Monument Valley Gallery

This gallery was originally released on August 14th, national Code Talkers Day, a day honoring the Navajo languag for its use in WWII. Many will recognize the following iconic photos from “Monument Valley” but few know the deeper history and context behind this sacred area. Monument Valley or “Diné'tah” which means “among the people” is the traditional homeland of the Navajo People. Over the next several photos I hope to shed light on the juxtaposition behind this iconic landscape as we’ve seen displayed in modern pop culture (such as in Forrest Gump) and the true history and culture behind this spiritual place.

As we move to the next set of photos we come to “Bik'Ehgo Da'iinaanii”, the first image on the left. When I look at this image I see a family being led by the isolated stone structure on the right. I chose this title as it translates to "that which gives direction to life". This Navajo spiritual knowledge emphasizes character development of the heart and mind. Within this culture there is a belief that gods pass over the landscape at dawn... and for those who are up, they will be blessed with health and prosperity. Seems like some pretty sound knowledge, rising early, developing character of the heart and mind. As we move to the second image, notably the only white background/sky. This imaged is titled “juxtaposition” and the photos that follow after describe the western names of common sandstone structures. The following photo is titled “Mittens of the West”, describing the western name perhaps others are more familiar with and hopefully bringing to light the whitewashing of this landscape.

Starting with the iconic overlook at Monument Valley I would again reiterate the true name of this location, Diné'tah, meaning “among the people” marking this sacred place as the traditional homeland for the Navajo people. As we move to the second image, which I have named “hoskininni”. Hoskininni is the anglicized Navajo chief name of Hush-Kaaney. Famous for his resistance of the US military's forced "long walk" where Native Americans were relocated to New Mexico. Over 300 Navajos were killed outright, others taken in to captivity and more died due to hunger or exposure. Hundreds of women and children were sold into slavery in what ultimately is considered one of the most violent campaigns against Native Americans. Which leads us in to the third photo. This image, titled “Road of the Temple” attempts to pay homage to this long walk. I imagine people being forced to leave their homeland along this dusty road, with sacred sandstones witnessing this devastating march.

The last named photo of the gallery is the image on the left titled “Merricks” the western naming of the iconic sandstone. This image is actually the same structure but opposite side “Hoskininni”, a literal depiction of two sides of the same coin. It is important to note the irony behind the western name of this peak, named after a silver miner, attempting to exploit the land, who was killed by Navajo people in 1880. The images that follow continue to pay homage to the Navajo culture.