Navajo Administrative History

Ecological problems as a result of human use were a constant issue at the monument. Erosion, the prehistoric threat to populations in Tsegi Canyon, had made a dramatic reappearance since the end of the nineteenth century. In the thirteenth century, it helped drive the Kayenta Anasazi out of the region. In the twentieth century, overgrazing in the region was the cause. In the spring and summer of 1934, erosion had become a serious problem at the monument. Much of the shrubbery was dead or dying, and grass that had previously been ample had become scarce. [3]

By the middle of the 1930s, NPS officials began to search out remedies for the problem. Fencing seemed a good alternative, but Navajos from the area objected and threatened to cut the fence every night. Fencing had a different cultural connotation to the Navajo, particularly as the sheep reduction programs of the BIA gathered momentum. But the problem was real. Chief Engineer Frank A. Kittredge noted that the flat valley in front of Keet Seel had eroded to a depth of more than seventy feet for a three-mile stretch over the previous fifty years. He suggested a series of check dams as a response that would promote the natural rebuilding of the arroyo floor. [4]

Another proposal later in the decade involved an attempt to use nature to rectify the problem. In 1939, Regional Office Wildlife Technician W. B. McDougall concluded that the introduction of beavers into Betatakin and Keet Seel canyons might check erosion. The plans to add a new species to the region proceeded until Regional Director Hillory A. Tolson suspended them, pointing out that no proof of beavers living in the canyons during historic or prehistoric times existed and such an introduction of exotics was against NPS policy. Erosion continued as a primary threat to the condition of the ruins of the Tsegi Canyon area. [5]

By 1940, conditions for the staff at Navajo had begun to improve. Brewer marked the road to the monument on both sides of the trading post, and despite occasions on which the signs disappeared--presumably as firewood for Navajos in the vicinity--the trail was clearly marked. Using his pick-up, Brewer dragged the final ten miles from Shonto to the monument, keeping it in fine condition in good weather. Rain or melting snow turned the road to soup, for it had no drainage system. Travel became nearly impossible. The limitations of the budget made much of his effort cosmetic. Visitors and Park Service inspectors complimented Brewer on the condition in which he kept his monument, but development of the monument required greater support from the Park Service. [6]

In 1940, Navajo remained the most isolated monument with permanent personnel in the Southwest. Yet for a generation of park managers from Brewer to Art White, this quality became a major attraction. In the isolation, they could live a life apart from the noise and aggravation of the urbanized world. A position at Navajo gave them the ability to pursue interests in fields like anthropology and ethnology and to live near and among native people only marginally exposed to the modern world. For a certain kind of person, the custodian or superintendent position at Navajo National Monument held great attraction.

The location of the residence did little to improve the service visitors received at the monument. The cabin overlooked Betatakin Canyon, a position from which the custodian could see anyone who came up the trail from Shonto. Rumor suggested that the cabin was on Navajo land, but Brewer made a point of asserting the claim of the Park Service. But the descent to the ruins began at Tsegi Point, about a mile and one half farther to the west on the rim across a Navajo allotment. The rim of that side of the canyon was out of NPS jurisdiction. Visitors who made the trip found that they had to backtrack to reach first the headquarters cabin and then the trailhead. In Frank Pinkley's domain, this sort of situation was extremely rare. Pinkley built the southwestern monuments by accommodating visitors. This inopportune location was uncharacteristic of the Park Service. It showed how the management of Navajo National Monument differed from myriad other park areas.

As it did throughout the park system and the nation, the Second World War interrupted life at the monument. At the end of the New Deal, it seemed that Navajo would finally derive some benefit from the system-wide capital improvements of the decade. But the change in national emphasis that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor curtailed the development of facilities. Shortages of rubber limited vacation travel, and archeological exploration seemed unimportant in comparison to the war effort. Visitation diminished and nearly disappeared. From a high of 566 in 1941, visitation declined to a low of 45 in 1943. During all of July 1942, Brewer reported only one visitor. He told Byron L. Cummings he planned to "put up a sign on the Kayenta road offering a set of dishes to all visitors." [7]

The only visible improvement at the monument during the war was the addition of a fence up the canyon from Betatakin ruin that made the area "impervious" to Navajo stock. James Brewer left the monument to join the Seabees. William Wilson, a ranger from Wupatki who had also run the Rainbow Bridge lodge, served as his temporary replacement. Wilson doubled as the custodian of Saguaro National Monument near Tucson as well. He spent the winter of 1944-45 at Saguaro, leaving Bob Black, a local Navajo and the owner of the land adjacent to the Betatakin section, in charge of the ruin. The war accentuated the isolated character of the monument. [8]