TRIBAL LANDS No state has more land set aside as American Indian land than Arizona. Twenty-two distinct tribes make their homes in diverse settings that range from saguaro-clad desert to the river-carved depths of the Grand Canyon to the sculpted drama of the Colorado Plateau. Such stunning terrain harbors an array of scenic and cultural wonders that should be on every traveler’s bucket list. BY ROGER NAYLOR EXPLORING Navajo National Monument is a land of lost cities and lost eras. The park protects remarkably preserved Ancestral Puebloan dwellings dating back centuries. The easiest to see is 135-room Betatakin (“Ledge House”). Built in a cavernous alcove in the canyon wall, Betatakin was occupied in the late 1200s. The ruins are visible from an overlook a half-mile from the visitor center, but for a closer look, take a ranger-led tour conducted in spring and summer. These strenuous 5-mile round-trip hikes are limited to 25 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Explore Navajo Interactive Museum is a 7,000-square-foot facility located on the grounds of historic Tuba City Trading Post . It offers a detailed look at Navajo cul-ture and history. Visitors will learn about creation stories, ceremonial life, family systems and language as they travel clockwise through the four quadrants, moving east to south, west and north, meant to approximate the journey Navajos take through life. Also adjacent to Tuba City Trading Post, the Navajo Code Talkers Museum tells the powerful story of the 400-plus Navajo men who served so courageously in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Using their complex unwritten language, they created a code to quickly transmit messages in the heat of battle. The Japanese never broke the code and the Code Talkers are credited with shortening the war and saving countless lives. Exhibits include photographs, weapons, radios and other equipment used during campaigns on Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. On the White Mountain Apache Tribal Lands , east of McNary, a winding road climbs through lush stands of aspen, pine and spruce to reach picturesque Hawley Lake. This splash of sapphire nestled in a volcanic bowl is the very definition of a high mountain oasis. The 18 VISITARIZONA.COM
Arizona Official State Travel Guide Arizona 2020-21: Page 18
