Navajo Nation Not Ready To Receive Visitors

Above, Monument Valley petroglyphs. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As much as I would like to visit Monument Valley Tribal Park in the Navajo Nation again, I would have to agree with Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez that now is not the time.

The Navajo Nation made great strides in their vaccination program, but it is wiser to wait a bit before reopening.

KOAT reported:

NAVAJO, N.M. — You might've noticed billboards on I-25 highlighting "Discover Navajo" land. The Navajo Nation leadership signed a bill to reopen the nation's roads to visitors by April, but Navajo Nation’s President Jonathan Nez vetoed that decision.

Nez said the decision was well thought out.

“All the public health professionals, they all agreed that now is not the time to reopen. Let’s get our plans developed,” Nez said.

He said it’s in hopes of keeping not only Navajo people safe, but also the many visitors that travel through.

“We are not allowing visitors to stay and be able to see some of the sites on the Navajo Nation. It's just to protect our visitors and to protect our people as well,” Nez sad.

COVID-19 hit the nation and its people hard, gaining national attention.

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