Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Visiting Canyon de Chelly was a unique experience from the moment we arrived. We stayed in a hotel just outside the canyon, and the environment was a bit different: dogs and even horses were roaming freely. It was clear that the rhythms of life here followed different customs.

The canyon lies within the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American tribal nation in the United States. The Navajo Nation operates with its own government, legal system and law enforcement. While Canyon de Chelly is managed as a national monument by the National Park Service, the land itself belongs to the Navajo people, and many families still live and farm within the canyon.

This shared stewardship makes Canyon de Chelly unlike most national park sites. We can explore the canyon rim independently, but to travel down into the canyon itself requires a Navajo guide. This is not only a historic landscape but also someone’s home.

The Canyon carries a difficult chapter of history. In 1864, during a campaign led by Kit Carson, U.S. troops entered the canyon and destroyed crops and homes belonging to Navajo families. These actions forced any Navajo people to surrender, leading to the tragic event known as the Long Walk of the Navajo, when thousands were marched to a distant reservation in New Mexico.

Today the canyon is protected as a national monument, established in 1931 by Herbert Hoover. It remains one of the most unusual sites in the National Park system.