Spanish Entering Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

Linda Connor

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is in northeastern Arizona on Navajo tribal lands. While not having National Park designation, it is managed by the National Park Service. Canyon de Chelly National Monument was authorized in 1931 by President Herbert Hoover in large measure to preserve the important archeological resources that span more than 4,000 years of human occupation. The monument encompasses approximately 84,000 acres of lands located entirely on the Navajo Nation with roughly 40 families residing within the park boundaries.

Natural water sources and rich soil provided a variety of valuable resources that have sustained families for thousands of years. The Ancient Puebloans found the canyons an ideal place to plant crops and raise families. The first settlers built pit houses that were then replaced with more sophisticated homes as more families migrated to the area. More homes were built in alcoves to take advantage of the sunlight and natural protection. People thrived until the mid-1300’s when the Puebloans left the canyons to seek better farmlands.

Related to the Athabaskan people of Northern Canada and Alaska, the Navajo settled the Southwest between the four sacred mountains. The Navajo, or Dine' as they call themselves, continue to raise families and plant crops just as the “Ancient Ones” had. The farms, livestock and hogans of the Dine’ are visible from the canyon rims.

Spanish Entering Canyon de Chelly, Arizona is a silver gelatin photograph from 1981 by Linda Connor. It is pencil signed, titled and dated on the verso. This pictographic mural is located in Canyon del Muerto within the Canyon de Chelly National Monument. There are differing opinions as to the history or story line of this panel. Most sources believe it represents the entrance into the canyon of a group of Spanish soldiers led by Lieutenant Antonio Narbona in 1805 as a response to Navajo raids on Spanish settlements.