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‘Hearken to this’, my information Lee says, within the Navajo-run tribal lands of northeastern Arizona, earlier than letting out a ‘whooooop’ so loud it bounces off each one in all Canyon de Chelly’s partitions. The sound stretches and softens, twisting via the purple cliffs earlier than disappearing behind us.
Not a second later, a curious cattle canine who’s been trotting alongside our Jeep throws its head again and responds with a howl, lengthy and loud sufficient to compete with Lee’s. We stare at one another, bursting out laughing.
It’s so quiet. For now, the one sounds are the olive-scented winds carrying the final remaining bits of the canine’s howl via the mahogany-sloped partitions. Then nothing. The quiet emphasises how few persons are right here, a stark distinction to well-trodden, commercialised close by points of interest like Antelope Canyon, which have begun issuing timed entry and permits to chop down on overtourism. Right here on the ground of Canyon de Chelly (pronounced ‘de-shay’), the air continues to be, the earth feels sacred and now we have room to breathe.
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Contained in the Navajo Nation
I really feel fortunate to be in Canyon de Chelly – cooperatively managed by the Navajo Nation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Nationwide Park Service.
My companion, Leander Staley, or Lee, owns a household enterprise that has offered excursions into the canyon for over 60 years. He’s a fourth-generation Navajo information and my escort for the day, as entry to the canyon ground is restricted until you’re with a licensed Navajo information. This rule protects each the land and the guests and signifies that you’re assured to be proven round by somebody whose household has identified this place for generations.
Contained in the small workplace this morning, the sense of household and group is palpable. Uncle James is right here, espresso in hand, prepared to go out on a tour. He tells me he is aware of Canyon de Chelly just like the palm of his hand. ‘It’s a household factor,’ he says. ‘The Navajo are a really household oriented tradition.’ It’s clear that guiding right here isn’t only a job, it’s a shared duty.
Lee is a part of an extended lineage rooted within the canyon. His great-grandfather, Chauncey, was one of many first guides in Canyon de Chelly and labored for the Nationwide Park service as an archaeologist and interpreter for over 60 years. His father began their household’s guiding enterprise and his mom works for the Park Service.
‘That is all I knew,’ he says. ‘I used to be guiding earlier than I even had my driver’s license.’
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We like our elbow room
Canyon de Chelly sits on the coronary heart of the 24,000-square-mile Navajo Nation, which stretches throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Designated a Nationwide Monument in 1931, its 84,000 acres are collectively managed by the Navajo and the US authorities, with all permits to entry the canyon ground issued by Navajo authorities.
It’s one in all solely two Nationwide Monuments within the nation the place persons are allowed to stay. The opposite? ‘The White Home in Washington, D.C,’ Lee chuckles. ‘However our White Home got here first,’ he provides, referring to the canyon’s most well-known Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwelling, the White Home Wreck.
Right this moment, about 50 Navajo households – or Dine, as they discuss with themselves – name the canyon house. Sporadic fences separate plots of land used for farming and rising fruit. Homesteads and the occasional hogan – conventional Navajo residence – pop up right here and there. Livestock and wild horses roam freely. The canyon ground feels expansive. Lee grins. ‘Navajos don’t stay in villages. We unfold out, so we don’t expend all of the sources in a single spot. We like our elbow room.’
Life on the canyon ground
With the Jeep high down, we bump alongside dust roads, previous golden cottonwood timber. Most guests are inclined to view the canyon from the highway alongside its rim, however dropping right down to the bottom of the towering purple sandstone plateaus offers a wildly totally different perspective.
The canyon ground is wetter than I imagined, the riverbeds just lately emptied from a storm. Though the bottom seems dry and sandy, it squishes beneath my boots once we stretch our legs. Lee exhibits me a video on his telephone of dozens of waterfalls cascading over the cliffs after latest rains.
We’ve reached the boundary of his household’s farmland, the place peaches, plums and apricots develop seasonally. ‘There’s a rhythm to life,’ Lee tells me, explaining how most canyon residents stay there through the summer time. ‘You come again down right here and are reunited with your loved ones, your land, your tales.’
The canyon feels alive, a storyteller in its personal proper. Because the partitions morph right into a thousand shades of purple and orange, each flip reveals one thing new. A cliff face painted with petroglyphs depicts a flute-playing trickster deity referred to as the Kokopelli. A hidden alcove catches the mid-morning mild. The wind sketches wave-like patterns into the riverbed.
Within the distance, an Ancestral Puebloan, or Anasazi, cliff dwelling seems. There are a whole lot in Canyon de Chelly, most impeccably preserved by overhanging cliffs that defend them from the weather. Whereas you will get a chook’s-eye view from the rim, shut encounters are solely attainable accompanied by a Navajo information.
We’re again within the Jeep, driving deeper into the canyon, as Lee shares some Navajo information. Twins, he explains, are sacred in Navajo tradition, and the quantity 4 is taken into account fortunate. Speaking about dying is averted. Should you converse one thing into existence, it’s going to come true. Between these info, the tales develop extra private.
Like many younger folks, Lee as soon as rebelled in opposition to his tradition, resisting what he calls ‘the previous methods.’ However after the start of his daughter Emily, the canyon and his tradition referred to as him again. Now he’s relearning his native language via music and ceremonies the place tales are informed via sound.
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The following technology
As we glide via the canyon ground, Lee chats about Emily. She’s 24 now, and likewise guides on breaks from faculty. ‘I didn’t push her,’ Lee says, ‘I wished her to search out her personal method again.’
Emily represents the following chapter. She’s a fifth-generation Navajo, raised in a multigenerational family. ‘I’m an solely youngster, however I grew up with each my mum’s and pop’s sides and all my cousins. A lot of household, plenty of tales,’ she says.
Earlier than heading out this morning, Uncle James had schooled me on the significance of passing on the Navajo tradition and language to future generations: ‘It’s how we educate the youthful ones. We’re bilingual and I converse 100% my native language at house. It’s how we have been raised.’
Emily can converse Navajo, one thing she’s captivated with. Her dad is a part of a technology whose mother and father endured Indigenous boarding faculties run by the US authorities. These faculties have been a part of a brutal coverage meant to erase Native languages, cultures and identities, leaving lasting generational trauma. ‘They have been punished for talking Navajo,’ Lee tells me.
Right this moment, they work with over 20 guides, many Navajo first-language audio system. Persevering with to talk Navajo and upholding what’s thought of a dying language is crucial to the Staleys.
Why Indigenous guides matter
For each Lee and Emily, guiding in Canyon de Chelly isn’t only a job; it’s an act of cultural preservation.
After I ask Lee what it means to information guests, he takes a considerate pause. ‘We’re typically the primary Navajo those that vacationers truly speak to. Typically, guests are nervous, like they anticipate us to be unwelcoming. However we wish them to ask questions. That’s how the educational occurs.’
The significance of curiosity is a standard theme as I chat with Lee. Between his personal tales, he slips in fragments from books he’s learn – a line from American naturalist and wilderness explorer Craig Childs right here, an commentary from Southwestern archeologist Earl Morris there. It’s clear that Lee’s work as a information isn’t solely about sharing information. It’s about persevering with his personal schooling and discovering new methods to see the tales which have at all times been right here.
That’s additionally why it issues who leads you thru a spot like this. An Indigenous information doesn’t simply know the panorama; they belong to it. They carry tales that aren’t on informational plaques however are born from previous generations. ‘Our ancestors endured such hardship,’ Lee says. ‘Now, we should always make them proud.’
Expertise Canyon de Chelly with Navajo guides on Intrepid’s Southwest USA Canyons and Cultures journey and discover out what else is new for 2026 with The Items – a group of latest journeys and experiences to encourage a yr of journey.
