Unforgettably Beautiful Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

By Maryanna Gabriel 

“Our sacred sites are more precious than gold.”—Phil Emerson, Quechan

I had no idea but I was catching on pretty quickly. This place. I had never seen anything like it. I began to make my way into the canyon. I hesitated. There was the tiniest ancient woman before me. She was carrying sticks on her back and she was working around a mounded stick house, an actual hogan. There were sheaves of white wool drying. I felt like I had stepped back into time. I reached for my camera. She held up her hand blocking her face and she shook her finger at me in a kind of a rage. So, this was not staged, I thought to myself. She must not have any peace in her day. Respectfully, and knowing she was fighting a lost cause, I put my camera away.

Photo depicting the evolution of the hogan. 

I began to understand the relationship between this national park and the Navajo people. They live and work here at the same time it is nationally funded. A certain reluctant cooperation was at play. As I descended further I tried to understand the geology. It is as if a flat world opens up and in the deep chasm is revealed a secret hidden world. Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay") is from the Navaho word which means "hidden". The scope is enormous. Huge walls towered above me of umbricated oranges and yellows, ribbons of colour twist and turn, frozen into sheer cliffs of sandstone. Winding throughout the valley bottom is a river. It was clear the river moves and changes with the rain. Were those peach trees? Beautiful fruit trees were planted and herds of sheep moved amongst them. I felt miniscule and humbled by the beauty of this place. The energy here was palpable. The wind had sculpted forms into the sandstone and rock. Moving forward, I was spell bound, mesmerized by this unique landscape.