#sun's eye

Clouds (No. 1041)

Monument Valley, AZ (No. 17)

The Suns Eye petroglyph site is at the base of a tall cliff, near the Suns Eye Arch, in the Monument Valley backcountry.

The petroglyphs are from the Anasazi culture, a Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States from about about AD 100 to 1600. The motifs depict primarily bighorn sheep.

The Suns Eye petroglyphs in Monument Valley are only accessible with a Navajo Guide.

Monument Valley, AZ (No. 15)

The Navajo economy and culture have long been based on the raising of sheep and goats. Navajo families process the wool and sell it for cash or spin it into yarn and weave blankets and rugs for sale. The Navajo are also noted for their skill in creating turquoise and silver jewelry. Navajo artists have other traditional arts, such as sand painting, sculpture, and pottery.Sheep remain an important aspect of Navajo culture and economy.

The Navajo Nation has created a mixture of industry and business that has provided the Navajo with alternative opportunities to traditional occupations. The Nation's median cash household income is around $20,000 per year. However, using federal standards, unemployment levels fluctuate between 40 and 45%. About 40% of families live below the federal poverty rate.

Monument Valley, AZ (No. 16)

Economic development within the Navajo Nation has fluctuated over its history but has largely remained limited. One obstacle to investment has been the incompatibility of its two land management systems. Tribal lands are held in common and leased to individuals for specific purposes, such as home construction or for livestock grazing. Financial institutions outside of tribal lands require assets, including land, to be used as collateral when potential borrowers seek capital. Since individuals do not own the land outright, financial institutions have little recourse if borrowers' default on their loans. Additionally, the wide-ranging bureaucracy involving elements of the U.S. Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the tribal government has created a complex network that is cumbersome and time-consuming for investors and businesses to navigate.

Self-employed Navajo workers and Navajo entrepreneurs are often involved in the grey economy. For instance, artisans staff roadside shops and cater to American and international tourists, travelers passing through Navajo Nation, and to the Navajo people themselves. Other Navajo workers find employment in the nearby cities and towns of Page, Arizona; Flagstaff, Arizona; Farmington, New Mexico; Gallup, New Mexico; Cortez, Colorado; and other towns along the I-40 corridor. Commute times vary for these workers. Because of the remoteness of some Navajo communities, they can last up to several hours. Economic push-pull factors have led a sizeable portion of the workforce to temporarily or permanently relocate to these border towns or to large metropolitan areas further away, such as Phoenix, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah. With nearly half of all Navajo tribal members living off the reservation, it is more difficult for the tribe to build social capital there and to draw from those people's talents.