The Navajo Nation occupies a large portion of northeastern Arizona, as well as part of northwestern New Mexico and southern Utah. Its capital is at Window Rock, Arizona.

Get around

Because this area consists of vast stretches of open land, a car is pretty much required in order to get around. Be sure to fill up your gas tank when you have the opportunity, because service stations are few and far between in this region.

Attractions

 • Monument Valley - buttes, spires and mesas form a landscape which has been the backdrop of many films about the Old West.
 • Window Rock- the natural stone arch here is of great spiritual importance to the Navajo people
 • Canyon de Chelly National Monument - historical settlement of the Pueblo tribes
 • Four Corners - Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet at one point. Nothing special visually, but where else can you have a limb in four states at one time?
 • Shiprock, southeast of Four Corners, is another fantastic bit of desert scenery.

Shopping

Navajo weavings
The characteristic folk art of the Navajo is the Navajo rug (or blanket). Each region of the reservation has its own characteristic style of weavings, with a few patterns that can be found reservation-wide. As with other folk art, quality and prices vary wildly; small items for the tourist trade can be had for as little as $20 or so, while a gigantic, museum-quality (but brand-new rather than antique) rug from the prestigious "Two Grey Hills" region sold for $60,000 at a Santa Fe Indian Market a few years ago. The key thing to remember is that the value of a particular weaving is the value you place on it. If you see a piece you like, haggle over price if you wish; if you don't get the price you want, look for another one.

Beware of non-authentic imports from Mexico and overseas carried by unscrupulous "dealers" that have tried to capitalize on the market for Navajo work. Many of the "tourist traps" of the region, particularly those just off the reservation, are plagued with these, but most sources on the reservation itself are entirely aboveboard. Some reliable sources of rugs:

 • Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, in Arizona, is a unit of the United States National Park Service that preserves a historic trading post on the reservation, and is a good starting point for looking at rugs. There is often a weaver on the premises who will be actively working on a rug (and should not be disturbed while at it -- she's likely to speak only Navajo) along with interpretive exhibits. The post also has a reasonable selection of rugs for sale at competitive prices. (They're in a back room that may not be obvious amid the usual tourist paraphernalia; ask.)
 • There are several other trading posts on the reservation that still are "working" posts, in the sense that they function not just as distribution points for goods bound into the reservation, but also places where weavers and other artisans can trade their rugs for goods or put them up for sale on a commission basis. Selections tend to be small, but the quality is usually very good (the trading-post operators don't bother with junk) and prices are better than in the galleries of off-reservation art centers like Santa Fe. Many of the reputable posts are off the beaten path -- sometimes far off it. Three worth visiting are at Two Grey Hills and Crystal in New Mexico, and the extremely remote Shonto in Arizona.
 • For the less adventurous, most of the towns on the reservation have galleries with good reputations for authenticity, although you'll pay more for a given rug there than at the posts. Selections tend to be broader than at the posts. Reputable galleries are in Ganado, Kayenta, Monument Valley and Teec Nos Pos in Arizona, and Bluff in Utah, among others.
 • Possibly the most entertaining way of getting a rug, and one that can offer excellent value for dollar along with a fascinating cultural experience, is at a rug auction. A particularly good one is held at the tiny town of Crownpoint, New Mexico, far out in the boonies between Farmington and Grants. Weavers come from all over Navajo Nation to sell rugs at Crownpoint. Auctions are usually held on one Friday night a month; see web site below for schedule. Value for dollar is particularly good during the spring.

Pottery and Jewelry
Most reservation centers that sell weavings also sell pottery and jewelry made in Navajo Nation. Navajo silver work, including concho belts, tends to be of a very high quality. The pottery is quite different from that of the Pueblo Indians to the east, but good Navajo pottery is still an art form and well worth collecting. Two warnings are necessary, however. First, you don't have to get very far out of Navajo Nation to encounter bogus "trading posts" in which the goods are not Navajo at all, but rather cheap imports. This is particularly a problem with jewelry. Second, removal of "prehistoric" pottery from Navajo Nation is strongly discouraged and likely illegal; it is certainly illegal to obtain such work from excavations of archaeological sites, whether acknowledged or not. Settle for the modern stuff; it still qualifies as entirely authentic Navajo arts and crafts.

Lodging

 • Kayenta has several motels and motor lodges, of which the Best Western Wetherill Inn is notable for the attached gift shop/gallery with a surprisingly good and reasonably-priced selection of Navajo rugs. On US 163, phone (928) 697-3231; rooms from $55.
 • Goulding's Trading Post and Lodge, in Monument Valley, Utah, is in a beautiful location, also offers Navajo rugs on-site, and has a good reputation. Try it and write a review here.

Get out

 • The Hopi Indian Reservation is embedded in the western part of Navajo Nation. The Hopi are ethnically distinct from the Navajo; continuing land disputes between the two tribes led to the creation of a curious "reservation within a reservation" now occupied by the Hopi. Hopi pottery is particularly fine, and the collector of folk art may want to make a side trip to Polacca or one of the other Hopi settlements. Photography, sketching, etc., may be restricted; inquire locally.
 • Several United States National Parks are in or near Navajo Nation, including Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, Canyon de Chelly National Monument and Navajo National Monument in Arizona, Hovenweep National Monument on both sides of the Colorado/Utah state line, Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, and Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico. The Grand Canyon is also fairly close.