Chief, the Early Years

My Origins (1949 - joined the Navy in 1967)

I was raised in the northwestern part of New Mexico and northeastern part of Arizona in what is referred to as the Four Corners Region. My parents and grandparents on both sides were licensed traders on the Navajo Indian Reservation which covers parts of Utah, New Mexico and Arizona and operated trading posts in remote areas of the reservation.

My grandparents established a number of trading posts. Until about the mid 1960's the Navajos were pretty much isolated on the reservation. Few had automobiles and the roads were really bad and unreliable. Most still used horse-drawn wagons, rode horseback, or walked. A trip to town off the reservation usually involved several families piling into a pickup truck. Electric power and telephone service was sparse and these trading posts were the only readily accessible source of goods and supplies for Navajo people.

Most Navajo families raised sheep and goats for milk, meat and income and did some subsistence farming, mostly corn. Most lived in mud and cedar pole structures known as a "Hogan". These structures were basically round in shape, had a single entrance and a smoke hole in the center of the roof. Wood was used for heating and cooking.

Until the Federal Government started really pumping money into the reservation, the Navajos' primary source of income was raising sheep and then selling lambs and wool in season, weaving wool rugs and crafting silver and turquoise jewelry. Many of the men worked seasonally for the railroad. Many of the children attended boarding schools operated by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs since there were few local schools. The traders performed a vital service to the Navajos, they extended credit until lamb or wool season, marketed the rugs and jewelry, served as a social gathering spot, acted as post office, provided transportation in emergencies, summoned the police when necessary, and often acted as dispute arbitrators.

Here is a photo of my oldest sister and me with a pet lamb at White Horse Lake trading post. Traditionally, most traders sponsored some sort of community event once or twice per year. My folks held a winter get-to-gather at White Horse Lake and all of the local folks would come. It went on regardless of weather conditions and was often held in the middle of a snow storm and/or high wind. That never kept anyone from attending.

Here is a photo of one such gathering. Note the Navajo Police trucks "paddy wagons". Also in the upper left side of this picture is a modified stone Hogan where we lived (no electricity or running water).

Here is a picture of my parents in the trading post with a Navajo gentleman named Ned Becenti, who was a "Code Talker" during WWII. The reservation and people have changed dramatically from those times, and in some ways not for the better. Materially, the Navajos' lives have improved immeasurably. They have a much higher standard of living, more schools, better health care, and more access to electricity and telephone service. On the negative side, there is still high unemployment partly because the reservation is a somewhat closed society and it's difficult to attract industry and Tribal politics sometimes get in the way. It seems to me the population has lost a lot of their traditional ethos and have assimilated some of the "white man's" less admirable traits. There is a high level of dependence on entitlement programs, violence has dramatically increased, gang participation, and alcoholism is high. They seem to have lost their pride and sense of self-reliance.