Navajo Nation

Arizona

Navajo Reservation
May 2001

The Navajo Reservation occupies a significant portion of northeast Arizona, and while I haven't checked, probably an area larger than Rhode Island, Delaware, or Hawaii.
This photo is in the southern portion of the Navajo Nation, and is very sparsely populated.

This photo, taken in the more northerly portion of the Navajo Nation, again displays a different landscape with buttes and mesas dominating the landscape. One interesting experience occurred as I was driving these roads. In keeping with the spirit of visiting Winslow, I had been listening to the "Eagles - Hell Freezes Over" CD on the truck radio, but after several passes, I decided to try something different. I ejected the CD and pressed "scan" on the radio. The scan stopped and I listened. It was a commercial - in a foreign language - it wasn't Spanish but I couldn't make out what language it was.

I listened to strange phrases, then heard "credit card" followed by more strange sounds, then "WalMart." Of course, the radio broadcast was in native Navajo and Apache languages - but there obviously were no native expressions for "credit card" or "WalMart." Cultural cross over.
Changing the subject, in the central portion of the Navajo Nation were many small farms, but as I continued my travels, I noticed there were several virtually identical communities with traditional houses clustered together, very similar to a housing project.