Page 32 - The NOISE November 2015

a breath of culture and life that resonates still
story by mike williams Photo by clair anna rose
as the momentum for Indigenous People’s Day continues to rapidly grow across the country, The Noise would like to highlight a small handful of the incredible places to take in the rich and beautiful history of the native peoples here in northern Arizona. Like the rest of the Americas, the background of this region’s first inhabitants is one of wildly diverse cultures and beliefs, each with their own unique stories, customs, and experiences enriched by centuries of growth. Of course, this is just a tiny starting point for the unending amount of places and people that define the southwestern native American experience. Any of the museums listed also are fantastic jumping off points for continued exploration and education, too!
montezuma’s well
we covered Montezuma’s Castle last month in the haunted feature, so it makes sense to encourage the whole experience. while free of ghosts, this beautiful limestone sink has provided the singauan and Hohokam farmers in the area with sparkling water for thousands of years. Just eleven miles from the iconic ruins, the collapsed cavern gives over a million gallons of fresh, warm water every day. easily equitable to the “wow” factor one gets reaching the end of the Havasupai Falls trail, as far as how unbelievable this lush oasis’s existence is in the middle of the otherwise arid desert.
Palatki heritage site
Home to some of the largest cliff dwellings in the Red Rock Country near sedona, the Palatki and its sister site Honanki, hosts a beautiful array of impressive buildings, intricate pictographs, and dazzling petroglyphs. every culture that has ever lived in the area is represented through the art that still adorns the cavern walls. The three main sites are bordered by a 1 1/2 mile trail that makes viewing easy and, just as importantly, accessible to nearly everyone. The site also features a small museum and visitors center.
wuPatki national monument
Hands down, one of the most visually expansive spots in this half of the state. wupatki started as a trading post around 500 Ce and was, initially, a hundred room multiple story dwelling that featured a ball court, speaking floor, and thriving trade centers. One of the largest dwellings also has a geological blowhole that “inhales” for half the year as the temperature of the surrounding air drops. Looking out onto the Painted Desert, you can’t help but feel like you’re riding the back of some gigantic living creature in the midst of taking a massive breath. Like so many of the other locations listed here, the views, architecture, and rock art here are nearly beyond words.
walnut canyon national monument
Located just 10 miles east of downtown Flagstaff, the ruins at walnut Canyon make for an incredible day hike. The biodiversity of the plant life in the canyon is a spectacle unto itself, with over 387 different species including black walnuts, prickly pear cactus, Douglas firs, and Ponderosa pines. There are 25 individual ruin sites in the park itself, built by the sinagua people around the year 1100 Ce and the surrounding archaeological sites, most of which aren’t available for visitation, encompasses some 3600 acres. A contemporary community of both Montezuma’s Castle and Tuzigoot, the park also has a small museum and visitors center near the entrance of the 600-foot deep canyon.
navajo nation museum
Their tag-line of “come and visit the past that begins tomorrow,” sums up the experience perfectly. Just a 1/4 mile west of the Arizona border, this amazing museum features contemporary art from some of the most well-known names in navajo textiles, jewelry, and baskets, as well as informative exhibits on the long history of deeply painful injustices inflicted on the Diné people.
monument valley
hoPi cultural center
Just 19 miles outside of walpi Village in second Mesa, this small museum, hotel, and restaurant is a great introductory spot for exploring the art and culture of one of the first and oldest tribes on the continent. The villages in the surrounding area are internationally renowned as some the best places to find the iconic Hopi coiled baskets and Katsina dolls.
leuPP,windowrock,andtubacityfleamarkets
while an experience limited to these three cities, these small markets are some of the best places to take in the living, breathing culture, art, and jewelry of northern Arizona’s native people. It goes without saying that southwestern Turquoise and silver craft is some of the most immediately recognizable in the country and the opportunity to meet the people that actually make it is not to be passed up. Plus, unlike more commercial spots, any money goes directly back to the artist or artist’s family members. The Tuba City Trading Post, one of the area’s best and longest running centers of commerce, is also situated directly by a fantastic museum and a flea market that hosts one of the entire state’s widest selections of traditional herbs, pottery, fresh fruits, vegetables, and crafts as well! Fresh made navajo Tacos? Oh, yes!
canyon de chelly
One of the most visited national monuments in the entire country, Canyon De Chelly sits outside of Chinle, Az, and was once described by edward Abby as one of the most sacred places on earth. People have continuously inhabited the area for over 5000 years, making it one of the longest lived-in places in the history of our entire species. Included inside are numerous ruins from the area’s original Anasazi dotted among nearly 84,000 square acres and three distinct canyons. The park’s most noted and epic feature is the spider Rock, a spire that jumps 750 feet out of the canyon floor and can easily be viewed on the south Rim drive. Traditional navajo lore says that the spider Grandmother, who created the stars in the skies by throwing a dew- covered web into the heavens, resides in the taller of the two towers.
elden Pueblo
This prehistoric village that sits at the base of Mt. elden was once part of a bustling trading route that served people from as far south as Mexico and as far west as California, as evidenced by the presence of both macaw skeletons and sea-shell jewelry found at the site. Originally settled by the sinagua people around 1070 Ce, the 60-70 room pueblo was once home to 200-300 people and, like many of the ruins in the area, makes for a mind-blowing and educational day hike.
tuzigoot
stretching between Clarkdale and Cottonwood,“Tuzigoot,”is Apache for the“Crooked River” that feeds in from the close-by Pecks Lake. The river and surrounding area was more than fertile enough to sustain the people that once lived in the 77 room ground-floor singaguan pueblo. It’s peak habitation ran from 1125 to 1400 Ce, and the rooms and remaining wooden beams give a glimpse into a past of a culture that continues to unfold in the area today. The original artifacts in the visitor’s center here make this an absolute must see and Tuzigoot has the distinction of being one of the largest and best preserved in the entire Verde Valley.
havasuPai falls
Only accessible after a 10 mile hike that descends 2000 feet into the supai village, the trail, waterfalls, and camping is considered an absolute essential “bucket list” trip to Grand Canyon enthusiasts. In addition to the crystal blue waters and lush, greenery at the bottom, the village of the supai people is a wonderful example of living native Arizonan culture. The tribe has lived continuously in the canyon for over 800 years and, like every tribe in the area, has a unique and beautiful story all their own. words barely do justice to the feeling of elation when a hiker turns that final corner and what was once red-rock canyon walls suddenly explodes into an entirely different ecosystem full of cascading falls and brilliantly colored plant life.
Once again, these are just a modest slice of a plethora of sites and attractions related to cultures that once moved through an entire half of a continent. we all are truly blessed to live here. with 22 federally recognized tribes in this state alone, the richness and diversity that we have in northern Arizona never ceases to amaze.
| Mike Williams is seeking out the finest spots in the Southwest. mike@thenoise.us newsfeature
Forged by the erosive power of whipping desert winds, pounding rain, and extreme fluctuations in heat and cold, this series of dazzling geological formations sits on the Arizona- Utah border of the Colorado Plateau in the Four Corners area. Called the heart of the navajo nation, this is the definitive definition of western imagery and it’s almost an understatement when standing under the features of this landscape. The highest of the sandstone buttes towers over 1,000 feet above the valley floor.
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