Hollywood has been
instrumental in cementing Monument Valley’s status as an American icon, and
this is observable during our journey there, with people taking time out to
take photos mimicking that of a scene from Tom Hank’s popular movie 'Forrest
Gump'. Yet, equally what Hollywood fails to reveal is that, being located on
the Navajo reservation, these lands are not just tourist sites, but also the
product of history, and an area of residence. This is made apparent by the presence of a high school and
a church, which whilst not located inside the tribal park, are not that far
away. Moreover, within the tribal park itself, and at the foot of buttes, signs
of private property can also be spotted, surprising in some ways given that
there does not seem much in the form of economic opportunity, but a reminder
that the communality of tribal life is very hard to sustain. Forging a
sustainable way of life that marries the traditional with the modern has also
undoubtedly been made more difficult due to the site once having been mined for
uranium, with one exhibit at the visitor center noting that the “hazardous
waste it left behind continues to burden the land, water, livestock and Dine
(translated as the People) residents".
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