We arrive the night before the annual Navajo festival (September 14th). What a treat. This is the one day the city goes from 140 to 1400 people overnight. People just piled into the city within a few hours.
On that Friday afternoon late, we drove over to the nearby county fairgrounds to see the Navajo rodeo. We had dinner at a quickly-built Navajo vendor tent where they prepared native food on a grill out back (you could see everything going on – a little like the Steak ‘n Shake motto “In Sight It Must Be Right”. But looking through the tent to the food prep area all I could think was “I hope they cook, whatever it is, thoroughly”. And they did.) We sat at a table in the front of the tent and chatted with local people about any and everything. When we told them we were from Indianapolis, the Indian fellow said “I was just in Indianapolis too”. Really? “I was there for an Episcopal conference. “Really? Episcopal? In Indianapolis?” Yep. And there was more. He was about to become an ordained minister in the church. It all seemed too much in that here we were, eating dinner with a Navajo American (we just don't have Indians living in Indiana - the land of Indians - anymore), studying to become a mainline Christian minister, who had been to Indianapolis within a few months of our visit out there.
The rodeo was lightly attended but there seemed to be a big crowd in the back – way in the back. We walked through and around some giant tire ruts in the almost-dry fairgrounds mud to a circular arena where Navajos were dancing. This was an authentic dance exhibition with ages ranging from early childhood to older adult. The beat was provided by one of several Indian men’s groups around the perimeter. The event narrator kept the patter going as he talked about the young people who would go on to become teachers, engineers, and doctors. The attendees, mostly parents, were justly proud of their heritage. We stayed for several hours as it became dark and more dancing took place. All the outsiders gathered around the outside perimeter of the circular shell to watch the festivities. It was certainly interesting, especially when compared to the Mexican Indians we saw in Mexico who put on exhibitions for guests from the nearby tour ships. This was for real.
We walked through big tire ruts in the almost-dry fairgrounds mud to a circular arena where Navajos were dancing. This was an authentic dance exhibition with ages ranging from early childhood to older adult. The beat was provided by one of several Indian men’s groups around the perimeter. The event narrator kept the patter going as he talked about the young people who would go on to become teachers, engineers, and doctors. The attendees, mostly parents, were justly proud of their heritage. We stayed for several hours as it became dark and more dancing took place. All the outsiders gathered around the perimeter of the circular shell to watch the festivities. It was certainly interesting, especially when compared to Mexican Indians we saw in Mexico who put on exhibitions for guests from the nearby tour ships. This was for real.
Bluff Navajo Indians Dancing
Navajo Children Encouragement
More Navajo Dancing
Ceremonial drum used during dances. Only the "elders" (men) were allowed to participate in the drumming.
The event was held at a circular parade ground at the back of the facility.
The Parade
On Saturday, people (mainly Navajo) piled into Bluff. When I say “piled” into the city, it seemed just that way too. After breakfast I walked out the lobby door and didn’t see a spare parking space anywhere between the front door and the street. Everywhere you looked was jammed with cars and Navajo’s who had set up chairs to watch the parade. Al and I managed to squeeze into a space along the street thanks to the generosity of earlier chair occupants.
The Navajo parade finally got started around 11:00. Truck after (pickup) truck were festooned with banners touted various Navajo princesses, Navajo event or some other cause. I was struck by the slogan that virtually every vehicle had “Unity Through American Heritage”. Several vehicles mentioned Navajos who were serving in the military, including those who served with distinction during WWII (Navaho Code Talkers). It was clear to me that Navajos are an integral part of America.
The fellow who co-own the Recapture Lodge came out the morning of the parade with his Fire Marshal hat on. He was loaded with four radios for talking to the just about everyone. His one complaint was that they have too many frequencies – one for the sheriff, one for the state police, one for the local fire department, and one for the Navajo tribe police. So there he stood with multiple radios to pick up signals from everywhere. It was kind of interesting to see him in his Fire Marshal red baseball cap all ready to give orders and send trucks off to fight whatever.
A local teacher (in the center looking at the camera and leaning down on her bike) has a weird headset on for the parade. She commented that "it's scaring some of her children." 
Ever seen bike wheels this big? It was a special purchase from a bike fabricator in Alaska. The big tires work well in snow, the owner (in the blue-green shirt above but on different bike) said. He bought it for to ride in the sand near his home in southern New Mexico.
Parade Route - Trucks: A LOT of candy was handed out to the children.
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