Annular Solar Eclipse Over Navajo County

Above, the Great American Eclipse of 2017. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Saturday's annular eclipse will pass directly over the Four Corners.

While it will also pass over Monument Valley Tribal Park, Canyon de Chelly National Monument and Navajo National Monument, those places will be closed during the time of the eclipse for tribal eclipse cultural beliefs.

The Navajo-Hopi Observer has posted an article on the eclipse which also includes detailed map of the eclipse over the Four Corners. The map shows that the city of Albuquerque will be about dead center in the path.

The article begins with:

On Saturday, Oct. 14, at 10:29 a.m. MDT, a solar eclipse will pass through the Four Corners region, starting in the northwest U.S. and making its way southeast to Texas. While just a sliver of northwest Arizona will be under the sun’s rays when it is partially blocked by the moon, the eclipse path goes diagonally through all of New Mexico.

For it’s brief 28 mile trek through Arizona, Kayenta and Chinle will be in its path, cutting northwest of Ganado. In New Mexico, the phenomenom will take place above Window Rock, Gallup, Crown Point, Shiprock and Farmington.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii in), Canyon de Chelly National Monument, and Navajo National Monument will all be under the eclipse pathway, and will be closed from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. MDT to honor the Navajo cultural beliefs.

Though thousands of people across the country will be donning protective eyewear and gazing up into the sky for the rare astrological event, many Navajos will be inside, paying their respects privately.

To read more, go here. 

Navajo Nation To Host Indian National Finals Rodeo Qualifier

Another rodeo in the Four Corners region has been announced.

It will be in the Navajo Nation capital, Window Rock, Arizona next month according to KNAU.

They reported:

The Navajo Nation next month will hold its first-ever tour qualifier for the Indian National Finals Rodeo. The Navajo-Hopi Observer reports the competition will be held in Window Rock June 17-18.

At least 300 contestants are expected to compete in categories including bull riding, bareback, and team roping. There are divisions for male, female, senior and junior competitors.

To read more, go here. 

Lake Mead's Watery Graves

Above, the section of Lake Mead nearest to the Hoover Dam in 2018. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It looks like some people got the "Luca Brasi treatment" in the Las Vegas area as bodies are starting to be revealed by the dwindling water level of Lake Mead. Luca Brasi, is a fictional mafia character from The Godfather (1972) who ended up "sleeping with the fishes" thanks to a rival mafia family.

One was found in an oil drum, which appears to have been in the lake since the 1970s or 1980s. Another was just found in a newly exposed sandbar.

Back in the early days of Las Vegas, the gambling was controlled by the mob until it started being heavily regulated by the state government and corporations replaced the mob. Las Vegas was actually more fun during the mob days as hotel and food prices were much more reasonable and one could get better odds in machine gaming. The appearance of bodies in Lake Mead harkens back to those days.

The Navajo-Hopi Observer has an interesting article on the recent finds.

They start with:

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Stories about long-departed Las Vegas organized crime figures are surfacing after a second set of unidentified human remains were revealed as the water level falls on drought-stricken Lake Mead.

The reservoir on the Colorado River is about a 30-minute drive from the mob-founded Las Vegas Strip.

"There's no telling what we'll find in Lake Mead," former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Monday. "It's not a bad place to dump a body."

Goodman was a defense attorney who represented Mafia figures including ill-fated Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro before serving three terms as a martini-toting mayor who made public appearances with a showgirl on each arm.

He declined to speculate about who might turn up in the vast reservoir formed by Hoover Dam between Nevada and Arizona.

It looks like some were made offers they couldn't refuse.

To read more, go here. 

Navajo Nation President Considering Reopening At 50%

Above, Window Rock, from which the capital city of the Navajo Nation gets its name. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Navajo Nation Tribal Council is contemplating reopening its tribal parks at 50% capacity after its resolution to fully reopen them was vetoed by President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer. A special session was requested by Nez to reopen Navajo Nation roads and allow tribal parks to reopen at 50%.

According to the Navajo-Hopi Observer:

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer are requesting the 24th Navajo Nation Council hold a special session to consider rescinding its order that in March 2020, closed all Navajo Nation roads to visitors and tourists.

The order would also allow Navajo Nation parks to reopen at 50-percent capacity.

The request for the special session was issued in a letter addressed to Navajo Nation Speaker Seth Damon June 18, in which Nez and Lizer outlined their reasons for vetoing Resolution CJN-33-21, which was approved by the council June 3 requesting Navajo Tribal Parks to reopen at 100-percent capacity.

“The health and safety of our Navajo people has been the number one priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nez said. “Based on the data and recommendations of our public health experts, we feel that opening parks to everyone at 50-percent capacity is feasible. That will allow us to monitor the impacts of reopening parks at limited capacity and consider gradually increasing that capacity level from there.”

Nez said one concern is possible COVID-19 variants on the reservation.

The Navajo Nation extends into the states of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. New Mexico is to fully reopen on July 1. Monument Valley Tribal Park is currently closed to visitors and would be included in the plan for a 50% reopening.

To read more, go here. 

Grand Canyon East Entrance and Navajo Tribal Parks

Above, Monument Valley and other tribal parks can't reopen until the Navajo
 Nation attains orange level status for COVID-19. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To paraphrase William Shakespeare, "To reopen or not to reopen, that is the question." 

That, and when. This is what the Navajo Nation is pondering. Should they reopen the tribal parks and when?

According to the Navajo-Hopi Observer:

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — On Feb. 10, Grand Canyon National Park officials met with Navajo Nation leaders to discuss the reopening of the park’s eastern park entrance, which borders the Navajo Nation.

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Edward Keable said the National Park Services (NPS) plans to reopen the east entrance May 21.

“Keeping safety in mind, we are not committed to this date and want to be good neighbors by incorporating the Navajo Nation’s interests in our plans,” Keable said.

During the meeting, members of the Nation’s Resources and Development Committee (RDC) presented their concerns for the safety of both Navajo Nation residents and Grand Canyon tourists in the event of a reopening.

“The purpose of our current health order is to expand the vaccine distribution and contribute to the Navajo Nation’s economic recovery plan. But, it is a balancing act and a race against time,” said Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of the Navajo President, Milton Bluehouse, Jr.

Bluehouse indicated the Navajo Nation leads the country in vaccine distributions with more than 2,000 Navajos vaccinated on the weekend of Feb. 6.

Navajo Nation Department of Health Executive Director Dr. Jill Jim said the Nation is focused on staying ahead of a possible third COVID-19 positive case surge with new variants of the virus reported in surrounding states.

Above, the Desert View Watchtower on the east end of Grand Canyon National Park remains closed. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On the question of reopening tribal parks (such as Monument Valley):

With the Navajo Nation under a level-red declaration red, the highest COVID-19 concentration-code level, Begaye said many in-person services, such as tours, have been canceled. Consequently, 15 to 20 of the 75 department staff have lost their jobs or have been furloughed.

Dr. Jim explained the HCOC’s data-driven approach to creating gating criteria for determining the Navajo Nation’s Covid-19 code levels involves an evaluation of the number of positive Covid-19 cases and other factors related to the spread of the virus.

Although Covid-19 numbers have gone down, Navajo tribal parks are not able to open until the Navajo Nation is in the orange phase.

The Navajo Nation made great strides in vaccinating tribal members. When the Nation can be put in the orange code level is anyone's guess.

To read the full article, go here.