The Hubble Trading Post

by John Aldrich

For those interested in the Trading Post era of Navajo History or just  Western Americana in general, a visit to the Hubble Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona is a must.

John Lorenzo Hubble established a trading post here in 1878, only ten years after the Long Walk period  ended. He purchased 160 acres for roughly $37. At that point Ganado was not yet part of the reservation so his purchase was from the U.S. Government, and the site remains an in-holding within the current reservation.

He quickly established a successful business by learning Navajo and maintaining scrupulously honest and fair trading practices. Ultimately he created a trading empire by buying or establishing a number of other trading posts. The Hubble Trading Post was turned over to the National Park Service in 1965 but remains an active business trading with the local Navajo. It is the oldest continuously operating business in northern Arizona.

In addition to the trading post itself,  a highlight of a visit is a tour of the Hubble home next door. Hubble was active in politics as well as the arts and hosted many luminaries of his era including Teddy Roosevelt and the painter Maynard Dixon. The home has not changed since the last Hubble descendant moved out in 1967.

The walls remain covered with the original art he collected. He often accepted pieces of art in lieu of payment for services. The ceiling between the beams is filled with an extensive collection of Native American baskets from throughout the Southwest.

This is one of the two Maynard Dixon paintings in the collection.

This is Tina Lowe, a Navajo woman who was our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable, and much of the information that I am passing on here was gleaned from her discourse during the tour. In addition to working for the Park Service, Tina is a grandmother and weaver. She also was aware of the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program and had been to Salt Lake City to volunteer during the Olympics.

This exterior view shows problems with the adobe walls. Tina explained that their adobe expert had left and that currently they had no one to perform the repairs that are needed on a nearly annual basis.

A wall hanging in the kitchen displays a variety of corn.

The museum aspect of the site isn't limited to the trading post and home. The grounds are full of tools and farming implements. There is a large barn as well with many artifacts from the Hubble era.

The stone hogan on the left was used for ceremonial purposes in Hubble's time and is now used as a guest house for an artist-in-residence program. At the top of the hill in the background John Lorenzo Hubble and his wife are buried.

Birdsprings 4-30-2010

By John Aldrich

Birdsprings is a small food run with 28 Elders. For 20 years it has been held at the homeland of Sadie Curley. Sadie lives off pavement, as do most Navajos. One travels 7 miles on a dirt road before turning off to her place via a sandy two track road. It is also an outdoor food run with no shelter.

Given the conditions of the previous two days and the uncertain forecast, Linda decided after the Leupp run to rent the Birdsprings Chapter House for the food run so that the Elders would have shelter. This would be the first time this run hadn't been held at Sadie's.

But as it turned out, Friday was a beautiful day with clear skies, light wind, and cool, but not cold, temperatures. The decision had been made, however, so it was off to the chapter house. Sadie's daughters, Toni and Terri, traditionally cook for the food run and spend several days preparing an astonishing variety of dishes. With the change of plans they had to move all of the food they had cooked to the new location 8 or 9 miles away.

The Chapter House at Birdsprings is the most unique I have encountered on the reservation. It provided a spacious and comfortable interior. Although it was disappointing not to be able to visit Sadie's homeland, this was a fine alternative.

Since this food run is small it didn't take long to set up the Rainbow Circle of food boxes.

The ANE van carries medical and personal care products for the Elders. Here it is being unloaded by a group of volunteers.

Kate Stephens drives the van and spends three weeks on the reservation attending the series of food runs that starts with this one. This is an enormous commitment of personal time and energy which Kate carries off with great aplomb and love.

Linda compiled a book for the coordinators at each of the three food runs we attended on this run. Here Sadie and another Elder are looking at photos from the past 20 years of visits to Birdsprings.

Gratitude is expressed in these hands, both by the Elder and volunteer.

Elders are generally dependent on their families for transportation to the food run sites. That means there are often young children as well, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The final photo shows a large mural painted on the wall inside the chapter house. It incorporates a variety of Navajo themes and scenes.

It seems that every food run has something that makes it unique. This time the wind and blowing sand would no doubt be what sets this run apart from others. But every food run is unique in another way. Each group of volunteers is different and each brings its own special energy. The thirty people that gathered for this event all had a wonderful spirit. I heard no one complaining about the conditions. Everyone was focused on the principle purpose for being here - - - serving the Elders.

Leupp 4-29-2010

By John Aldrich

It's now obviously a few days later, and we've returned home, but let's return to the food run narrative with a look at the Leupp run.

As we left things on the evening of the Dilkon run, the wind was still howling, Interstate 40 was shut down, and the power was out in Winslow. We all had great hopes that the wind would subside during the night, but alas, that was not to be the case. As the night progressed, souvenirs from the shake roof of the motel accumulated in the parking area, and red sand piled up in our room thanks to the not-so-tightly-sealed door. I'm told that the power came back on around 9:00 p.m., but I was sound asleep by then.

This is what's left of Super 8's sign along with a challenging word jumble that you're welcome to try to decipher.

Our base motel, The Lodge, is located at the west end of Winslow, and we have our group breakfast at the Flying J on the east end of town. In the morning, we could see trucks moving on the Interstate, so the wind had subsided enough for it to reopen, but when we pulled out of the motel, it was clear that virtually every truck in the United States was stuck in Winslow. Every open space, parking lot and roadside was choked with big rigs. Traveling through town rather than by the highway, we reached the Flying J where things were even more congested. Linda had planned to use an alternative route to Leupp that didn't involve the Interstate, so we weren't all that concerned.

After returning to The Lodge, we lined up for our departure. By then, the congestion at our end of town had subsided and we took the bold move of  entering westbound traffic on the Interstate. The exit for Leupp is only six miles west of Winslow, so this seemed like a slam dunk.

But here we are - - - a stone's throw from the Leupp exit and the traffic is at a dead standstill. The wind has again forced a closure of the highway. After a period of time like this we made a break for it, using the shoulder of the road to reach the exit.

Here is the view after exiting the Interstate - - - trucks as far as the eye could see. Nothing moving on the highway.

The Leupp food run is held at the Senior Center where Lola Bahe has been both director as well as our program coordinator. Lola's contagious enthusiasm, oganizational skills, and great cooking all serve to make this a memorable food run location.

These clasped hands represent the spirit of the Program as a volunteer, a sponsor on her first food run, gets to meet her Elder.

Linda Myers and Ray Coleman put their heads together outside the Senior Center. Ray is responsible for organizing the logistics of the deliveries for these three food runs.

Phyllis Upchurch, a volunteer from Georgia, has received this ceremonial basket as a gift from her Elder. Harry Begay is explaining to her the extensive symbolism that is contained in this traditional Navajo artform.

Following the inside activities and the meal, Elders' vehicles are loaded with their food boxes, produce, and other gift boxes. After this Elder's truck is loaded, Jerry Sedlevicius bids her a farewell.

As you might discern from the blowing skirt, the wind remains a factor. However, in this southwestern part of the reservation there doesn't seem to be as much sand so the earth isn't as inclined to levitate. To the east we could see that the earth and sky were still one.

The combination of wind, cool temperatures, and possibility of rain forced Linda to make a major decision regarding the Birdsprings food run the following day. More about that tomorrow.

Dilkon 4-28-2010

by John Aldrich

It started last night. The Red Wind Yeis are out with a vengance. During the night they probed and searched for a weakness in the roof hoping they could lift it off its mooring. This morning it was merely breezy and still clear when we arrived in Dilkon. But the wind has steadily increased since then, and now, as I sit in the motel in Winslow, I can barely see what's across the street. The earth is reaching for the sky. Interstate 40 has been shut down since late morning so the town is full of truckers and travelers looking for refuge.

The food run at Dilkon is held currently at the LDS (Mormon) meeting house which is a nice modular structure.  The capacity of the building unfortunately wasn't designed with a group our size in mind so things were "cozy". But everything went very smoothly.

Before departing for Dilkon we posed for our group picture using the rental truck and motel sign for a backdrop. The group totals 30 and hails from Georgia, Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, and Colorado in addition to Utah.

And that's as far as I got with yesterday's post:

I know I said that I would try to blog from the road with the intention of posting something about each day's food run. But I hadn't counted on the power to Winslow being interrupted by the wind. This end of town at least was without electricity from late afternoon until around 9:00 p.m. We had our group dinner at the nearby Chinese restaurant by candlelight following which the restaurant's sign departed for the Super 8 motel's parking lot across the road.

The wind continued to provide drama to our activities today, but I'll share more about that later. For now, let's return to the Dilkon food run.

Here is the LDS meeting house with the ANE van out front. As you can see, the sky is still clear, and the ground remains where it is supposed to be. What you can't see is that the wind is already starting to blow.

Now the food boxes and flour are in place as Don Bagley and Ron Borden look them over.

Now we jump to the conclusion of the food run where the food and other provisions are being loaded into the Elders' vehicles. You will note that the sky is no longer blue. In fact it looks suspiciously like the color of the earth.

Here Al Sanborn has done his best to maintain his composure and coiffure. Mother Nature has other ideas. I'm not posting any picture now from inside the food run, but just wanted to give an idea of what the day was like. Despite the wind, it was a fine and very successful food run. At the evening meal all the volunteers felt blessed by the experiences they had had that day.

I will end this post with three pictures taken on the return drive to Winslow:

Drive in Beauty is an allusion to a common Navajo aphorism, Walk in Beauty. This theme appears in many prayers and writings.

I will post later about the food runs at Leupp and Birdsprings but most likely not before we are back home a few days from now.

On The Road To Winslow

by John Aldrich

We are in Winslow, Arizona tonight. Tomorrow the food run to Dilkon will commence the second series of runs of the spring season. It's predicted to be very windy which means the Red Wind Yeis will be out trying to get sand in my camera.

It's also past my bedtime, but I had set this goal for myself that I would try blogging from the road - - - the first time that I have tried this. Today my idea was to try to record a few scenes along the road between Bluff, UT and Winslow so as to give the reader some idea of the beauty as well as cultural characteristics of the Navajo Reservation. Thus I present ten photos which were gathered as opportunity presented. Many other pictures were passed up due to traffic, lack of a place to pull over, or any number of other variables.

The northern boundary of the Utah portion of the reservation is formed primarily by the San Juan River. Water is sacred to the Navajo and this watery border helps provide a spiritual security to those living to its south.

 Traveling down U.S. Route 191 after crossing the river takes us through the Mexican Water area. Here are some beautiful rock formations along the way.
 

These few buildings constitute the "commercial hub" of Mexican Water. We are on a short stretch of busy Rt. 160 which traverses the northern portion of the reservation between Tuba City and Shiprock.

Many Christian denominations have established outposts in Navajoland. Here is a Lutheran mission in Rock Point as we continue south down Route 191.

Rodeo is one of the most popular sports on the reservation. This arena is situated in a front yard in Rock Point

Between Rock Point and Round Rock we cross Lukachukai Creek. It drains the mountains to the west and is quite full this spring following the hard winter.

Between Round Rock and Many Farms the highway passes through some beautiful badlands.

Just south of Many Farms is Elizabeth Clah's homeland.  This is the location of the Many Farms food run which will take place next week. Black Mesa is in the background.

 One must be ever-vigilant for livestock on the highway. Sheep cross the road here on Navajo Route 15 as we travel southwest from Ganado toward Greasewood Springs.

And finally a few horses cast a curious glance toward the camera.


We have a wonderful group of volunteers with us for this food run, and I hope to have more to report tomorrow after Dilkon. And I hope to do it prior to bedtime.

The First Food Runs Of The Year

by John Aldrich

The food runs to Oljato and Navajo Mountain are the first to occur every spring. This year the dates were March 30 - April 1. These two food runs are the most recent to be added to the locations that ANE serves. We began going to Oljato in  2003, and this is the third year for Navajo Mountain. Both of these runs are in the Utah portion of the Reservation. A generous grant from the American Express corporation made it possible to start the food runs to Oljato. They wished for the proceeds of their grant to benefit people in Utah which made Oljato a logical choice. Oljato is near Monument Valley in one of the most beautiful portions of Navajoland. After the road was paved to Navajo Mountain a few years ago, it became possible to extend our efforts to this area as well. Navajo Mountain is also in Utah although one needs to drive many miles through Arizona before reentering Utah just south of the mountain.

Volunteers initially meet in Mexican Hat, Utah, where we stay at the San Juan Inn overlooking the San Juan River. The food run ceremony is held outdoors in a beautiful setting with the sounds of the river below and an occasional serenade by a canyon wren.

The Oljato food run takes place the following morning and is held at the new Senior Center. Elders and their families come from the surrounding areas to attend. There are currently 51 Elders served by ANE at this food run.

After arriving at the food run site it usually takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours to get everything set up for the event. The men work outside to unload the produce, flour, Rainbow food boxes, and the various giveaway boxes that the Elders will receive.

Before the general meeting starts there is usually time for volunteers to visit with the Elders.

Occasionally the local hosts arrange for some special entertainment for us. This year at Oljato we were treated to singing by a preschool group.

Spring in this region can see considerable variation in the weather. At Oljato we were blessed with mostly sunny skies and only occasional gusts of wind.  That evening in Kayenta the wind was howling in advance of a storm front that arrived during the night. We awoke to several inches of snow on our vehicles and needed to negotiate snowy and icy roads for the first twenty miles of our drive to Navajo Mountain.

Snow blowing off the roof of the chapter house covers Duncan Orr of Flagstaff. Duncan is instrumental in obtaining donations to provide drinking water for the Navajo Mountain Elders. The water supply there is particularly precarious as they are dependent on a single spring, and the delivery system from it occasionally breaks down.

Here volunteers are putting the finishing touches on the array of food, produce, and other giveaways that the Elders will receive.

Inside, other volunteers are greeting Elders as they arrive.

Now it's time for the actual event to begin. The group of volunteers is introduced to the Elders and their families as Mary Robertson-Begay translates for Linda.

A parting view of Navajo Mountain. Although the weather is always an unpredictable factor for the spring food runs, it never succeeds in dampening our spirit or spoiling the events.