“Within an enclosure formed by four sacred mountains, a canyon cradles the history and the culture of Dine’—the Navajo people. To the outside world it is known as Canyon de Chelly. To the people who live here it is Tsegi (SAY-ih), a physical and spiritual home.
The smell of wood smoke and the distant sounds of sheep bells, barking dogs, and children playing tell us that Dine’ still live here. Alfalfa, corn fields, and small orchards surround the traditional log hogans on the canyon floor, weaving a tapestry of everyday life.
To Dine’ the canyon means more than a summer home or a place to raise sheep and corn. The Dine’ culture emerged from this land. Our language refers to the landscape, and the people identify themselves by this.”
~National Park Service brochure~
Thanks so much for commenting on my photo of the homes at the floor of Canyon de Chelly. The day after I took this photo, we went on a tour of the canyon floor ourselves in a jeep. You can see what this looked like from Charlie's photo today: https://365project.org/bigdad/365
and also my two photos from today.