Cruising Iyanbito Chapter of the Navajo Nation

Above, Iyanbito is backed by red rocky cliffs. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Following my visit to Fort Wingate Army Depot, I headed east on old Route 66 and came to the road that heads to the Navajo community of Iyanbito.

I decided that this was a good opportunity to pay the Iyanbito community a visit, so I headed in.

Above, along Iyanbito Road. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While driving through, I thought it best not to photograph people's homes directly so to respect their privacy.

There's an interesting story about something that took place in Iyanbito in 1998.

According to the Navajo Times:

The details of the story are a little hazy. 

Some say the buffalo got loose during a train derailment; others say they stomped down a pen at Gallup's Intertribal Ceremonial. A 1998 article in the Santa Fe New Mexican says they were brought in by the state's Fish and Game Department as game animals in the 1960s. 

But one thing is for sure: There once were buffalo here at Buffalo Springs (the literal translation of Iyanbito).

Above, Jamestown in the distance from Iyanbito. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Iyanbito is one of the smallest chapters in the Navajo Nation. It sits just across Interstate 40 from my community of Jamestown below the red cliffs that front the higher mesas (made "famous" by Asya's painting "Three Mesas").

Above, a view of the red rocks from the area of the Iyanbito Chapter House. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The community at a glance:

Name - a corruption of Ayanibito, Buffalo Springs, after a pond where buffalo reportedly congregated. Before that, the area was known as Tl'izi Ligai (White Goat), after a trader who would only take white goats. 

Population - 890 at the 2010 Census; probably closer to 1,500 with the addition, last year [2012], of 70 Navajo Housing Authority units. 

Land area - one of the Navajo Nation's smallest chapters at 29,000 acres.

History - Many Navajo settled in the area after taking jobs at the U.S. Army Depot Fort Wingate. 

Major clans - Since people came from all over to work at Fort Wingate, nearly every Navajo clan is represented here. 

Problems - The only access to the chapter crosses the railroad tracks, leaving residents stranded when the train stops. 

Current issue - a solar project the community does not want but may be powerless to stop.

Above, the Iyanbito Chapter House. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

What's a chapter house?

According to Wikipedia:

A Chapter house (Navajo: Áłah nidaʼadleeh dah bighan) is an administrative, communal meeting place on the territory of the Navajo Nation where residents have a forum to express their opinions to their Navajo Nation Council Delegate or to decide on matters concerning their chapter

Above, another view looking towards Jamestown in the distance from Iyanbito. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The poverty in the area is readily apparent when one drives through the area. Some homes are actually shacks. As of 2013, only 80% of the homes have running water and electricity.

As I left Iyanbito, I came upon some cattle on both sides of the road. There's a cattle guard at the main entrance to Iyanbito, so they can't leave the area as there's also fencing around the community.

Above, cattle along the road as I left the area. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This was my first drive-through of Iyanbito.

To read more, go here.