"PROCESSING ARIZONA"

“PROCESSING ARIZONA”

            Caroline, Susan, and I spent a couple of weeks in Arizona at the end of June, and it has taken me awhile to begin to process it.  The physical landscape was so starkly different from my Arkansas and Georgia roots that it was mind-blowing.  Susan had lived in New Mexico for 3 years, so we had already experienced the stunning views of being able to see mesas hundreds of miles away in the southwest.  And we have been on top of the Sandia Mountains (10,000 feet) near Albuquerque, but we haven’t been there in over 10 years, so we were seeing the southwest with new eyes.  We landed in Phoenix in the intense heat of 105.  I grew up in the hot, humid Mississippi River delta, so I am accustomed to heat – but this heat was SO oppressive.  You could not walk around much outside.  That was my first impression of Arizona – and, we would return there to fly back – on that day, it was 110.  I’ve heard that it was “dry” heat, and maybe it’s my aging process, but that was one of the hottest places I’ve ever been in my life.

            And, maybe it was the heat, but I also learned of a connection to my heritage – the Territory of Arizona joined and supported the Confederacy during the Civil War.  Ever since Susan was in New Mexico, I have wondered why those two states of the southwest were so different in their political approaches.  There are many complex reasons, but none so basic as this:  Arizona was part of the Confederacy.  Although few historians connect this, I can’t help but wonder if the Long Walk of the Navajo people in 1864, in which they were forced off their homeland in Arizona Territory and made to go to New Mexico Territory, was not connected to this basic political stance of domination and oppression.

            The typography of the state of Arizona was astonishing – we went no further south than Phoenix (such as Tucson), where it was sweltering, then on to Sedona with the red rocks, where it was dusty and windy.  And, if you are a Calvin and Hobbes fan, we found “Sunset Point,” where the sun sets in Arizona, just as Calvin’s dad told him in the famous series about the sun shrinking to the size of a quarter by the time it comes to Arizona.  Then to Flagstaff, where you could see snow still on the mountaintops of the San Francisco peaks, and where there was plenty of vegetation – no hundred mile views from there, but where we saw our only (if brief) rain in Arizona, at 7,000+ feet elevation.

            Then we went to Monument Valley in Diné (Navajo) country near the border with Utah, and its views were stunning.  We stayed at a hotel run by the Diné people and took a dusty but powerful Diné jeep tour of Monument Valley, where some of the sacred places of the Diné people are.  In 1864 they were forced to leave the land and go to New Mexico Territory, but in 1868 they were allowed by the US government to return to most of their original land, one of the few Native American groups allowed to do so.  They are now the second most populous Native American peoples, behind the Cherokees.  And, of course, there were the famous “Navajo Codetalkers” of World War II fame, who used codes for US military communications, a code never broken by the Japanese in that war.  Their museum emphasized their great accomplishments as well as the racism that they experienced, including the horrific Long Walk and the attempt to strip their children of their language and their culture.

            The last leg of our trip was reserved for the Grand Canyon, in the 100th anniversary of its being made a National Park.  There are no words adequate to describe the vistas and views and the presence of the Canyon.  Photos and videos capture a bit of it, but it is really unbelievable.  We stayed in a cabin, designed by Mary Colter, one of the earliest women architects.  It was about 30 feet from the rim of the Canyon, and that was truly an amazing experience.  In my youth in 1967, a friend, Sidney Cassell, and I had hiked down to the bottom of the Canyon, but now in my old age, I was content to go a little ways down Bright Angel Trail – my fear of heights has gotten worse in my old age!   The other part that stunned me was that on one of the clear nights, I could see the Milky Way without telescopic assistance, for the first time in decades – it was truly astonishing.

            Arizona’s politics are currently in flux – with a powerful Native American history and presence, it is still a state rooted politically in white, male control.  It is the state of Barry Goldwater and John McCain and John Kyl, but now it has two women as US Senators!  One is very conservative, proving as does the woman Senator from Mississippi, that women can be just as oppressive as men – a nod to equality in one way, I suppose!   I was so grateful for the opportunity to take the trip (thanks to Oakhurst Presbyterian for the Travel Fund when I retired!) It reminded me of so many things – the beauty and mystery of the land, the oppressive history of white supremacy and yet the resiliency of the people who felt the brunt of it, and the enduring power of one of the fundamental American ideas:  we are all created with equal dignity.  And, of course, the once and future issue – access to clean water.