogan, the traditional, eight-sided Navajo dwelling, with the main door facing east to greet the rising sun, just as it would in a traditional hogan. This building, however, is constucted of native stone instead of the usual mud and wood.
All of these tribal governent buildings are in Arizona, barely. Window Rock Boulevard runs
roughly north-south, but on a slight angle. The street is about 2/3 of a mile long. The farthest east of the tribal government buildings are only about 50 yards from the New Mexico border. The streets that run past other tribal government buildings, Morgan Drive for example, are paved but in generally poor condition with alot of potholes.
Directly outside the front entrance of the Navajo Nation Capitol Building in the Window Rock formation, which lends its name to the town. This rock with a hole through it is an arch, or
natural bridge in the making, but it is not eroded enough to qualify as either. It is amazing how perfectly round that hole is. There is a small tribal park in front of the rock formation with
picnic tables.
On the eastern edge of Window Rock is the Navajo Nation Museum, which is a fascinating museum depicting tribal history, I highly recommend a visit there. Near the tribal museum is the Navajo Nation Zoo. The zoo has never been popular with the Navajo people because they don't believe in keeping animals captive, but the zoo is still open. It only has about 40 animals and they are all native to the reservation. Animals such as black bear, bobcat, cougar, gila monsters, skunks, golden eagles, deer and elk, among others, are on display at the zoo. The first animal
was a black bear that was left behind after the Navajo Nation Fair in 1963. The other animals are victims of injuries from vehicles or power lines.
Adjacent to the zoo is a botanical garden that is a very interesting place to visit.
Also in Window Rock are KTNN and KWRK radio stations. KTNN is an "AM" station. It went on the air in 1983 and was the firsr radio station to be owned and operated by an Indian tribe, now there are many. It plays country music and also broadcasts some Navajo ceremonial chants. They also broadcast alot of sporting events such as Northern Arizona University football and basketball games, Phoenix Sns games and alot of high school sporting events on the reservation. KTNN has a powerful signal that can be picked up over 500 miles away! KWRK is an "FM" station that also plays country music. Window Rock is also the headquarters for the Navajo Times newspaper. This newspaper was originally owned by the tribal government and it was established by the tribal government , but, in recent years, the newspaper has become an independent, free standing business.
Window Rock sits at an elevation of 6,862 feet above sea level. That means it is only 44 feet lower than Flagstaff, yet it is not heavily forested like Flagstaff is.
When I spent the night in Window Rock in March of 2009, I stayed at the Quality Inn
Navajo Nation. When I looked out my room window on the east side of the motel, I was able to see a convenience store that is in New Mexico. That is how close to the state border I was. The restaurant at the Quality Inn Navajo Nation is a popular meeting place for tribal government officials and any other dignitaries who happen to be visiting Window Rock.
About half a mile north of this intersection, at the next set of traffic lights, is
Window Rock Boulevard. Window Rock Boulevard is lined with Tribal government buildings and ends in a circle where the Navajo Nation Capital Building, Navajo Nation Legislative Council Chambers and the Navajo Nation Department of Justice are located. There are other streets radiating off of the circle that contain other tribal government buildings as well. One of these streets is a dirt street. The street is unpaved, and yet it is lined with tribal government buildings.
The Legislative Council Chambers is shaped like a hogan, the traditional, eight-sided Navajo dwelling, with the main door facing east to greet the rising sun, just as it would in a traditional hogan. This building, however, is constucted of native stone instead of the usual mud and wood.
All of these tribal governent buildings are in Arizona, barely. Window Rock Boulevard runs
roughly north-south, but on a slight angle. The street is about 2/3 of a mile long. The farthest east of the tribal government buildings are only about 50 yards from the New Mexico border. The streets that run past other tribal government buildings, Morgan Drive for example, are paved but in generally poor condition with alot of potholes.
Directly outside the front entrance of the Navajo Nation Capitol Building in the Window Rock formation, which lends its name to the town. This rock with a hole through it is an arch, or
natural bridge in the making, but it is not eroded enough to qualify as either. It is amazing how perfectly round that hole is. There is a small tribal park in front of the rock formation with
picnic tables.
On the eastern edge of Window Rock is the Navajo Nation Museum, which is a fascinating museum depicting tribal history, I highly recommend a visit there. Near the tribal museum is the Navajo Nation Zoo. The zoo has never been popular with the Navajo people because they don't believe in keeping animals captive, but the zoo is still open. It only has about 40 animals and they are all native to the reservation. Animals such as black bear, bobcat, cougar, gila monsters, skunks, golden eagles, deer and elk, among others, are on display at the zoo. The first animal
was a black bear that was left behind after the Navajo Nation Fair in 1963. The other animals are victims of injuries from vehicles or power lines.
Adjacent to the zoo is a botanical garden that is a very interesting place to visit.
Also in Window Rock are KTNN and KWRK radio stations. KTNN is an "AM" station. It went on the air in 1983 and was the firsr radio station to be owned and operated by an Indian tribe, now there are many. It plays country music and also broadcasts some Navajo ceremonial chants. They also broadcast alot of sporting events such as Northern Arizona University football and basketball games, Phoenix Sns games and alot of high school sporting events on the reservation. KTNN has a powerful signal that can be picked up over 500 miles away! KWRK is an "FM" station that also plays country music. Window Rock is also the headquarters for the Navajo Times newspaper. This newspaper was originally owned by the tribal government and it was established by the tribal government , but, in recent years, the newspaper has become an independent, free standing business.
Window Rock sits at an elevation of 6,862 feet above sea level. That means it is only 44 feet lower than Flagstaff, yet it is not heavily forested like Flagstaff is.
When I spent the night in Window Rock in March of 2009, I stayed at the Quality Inn
Navajo Nation. When I looked out my room window on the east side of the motel, I was able to see a convenience store that is in New Mexico. That is how close to the state border I was. The restaurant at the Quality Inn Navajo Nation is a popular meeting place for tribal government officials and any other dignitaries who happen to be visiting Window Rock.
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