Navajo Administrative History

The construction of the Keet Seel diorama and the positive response of visitors made clear that museum interpretation at Navajo was desirable. But without more land, there was no place to put a visitor center at Navajo. It remained a low priority until after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement. Then it accelerated, moving rapidly through the design and construction phases.

The approach road followed a similar pattern. In the mid-1950s, the Bureau of Public Roads recommended the construction of an approach road. The first step in the process was the acquisition of a right-of-way from the Navajo Nation. The Park Service sought it at the same time negotiations about the memorandum of agreement began. The negotiations were a long and time-consuming process, but the Park Service finally received permission in 1962. The increasing recognition of value of tourism by the Navajos was one important factor in securing the right-of-way. The election of Raymond Nakai as Tribal Chairman in 1962 also helped. Nakai advocated economic development and was willing to pursue alliances that would further such goals. [7]

As the beginning of the construction of the Visitor Center approached, excitement at the monument increased. The Ganado Construction Company of Ganado, Arizona, was retained to build the structure. From the starting date of November 13, 1963, the company was given 270 days to complete the structure. Despite deep snow and extremely cold weather, the company finished the job on June 4, 1964, more than two months ahead of schedule. The new Visitor Center was positively received. "It is a good job well done," federal inspector E. L. Holmes remarked late in May 1964. "The government has a good building." The visitor center "went up pretty damn fast," Art White later remarked. "We had a good contractor." [8]

The development of the road followed a similar pattern. Acquiring the right-of-way took much longer than building the road itself. With MISSION 66 money for the road, the project proceeded smoothly. The James Hamilton Construction Company of Gallup, New Mexico, served as the contractor, and the road came closer and closer to the monument. On July 24, 1965, the visitor center, the new approach road, and the new campground opened. Navajo had, in the words of its new superintendent Jack R. Williams, "taken on the aura of a much larger park operation." [9]

Yet many long-time staff members were ambivalent about the changes. Most generally recognized the necessity and inevitability of development and access, but seemed to resent the transformation that followed progress. They recognized that Navajo National Monument and the surrounding area would cease to be as they had been. The sentiments of Robert Holden, the administrative assistant at the monument, typified their perspective. As he left the park for a new assignment the day the new road opened, he could see that an era had come to an end. Many years later, Art White recalled his feelings at the time. He "hated" to see the access road and the development take place, for it meant that visitation and the attendant problems would increase. Like many of the others who selected Navajo National Monument as a place to avoid the most repugnant aspects of the modern world, White "liked it the way it was." [10]

Nevertheless, the day the road opened, a new breed of travelers could come to the monument without inconvenience. The facilities at the monument were set to accommodate their desires. The new visitor center included a museum gallery and an auditorium with orientation slide shows. The Southwestern Parks and Monuments Association expanded the number of items it offered for sale. Campfire programs were added to help fill the evenings for the larger numbers of overnight campers. Outside, the Sandal Trail took visitors to an overlook from which they could see Betatakin ruin. Much of the rigor that had characterized the trip to Navajo was gone, and the people that followed the path of pavement from Tuba City or Kayenta and turned at the new turnoff to the monument seemed less appreciative than those who had come up the dirt road from Shonto.

This photo of the new Visitor Center and the surrounding suggests the degree of change that resulted from its construction.

On June 19, 1966, the dedication ceremony for the Visitor Center underscored the changes. Up the road came carload after carload of dignitaries. More than 1,000 people attended the event, a great deal more visitors in one afternoon than in many of the individual years in the history of the monument. Arizona senator and former Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was the principal speaker, Navajo Tribal Chairman Nakai also spoke, and an aging Neil Judd closed the ceremonies. Floyd Laughter, Hubert Laughter, both former park employees, and Mailboy Begay, all of whom were medicine men, blessed the building, their ceremony captured in photographs, and the Navajo Tribal Museum Dance Team performed at the ceremony. At last, Navajo National Monument had visible testament to its participation in MISSION 66. [11]

Navajo Medicine Men prepare to bless the new Visitor Center. From left to right are: Hubert Laughter, Ben Gilmore, Floyd Laughter, and Mailboy Begay.

Yet all those people clearly signaled a different kind of future. Navajo National Monument had been unique. Among all the park areas in the Southwest, it had been one of the last throwbacks to an earlier era of management. Protected by its isolation, it had grown apart from other park areas, as closely tied to its locale and the traditions of that environment as to the rest of the park system. As the cars came up the road, its ties began to shift toward the modern world.

Nor was the massive construction of the mid-1960s the end of the MISSION 66 at the monument. As late as 1968, programs conceived under MISSION 66 were still underway at Navajo. Many of these were associated with interpretation and visitor service, while some included construction of additional visitor facilities. The campground was enlarged to twelve sites, and the overlook platform at the end of Sandal Trail was also constructed. [12]

Before the Visitor Center, this converted storage shed served as the contact station for visitors at Navajo National Monument.