Canyon de Chelly and Chaco Culture - Bill Hetzer

 

In 2024, I traveled to Arizona visiting the Navajo and Hopi reservations. The following stylized photos are currently being exhibited at the Beverwyck gallery at the retirement community where I reside.

The photos are large format, approximately 32X30”.

Canyon de Chelly is located in northeastern Arizona within the Navajo reservation.  The Canyon de Chelly National Monument is a dramatic, sandstone-walled canyon. It preserves one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes in North America, with evidence of human presence dating back nearly 5000 years - from the Ancestral Puebloans to the present day Navajo (Dine’) families who still live, farm, and raise livestock in the canyon.

Its sheer cliffs, ancient ruins, rock art, and iconic features make it a cultural and natural landmark.  The name “Chelly” comes from the Navajo word Tseyi, meaning rock canyon. Canyon de Chelly is unique among US national monuments because it is owned by the Navajo Tribal Trust and co-managed with the National Park Service.  Access to the canyon floor is restricted to guided tours with authorized Navajo guides.

Chaco Canyon is an US National Historic Park site in northwestern New Mexico located within the 
Navajo reservation. The canyon’s remote location is only accessible by miles of dirt roads, at least a 
two and a half hour drive from the largest big town, Gallup NM. It’s climate is harsh, with hot summers 
and long cold winters with plentiful snow.

Chaco Canyon and Chaco Culture refer to the center of a remarkable ancient Puebloean civilization from about 850 to 1250 CE. This society is known for its monumental multi-story buildings called “great houses,” advanced road systems, astronomical observations, and its role as a major center for ceremonies, trade and politics in the prehistoric Four Corners region of New Mexico.