Our Life on the Navajo Reservation

A lot of people have been wondering about what it is like for us living in the Navajo Nation. I have been meaning to write a post and finally am getting around to it.

Let me first make a disclaimer that honestly might embarrass me: I knew very little about the Navajo Nation or culture before moving here. As in I didn't even have expectations, because I didn't know what to expect! I also can't speak for the entire (huge) nation, but only about my small community within a small town on this large reservation.

Our first garden in the yard of our townhouse/apartment.

We live in a community of school housing (teachers, security guards, administrators, etc.) that has 24/7 security and a lot of friendly people. I realized that at least one person in each house in our community has fingerprint clearance, in order to be a school employee. Some people will only live in their home for a few years, some have been here for decades. We love it and hope to stay for many years, but since we are not allowed to own land here, and we want to own our own home one day, we will probably not stay forever. I'm sure we'll be sad when we leave and try to focus on the fact they we will stay for years rather than the fact that we'll some day leave.

Happy to be here!

I have absolutely loved living here since our first day. As most people that know me well would expect, I quickly came to love the people. There is a generally laid-back and come-as-you are culture that helped me feel welcomed immediately. Our town is 99% Navajo according to the census, and while I know that racism does exist, I have not experienced it first-hand from individuals. There is a weekly flea market that is one of my favorite places to attend to buy produce and other goods. I always limit the money I bring because it's hard to resist all the good deals! Since we're on a teacher budget, we've only bought the food a few times, but above liking it because I like to try new things, it is also delicious. So far I've tried: Navajo tortillas, Navajo tacos, fry bread, blue corn mush, sister blue corn bread, fry bread, yellow corn and raisin bread, kneel down bread, steamed corn (my very favorite), posole, fry bread, and tamales.

Navajo Taco

Posole, bought at our local flea market

The scenery is also absolutely breathtaking, with deep red canyons, gorgeous unique rock formations, and open spaces where wild mustangs run. It's not uncommon to see sheep, cows, or horses grazing along the side of the road, and we can often see them come right up to the fence at the edge of our housing community. The view from both our back porch and front porch is amazing. L. went on a run this morning from our house to this rock, which we can see from our front windows:

It's either Snake Rock or Monkey Rock...I can't remember which!

The stars and moon are bright, the sunrises and sunsets gorgeous. Here's some other nearby scenery. Oh how it has captured a place in my heart! (Let me know if you'd like a larger version of any of these.)

This incredible rock formation is called "The Toes" and is a common walking/running/hiking place.

Some of the beauty on a walk through the toes.

  

The traditional Navajo home is a dirt hogan, and there are are still some on the rez, with only a couple in our town. There are more of these manufactured hogans, although the majority of the housing is similar housing to what you might see in the U.S. off of the reservation. Often, the hogan is next to a larger house and is used for summer/winter months (lower heating/cooling bill) and/or ceremonies that need to be in a hogan.

 

We have a small Basha's grocery store, an Ace hardware, a Napa auto parts, and a handful of restaurants and small stores. There's enough for most of our basic needs to be met, although most people make semi-regular trips to towns 2-3 hours away to do big, bulk shopping. We tend to do ours online (think Amazon, Ebay, and online retailers!) or when we're going out of town for another reasons, and haven't really had an issue. We also tend to travel to another town for medical/dental appointments (although there are small clinics that we can and have been to when unable to travel) but again we've usually managed to arrange such visits for when we were already going out of town for vacation, fun, etc., so it really hasn't been a big deal. Besides, I tent to look forward to doing most of my shopping at the local flea market!

Driving into our town on the highway.

My favorite place to shop, the flea market (swap meet). I always find great deals and enjoy meeting people!

There are dogs everywhere in this town. Really. I'd guess that at least 2/3 of the homes in our school community have at least one dog, and I've seen strays almost everywhere. My personal observation has been that the mean dogs are usually domestic ones that got out of their yard (they have collars on) while strays tend to be more friendly, relaxed, submissive, scared, or all of the above. The shelter always has a lot of darling strays that have been vaccinated & spayed/neutered that you can adopt for only $25.

Ariel, a dog that we fostered for our local animal shelter. She was a sweetheart!

Alcohol is illegal on the Navajo Nation, although there are bootleggers and people that bring it in from neighboring towns. There are often (not always, but frequently) drunk people in front of the grocery store that might sometimes (less often) ask you for money, but I'd say that there is way less of this than what we saw in South Tucson.

I regularly hear Navajo being spoken, often by the older generation, sometimes by the middle-aged generation, and rarely by people my age and younger. I love hearing it, and although I can only say a handful of words, people have often appreciated my attempt. I hope to continue learning to speak a little more. People seem extremely open to the fact that we are a bilingual family and when D. mixes his English and Spanish. In fact, heads don't really even turn. Bilingualism seems to be very accepted here.

L. is coming to really enjoy his job as he balances being a full-time teacher/student/dad/husband all at the same time. He has a lot of normal classroom problems (students sleeping, etc.) but has mentioned that respecting your teacher still seems to be a strong part of the culture, since he sees very little disrespect, and another teacher mentioned the fact that students here use swearwords significantly less than in other towns where she's worked.

The school where L. teaches. D. enjoyed showing Gpap around on his last visit.

What have I left out? What questions do you have about our life here? What would you like to know? If you live here, what have I misunderstood or left out? Please leave your comments and/or questions - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here are some more pictures of nearby places to visit, including...

 Monument Valley:

Four Corners Monument:

Not in Four Corners, but nearby. There are a lot of arts & crafts available with quality work at great prices. 

Navajo National Monument / Canyon Tsegi (I need to return to get better pictures of this site, to get  something like this where you can see the cliff dwelling ruins)

...and many more places that I haven't photographed or still really need to visit! :-)

Don't forget to leave your comments/questions! Thank you!