RED MESA, ARIZONA, NOVEMBER 14, 2003 – An abandoned Navajo dwelling, most probably a sweat lodge, is seen near the Red Mesa school complex. In the background is a windmill, which is the primary source of water for Navajo livestock. (Betty E. Cauler/TMC) for Adventures story.
RED MESA, ARIZONA – The sun sets behind a colorful lighted sign for the Red Mesa Trading Post, which is about a mile from the high school. “Thank God for the trading post,” Reppert quips. Trading posts are more than the “convenience stores of the old days”–they are the social centers in this remote area of the reservation. You can buy groceries, hot and cold food, dishes, cookware, Navajo rugs and jewelry, as well as gas up your car, meet friends for coffee, access an ATM, cash a check for a small fee and pick up your mail, all in one stop. For Reppert, a trip to the trading post is at least a once-daily occurrence. Red Mesa is about midway between Teec Nos Pos to the east and Mexican Water to the west, both mere blips on an Arizona road map. The nearest towns of any sizable significance in this section of the reservation are Kayenta, AZ or Shiprock, NM, with populations of about 6,000 and 8,000 respectively, both nearly an hour’s drive away. It’s that isolation, Reppert says, that makes her feel like she really has no home. “I have a great deal of respect for the Native American culture,” she insists, “but you sacrifice a lot living here. You give up any hope of a social life, plus I am totally away from my own culture, from who I am.” Reppert lives in staff housing, a 14-foot-wide mobil home on the Red Mesa school complex. Most of the other instructors have long commutes to their homes and the school does not provide a teacher’s lounge, just a small room where they pick up their mail, so opportunities for socializing are few and far between. “I feel like I’m always alone,” she laments, “all the time alone. Alone, alone, alone.” (Betty E. Cauler/TMC) for Adventures story.
RED MESA, ARIZONA, NOVEMBER 14, 2003 – Marie Kitseallyboy, the grandmother of Reppert’s student Brandon Kitseally, 16, relaxes in the kitchen of her Red Mesa home, which is across the street from the school complex. Marie is one of a long line of sheep herders, following in her mother’s footsteps in the traditional Navajo way of life. Marie lives with her mother, Mary, 96, who is nearly blind and was recently diagnosed with diabetes. The Navajo are historically a nomadic people and do not traditionally live in towns or cities, although the extended family unit may all live together in close proximity. One of the misconceptions that often seems to get play in the press paints the Navajo as a poverty-stricken people living in hovels of drunken squalor, a “superficial stereotype” that Reppert would like to see eradicated. “As a photographer,” Reppert says, “I cannot ignore the evidence of glass bottles all over the place. Alcoholism is a deep-seated problem, but as you can see most of our students are healthy, drug-free and into sports.” Kitseallyboy’s home, although modest, is equipped with electricity, running water and gas for cooking. (Betty E. Cauler/TMC) for Adventures story.MONUMENT VALLEY, ARIZONA – A Navajo sweat lodge near Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park looks deserted with the majestic red sandstone cliffs of Horse Canyon in the background. The sweat lodge is “the Navajo answer to the sauna,” according to San Juan County tourism officer Malva Jones, and “is excavated with a mounded dirt front supported by bent branches from the Tamarisk woven into an arch and finished with a wood-framed door.” A ring of board seats surrounds a large pit which holds volcanic and river rocks which have been heated outside in a fire pit. “Then the doorway is closed off by a heavy blanket or large [animal] hide,” Jones said, “and water is poured on the rocks, creating copious amounts of steam. The younger men use this as a sauna more and more often, but the older men only use the lodge for special ceremonies. Women are not allowed.” The Navajo reservation covers over 27,000 square miles, slightly larger than the state of West Virginia, yet it has barely 11 percent of West Virginia’s 18,000 miles of paved roads. Most of this section of the northern reservation is extremely isolated, with trips to town for groceries or shopping taking the better part of a day. “I love nature and have great respect for it,” Reppert says. “The Navajo people are very spiritual–they commune with nature and with the Creator, and in that way I feel connected. My real life is in my writing and my photography and in a sense my spiritual life. The reservation is now a part of me, a part of who I am.” (Betty E. Cauler/TMC) for Adventures story.RED MESA, ARIZONA, NOVEMBER 14, 2003 – A Navajo grandmother, who could not speak English, poses for a picture outside the Red Mesa Trading Post in exchange for a cup of coffee. Many Navajo elders speak only in their native language, and their children and grandchildren act as interpreters. It is customary to always ask first before taking a photograph of the Navajo people, or Dine as they call themselves, and a gratuity is expected. Long exploited by the Anglo culture, the Dine (which literally means “The People”) may seem standoffish at first, but laughter is one of the best and most universal ways to gain the trust of this shy and peaceful people. Visitors to the reservation are asked to respect the privacy and property of the inhabitants. (Betty E. Cauler/TMC)
BLUFF, UTAH – The Cow Canyon Trading Post in Bluff, Utah. (Betty E. Cauler/TMC)
![MONUMENT VALLEY, ARIZONA - A Navajo sweat lodge near Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park looks deserted with the majestic red sandstone cliffs of Horse Canyon in the background. The sweat lodge is "the Navajo answer to the sauna," according to San Juan County tourism officer Malva Jones, and "is excavated with a mounded dirt front supported by bent branches from the Tamarisk woven into an arch and finished with a wood-framed door." A ring of board seats surrounds a large pit which holds volcanic and river rocks which have been heated outside in a fire pit. "Then the doorway is closed off by a heavy blanket or large [animal] hide," Jones said, "and water is poured on the rocks, creating copious amounts of steam. The younger men use this as a sauna more and more often, but the older men only use the lodge for special ceremonies. Women are not allowed." The Navajo reservation covers over 27,000 square miles, slightly larger than the state of West Virginia, yet it has barely 11 percent of West Virginia's 18,000 miles of paved roads. Most of this section of the northern reservation is extremely isolated, with trips to town for groceries or shopping taking the better part of a day. "I love nature and have great respect for it," Reppert says. "The Navajo people are very spiritual--they commune with nature and with the Creator, and in that way I feel connected. My real life is in my writing and my photography and in a sense my spiritual life. The reservation is now a part of me, a part of who I am." (Betty E. Cauler/TMC) for Adventures story.](http://bettycauler.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/NAVAJO_hogan_monument_valley.jpg)
