Today was our scheduled Canyon X photography tour, a 3 hour visit inside a slot canyon through Taadidiin Tours. Antelope Canyon is a long canyon outside of Page on Navajo Land. There are about 13 companies that do tours but this one we selected allows camera bags and tripods; we are a group of 3 with a guide. When we arrived, we were astonished to see quite a few huge tour buses in the lot, oh no we thought! Apparently this company has contracts with tour groups and they take people in small groups of around 10-15 people at a time. Today the groups were all Korean. We were driven to the entrance in a van and entered through a series of steps on a sandy downhill slope. From there, our guide pointed out good shots and held groups back whike we were shooting however it was crowded and lots of groups came through, peopke apologizing for interrupting! I found it amusing that one woman said, “I would love to see your work. I’ll bet it is beautiful!” There was ample time to photograph and the colors are stunning. I found it most challenging to photograph upwards towards the sky as the light difference was so great. There was also a great contrast in light levels on the canyon walls. Below is a preview of photos taken with my phone. Camera shots still need to be processed. A tripod was a necessity.
We received an eye opening lesson on the history of the Navajo, and similarly how all Native Americans were treated in the 1860’s and beyond. They were driven off their land and incarcerated, making the Long Walk to camp. Later, children were sent to boarding schools to indoctrinate them to American culture; speaking the Navajo language or celebrating their culture was forbidden. Now, even with repatriation, they are only able to live on the land but do not own it. It is held in trust.. We learned from our guide, Patrick that the Navajos only have rights 3 ft deep; the federal gov owns the water and mineral rights. He was 7th generation on the land and many elders still have a lot of animosity. The younger generation just wants to move on.
Our guides told us that even when the tribes vote against certain environmental issues such as mining, the government moves forward anyway, through eminent domain. A few years ago, the tribe was not in agreement with the federal government on a former coal power plant and therefore it was shut down. They now look to the future of solar on the land for revenue. It was a sad reminder of how badly non-whites were treated throughout history in the US.
Taadidiin is family owned and is doing quite well. It was started by Nick’s grandfather; Nick is a guide for the Cardiac Canyon tour.
The canyons used to be open for anyone to explore but in 1997 flash floods killed 11 visitors and so visits are now regulated. Luckily, they usually know in the morning if there is a threat of flash floods.
