Navajo Nation Council designates the Tooh Ahidiilíní Confluence a sacred site

The 25th Navajo Nation Council has designated the Confluence of the Little Colorado River and Colorado River a sacred site, according to the Navajo Nation Council.

During a special session, the Council approved Legislation No. 0172-26, which covers Tooh Ahidiilíní along with the Little Colorado River Gorge and related cultural, religious and spiritual sites within and adjacent to the Bodaway/Gap Chapter.

The legislation recognizes the area as a cultural resource and Traditional Cultural Property entitled to protections under the Navajo Nation Cultural Resources Protection Act. It also affirms the Nation’s sovereign position, grounded in Diné Fundamental Law, opposing unwanted commercial or industrial development that would impair the cultural and spiritual qualities of the Confluence.

“Our local people have protected this area for generations, and after years of legal opinions, discussions and work with the community, it is time for the Navajo Nation to formally protect it. There is a long history behind how we reached this point, and this designation gives us another way to protect the Confluence, its cultural significance and the prayers and ceremonies connected to this place,” said the sponsor, Council Delegate Curtis Yanito.

The measure identifies the landscape as part of the ancestral homelands of the Diné, Hopi, Zuni, Southern Paiute, White Mountain Apache and Cibecue Apache peoples, and acknowledges the continued use of the area for prayers, corn pollen offerings and ceremonies associated with protection, prosperity and health.

The designation follows years of local effort. In 2018 the Bodaway/Gap Chapter approved a resolution directing its officials and Council delegate to pursue sacred-site designation, and the legislative record identifies supporting resolutions from several chapters and all five Navajo Nation agency councils.

The legislation encourages the Navajo Nation Heritage and Historic Preservation Department to evaluate the site for listing in the Navajo Nation Register of Cultural Properties and to keep coordinating with the National Park Service on cooperative management of the Confluence.

The Council also approved a directive requiring the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources, Heritage and Historic Preservation Department, Parks and Recreation Department, and Save the Confluence to meet with the Bodaway/Gap Chapter within 30 days, to report on the designation and to address the chapter’s request to include the area from Marble Canyon to Navajo Bridge.

The Council approved the legislation by a vote of 18 in favor and none opposed, and serves as the final authority for Legislation No. 0172-26.