BACKGROUND

Hogans

These traditional houses of the Navajo can be seen throughout the reservation and are still used by many families today as both a home and a place for ceremonies. Made from interlocking cedar logs and compacted mud and earth, the inside is a reflection of the Navajo worldview: four pillars to represent the cardinal directions, a fire burning in the centre, sheepskins on the floor and a door facing east to welcome the rising sun. Spending the night in one won’t be fancy, but it might just be the best night of your entire trip. Simpson’s Trailhandler Tours in Monument Valley offers overnight hogan stays in a campground close to the park. Dinner and entertainment are included (www.emonumentvalley.com)

Medicine men

Medicine men are the traditional healers of the Navajo and are still used to this day to cure anything from cancer to the common cold. In Navajo beliefs, fire is a portal to the spirit world. Using a combination of sacred artefacts, chanting and prayer, the medicine man peers through a crystal into the flames at the centre of his hogan in order to divine the nature of a patient’s affliction. It is perhaps the most profound and beautiful expression of Navajo culture. No matter what you believe, one thing’s for certain: in the Navajo Nation, the power of the medicine man is real. It’s hard to find a medicine man that caters to tourists, but not impossible. Ask local Navajo guides if they know anyone for the best chance.

Code talkers

During the Second World War a handful of brave Navajo soldiers were used as communication experts to send secret messages between Allied forces without detection. Because the Navajo language was never written down, the code that they created was essentially unbreakable and, despite the best efforts of the Japanese and German forces, remained so until the end of the war. Today, Navajo code talkers are credited as having played a vital role in securing the victory of the US Marines in the Pacific and elsewhere.

Read Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez for an excellent firsthand account of their contribution during the Second World War.