Navajo Administrative History

One major construction project was a trail from the visitor center to Betatakin Canyon. This move sought to accommodate the rash of visitors, many of whom wanted access to the ruins that was as easy as reaching the monument. Since the construction of the road from Shonto in the 1930s, Tsegi Point had been the primary route to the canyon floor. But the nearly two-mile trek from the visitor center discouraged many visitors. The new cross-canyon approach alleviated that problem, for visitors could walk out of the visitor center and instantaneously be on the trail. Navajo day laborers who "were really great with their stonework," as Robert Holden recalled, built the trail, which was funded out of the Accelerated Public Works (APW) program. Yet the new trail created hazards of its own. Robert Holden recalled that it "seemed rather dangerous" even as it was being constructed. [13]

The construction of the cross-canyon trail reflected one of the most crucial historical problems of the monument. The original park facilities had been located across the canyon from the ruin because it was the only place on the rim to which the NPS had any claim. Most of the few visitors of that era thought little of a strenuous trek. But the road and the visitor center brought people unaccustomed to rigor. They sought a convenient way to the canyon. As the visitor center went up across the canyon from Betatakin, park officials knew they needed a more accessible way to the bottom: the construction of the cross-canyon trail followed.

This suggested that despite all of the advantages of the Memorandum of Agreement, land itself was not enough for Navajo. More specifically, the NPS needed the right tract of land on the rim, which the construction of the new trail revealed was not the 240 acres in the memorandum. Hamstrung by historical precedent, the NPS selected the most available tract. Access to the ruins that was too difficult for a large percentage of visitors was one consequence.

The real transformation of the monument had only begun. The opening of the road increased the pace and scale of change in the operations of the monument. In 1965, visitation topped 20,000 for the first time. By 1969 there were major differences in the level and type of visitation. That year, 75,812 people, of whom fewer than 5,000 made the trip to Betatakin or Keet Seel, visited the monument. Most of the visitors never left the visitor center, increasing the importance of programs and decreasing that of the ruins. The increase in visitation forced Park Service leaders to reevaluate their plans for Navajo. [14]

Almost everything associated with the monument changed as a result of MISSION 66. The facilities changed the nature of the responsibilities of park personnel. Prior to paved roads and the MISSION 66 development, most of the visitors who came to Navajo were specifically interested in the ruins of the region. There was no other reason to hire a pack trip from John Wetherill or travel the uneven, dusty roads to the Shonto trading post. Signs had even been a problem. As late as the end of the 1930s, visitors traveling from Shonto to Betatakin had to guess the correct direction. As a result, those who came needed little interpretation from park staff. Many knew more about the ruins than did NPS personnel stationed at Navajo. Prior to the 1960s, casual visitors simply did not appear at the contact station.

But easier access meant new responsibilities for park staff. As Navajo ceased to be an out-of-the-way place, more typical visitors came to the monument. They had their two weeks in the summer and sought the spiritual enlightenment and cultural iconography of the national parks. Many of these came to Navajo because it was in the park system. They expected to see a statue or some other type of monument and were rarely adventurous enough to make the long trek from the contact station to the canyon bottom or take the horse trip to Keet Seel. When they recognized the difficulty involved in reaching Betatakin, they felt disappointed. After all, they had driven nine miles out of their way on the approach road. More numerous sedentary visitors forced park staff to reconsider its method of managing and interpreting the ruins.

For the first time, guided tours for visitors could not provide a sufficient level of interpretation. With slightly more than five percent of visitors taking such tours, the Park Service had to provide other means of interpretation. As a result of the New Deal and MISSION 66, visitors had developed high levels of expectation about the service they would receive. Most expected all the amenities of home when they saw a Park Service uniform. That included a short and easy walk to the object of their interest. With a visitor center atop the mesa and the ruins nearly 600 feet below in the canyon bottom, that easy walk was impossible at Navajo.

The visitor center provided the opportunity to broaden the scope and depth of interpretation at the monument. By the late 1960s, Americans were well on the way to becoming a nation of spectators. As an institution, the visitor center was equipped to meet those kinds of expectations. With a gallery, auditorium, gift shop area, and the adjacent Navajo craft store, Navajo National Monument seemed, to the most callous, an Indian mini-mall. It also reflected the kind of accommodation necessary to reach the typical American traveler.

The opening of the visitor center added new dimensions to the presentation of Navajo culture at the monument. Within three years of the dedication of the visitor center, Superintendent William G. Binnewies initiated a program in which a Navajo rug weaver in traditional dress worked near the hogan exhibit. This was the first instance in which the monument included live activities. Shortly after, this program was followed by live Navajo fry bread demonstrations at the campfire circle by Park Aid Rosilyn Smith and her family. Douglas Hubbard, deputy director of the Harpers Ferry Center, remarked that the program had everything: "action, the sharing of human experience, [and] communication in the form of talk and taste . . . . We are not surprised it is a hit with visitors and want to add our applause to theirs." [15]

The major consequence of increased access was increased impact on each of the three sections of the park from the exponentially larger number of visitors. The percentage increases were similar, but because Keet Seel and Inscription House had far smaller totals prior to the advent of MISSION 66, the numbers remained small. But more visitors meant more impact; particularly on fragile resources such as Keet Seel and Inscription House.

In the aftermath of MISSION 66 and in no small part as a result of the escalation of the Vietnam conflict and the inflation it spawned, the resources available to the Park Service began to level off. For Navajo in particular, this had grave implications. The new developments and better access meant that the cost of maintenance, interpretation, and management was certain to increase. But after the construction of the MISSION 66 facilities there, many in the NPS turned their attention elsewhere. Without commitment of resources to manage the new facilities, the staff at the monument faced severe limitations.

Difficult policy choices resulted from the situation. After the great commitment of resources in the early 1960s, agency emphasis shifted away from Navajo. Park personnel no longer found quick and comprehensive responses to their needs. In one instance in January 1968, the Western Planning and Service Center in San Francisco informed the park that the badly needed master plan for Navajo was not on its "priority list or work schedule." [16]