Ya’ A’ te’eh, Navajo for “Hello” and welcome to Canyon de Chelly. Canyon de Chelly National Monument was established April 1, 1931, as a unit of the National Park Service and is located in NE Arizona within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. The reason that it is a national monument and not a national park is that the title, for the 130 square miles (339 km2), is vested in the Navajo Nation and not the National Park Service. The name De Chelly is a corruption of the Navajo word “Tseyi”, which roughly means “rock canyon”. The Spanish pronunciation “day shay-yee” has again changed through English usage and is pronounced “d’SHAY”. The rock walls rise to as much as 1,000 feet and protected the prehistoric Pueblo Indian dwellings that were nestled below towering cliffs or perched on high ledges, for 1,000 years. This canyon served as an ancestral stronghold for the Navajo Indians and homes can still be found along the canyon floors. Some info based on National Park Service printed materials, some from Wikipedia and some from the Navajo people that I met. Scanned from a photo taken in 1996. Thanks for stopping by, taking a peak and for all your previous comments. Dana