Leaving the Grand Canyon, we saw this….
And this…
And then an awful lot of this…
Which is basically nothing.
Nothing but dry, barren, useless dirt and rock.
And that my friends, is the Najavo nation reservation.
27,673 miles of nothing.
I’m not going to get political. I won’t rail against the government that stole their land and their culture. The government that forbade them to practice their religion or speak their language. The government that slaughtered the buffalo, settled the plains, destroyed their way of life and shunted them on to large tracts of inhospitable land.
No, not me.
But I will post these pictures of what we saw.
Poverty.
And a once proud people…
Now forced to try and make a few bucks off the passing tourists.
I could make a joke about the jerky…
But my heart isn’t in it.
As we drove through this bleak landscape, we remembered a recommendation someone gave us about a place called the Cameron Trading Post… supposedly rich in Native American history with authentic Navajo food in the restaurant and lots of Indian art in the gift shop.
Well, it certainly didn’t look Native American.
And it’s rich history was basically two white men who traded with (and took advantage of) the Navajo years ago and made a fortune.
The authentic food? Navajo taco salad was the closest I saw.
We ordered dinner, which I didn’t photograph because it was absolutely inedible and had to be sent back.
Oh, there was Indian art… some of it made in China.
What was authentic? Astronomically expensive, marked up for tourists jewelry that I’m sure the Navajo artists saw very little profit from.
The food wasn’t the only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth.
River's world..... 
So disgusting how they took advantage of the native American Indians. So damn sad.
What does the sign say? The one where you said the Natives are forced to peddle alongside the road? I couldn’t see it properly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Buffalo jerky, arts, crafts and pottery ahead. They set up little stalls on the side of the road.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Much of what we’ve called “progress” isn’t progress at all. And the same goes for “success.”
It’s sad that settlers were so short-sighted.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The contrast between the stunning, tourist rich town of Sedona and the abject poverty of the reservation is stark… and thought provoking.
LikeLike
What a sad state of affairs. I can’t make jokes because this kind of stuff breaks my heart whoever is doing it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, there are far too many similar places all over the United States.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Places and poverty, yes. But there’s something uniquely mournful about entire cultures being snuffed out here…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely nothing I can say, there are no words. The pictures are enough, thank you for posting, it is definitely an eye opener.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was eye opening. And quite sad…
LikeLiked by 1 person
We don’t see any buffalo jerky and then adding insult to injury we get “We ordered dinner, which I didn’t photograph”!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Does this help…?
I had chicken fried steak which I couldn’t have cut with a chain saw. My mashed potatoes were cold, my gravy was lumpy water. Fred had prime rib so fatty you could have greased an axle with it. His baked potato wasn’t fully cooked and his veggie straight of the can.
It wasn’t worth a photo!!
LikeLike
Damn that’s some sad. I really wanted to know what Navajo food would be like, too. Even when one is not a social justice warrior, one surely has to consider what’s been lost to all of us because of the genocide. One would think, anyway.
Ignorance is so shameful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The feeling of despair in that area was positively palpable.
And the Navajo taco didn’t sound at all Navajo, so we passed.
LikeLike
I’ve had similar experiences driving through the southwest. I highly recommend a trip to the area for everyone. It’s an eye-opener.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really is…
LikeLike
A heartbreaking but important story to tell
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never stop at the touristy buildings. Visit the little old ladies with a table along side the road.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would have loved to! But it was too cold that day, and there weren’t any.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s too bad. I got some LOVELY stuff when we stopped.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh sure, rub it in.
Nice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL
LikeLike