Faces of Chaco

For years, members of the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico have endured an ever-increasing presence of oil and gas companies near their homes. New methods of horizontal drilling (fracking) have re-ignited a boom in the area known as Greater Chaco, and it’s the Navajo themselves who now find themselves at risk due to the environmental and physical risks involved with rampant industrial expansion. With the federal government backing commercial expansion and the Bureau of Land Management releasing leases on land without a master plan, only small pockets of resistance, led by local members of the tribe and small non-profit organizations, stand in the way of the complete decimation of what the Navajo consider to be their sacred homeland. “It’s a part of their culture,” Emily reminded me as I stared down at our rapidly filling grocery cart. “All of that isn’t just for us. It’s customary in Navajo culture to offer food and share a meal as a way of saying thank you.”

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