Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes

We didn’t drive all the way back to the target range this time.  Instead, we took a slight detour and wound up at a very interesting location.  The first thing I noticed was a very sturdy chain link fence that was about ten feet (3 m) high and had a rolling gate.  This means that instead of gates that swing outward or inward, this gate had wheels that allowed it to slide back and forth to permit vehicles to enter.  And behind the gate stood a large metal building with a double-wide windowless garage door.

Devin and I got out of the SUV temporarily so we could speak with Hania.  He had gotten out of his truck and taken out his phone, and after touching the screen several times, the rolling gate started to slide open.

“What the heck is this?” I asked.

“Yeah, it looks out of place out here,” Devin added. 

“It may seem strange and out of place, but I bought this land and added all of this so I could help the people on this part of the reservation.  You may not realize it, but this location is centrally located between all of the different areas I take care of.” 

“Ok, that makes sense, but what’s with the fence?” 

“Seeing I have another, smaller location just south of Shiprock in New Mexico, I was worried about people looting this location or animals getting into things while I was away.”

“I thought your dad was located near Shiprock.”

“No, Shizhe'é is located between Ft. Defiance and Standing Rock and he takes care of the entire southern portion the of New Mexico side of the reservation.”

“Wait!  Isn’t your area larger than that?” I asked. 

“Yes, in area, but not in population.  We’re about even where that is concerned.”  

“So, what exactly are you protecting out here?” I followed. 

“I haven’t got time to show you or explain things now,” he said as he tapped the screen on his phone a few more times and the double-wide garage door at the front of the large metal building began to open. 

“You can’t have electricity out here, so are you using a generator to operate these things?”

“No, I have electricity here, but I haven’t got time to explain how that is possible.  I’ll pull my truck inside the building, and you can tell Jacob to follow me inside.  There’s more than enough room for both vehicles.”

As Hania drove his truck through the opening, I went to tell Gramps what he said.  Devin and I followed the SUV inside, and then Hania touched the screen on his phone and the rolling gate closed.  Then he touched the screen on his phone once more and the double-wide garage door closed. 

“How can you use your phone to control the gate and garage door when there’s no phone reception on the reservation?” Devin asked.

“I use wi-fi to connect me to the apps.”

“Don’t you need a phone line or satellite connection to have wi-fi?”

“No, there are ways to have wi-fi even if you merely have electricity at your location.  You can plug in powerline adapters into your electrical outlets to connect you with your internet provider, and then you can use your phone to connect with your apps.”

“I wasn’t aware of that fact, but why did you bring us all here?” Gramps asked.  “And how large is this building?”

“This building is 40x60 feet (12.2x18.3 m), and I figured we could undress and transition here before heading over to the target range.”

“How far away from the target range are we?” Pops followed. 

“About seven miles, but we can get there quickly as mule deer.”

“But how will we do that if we’re fenced in here?” I asked.

“I have another way we can use to get out of here.  Follow me and I’ll guide you there, and then we’ll undress, transition, and finally head outside to go over to the target range.”

We all got in line to follow Hania and he led us over to an interior door.  He opened it and flipped a switch, which cause two lights to come on, one at the top and another at the bottom of a stairway.  At the bottom there appeared to be some sort of a tunnel, so we followed him as he descended the staircase.  When he reached the bottom, Hanie flipped another switch and a series of lights came on, spaced at regular intervals, exposing a lengthy tunnel.  We continued to follow Hania down that long corridor for quite a ways, and then eventually we came to a stop.

“Rather than having stairs at this end there’s a ramp with a non-slip covering, and above it is a bulkhead door that lifts upward and opens into a thicket.  It is an unusual thicket, because this one has a large open area at the center and there is also a winding path that leads out of the thicket.  We’ll undress here and then you can transition, but I won’t transition until I’m in the thicket and have closed the bulkhead door first, and once we’re all ready, you will follow me so I can lead you out of the thicket.”

We all nodded in agreement and began to undress, and then we started to transition into mule deer.  As soon as we were all ready, Hania opened the bulkhead and led us out of the tunnel.  When we were all standing in the midst of the thicket, Hania closed the bulkhead, and then we could hear him muttering something, but he wasn’t talking to us.  He appeared to be reciting something over the bulkhead instead, possibly a spell or some kind of a blessing.  When he finished, he transitioned into a mule deer like the rest of us, and then we followed him out of the thicket. 

As soon as we were free of all that shrubbery, Hania took off at a much faster pace and the rest of us hurried to catch up with him.  Before long, we were at the target range and pretending to eat the grass.  This continued for about an hour, but during that entire time there was no sign of the evil skinwalker.  Since the last light of day was nearly gone, Hania led us back to the thicket and we followed him along the winding path until we reached the opening at the center. 

Hania transitioned first and began reciting another spell or some kind of blessing over the bulkhead, and when he finished, he pulled it open.  He then swept his arm toward the ramp, indicating we should all head down there again, and once we were all inside, Hania followed us and closed the bulkhead behind him.  As soon as we’d all transitioned back into ourselves, Gramps spoke.

“I hope you’re ready to start giving us some explanations, because I’m eager to hear them.”

“I’ll tell you while we’re getting dressed, so where do you want me to begin?”

“How do you have electricity in such an isolated location as this?” I wondered aloud.

“It was a streak of good luck that occurred after I had purchased the property and while it was just an empty lot.  I was eating lunch at the Amigo Café in Kayenta…”

“Hey, that’s the same place you took us to eat last night,” Devin interrupted. 

“Yes, the same one, but this time I ran into an old friend named Kiah.” 

“Navaho names all seem to have a meaning, so what does his name mean?” Devin asked. 

“It means left-handed.  I guess he’d showed a preference for his left hand as soon as he was able to grasp things, so that’s how he got his name.  He and I became friends while I was going through a new phase of my life, even though I was supposedly home schooled and he went to the local high school.  We lost track of each other after he went away to college, and as it turns out, he now has a master’s degree in electrical engineering.  He’d also just been put in charge of planning and designing a new power plant that was scheduled to be built not far from here.  As we were getting reacquainted, I told him I was now a Hataalii and that I’d just bought a piece of property not too far from Round Rock.”

*           *           *           *           *           *

“Then you must be fairly close to where the power plant will be built,” Kiah responded. 

“Yes, I guess I am.  How did you happen to get this job?”

“It turned out that the Tribal Council insisted that a qualified member of the Diné Nation be put in charge of this project, and I guess I was the only one that applied.”

“I’m sure there was more than just you.”

“Maybe, but let’s get back to you.  What made you buy that piece of property, because it must be pretty isolated where you are?”

“That’s true, but it’s centrally located between most of the areas that I’ll be overseeing, so I felt that the location would make it easier for Diné to get to me when they needed help.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.  I know you’ll probably be doing things the traditional way, but wouldn’t it be easier if you had electricity so you’d have a reliable source of heat and light.”

“Yes, I guess it would, but there’s no way I’d be able afford hooking up to an electrical line, since there wouldn’t be any other users in the area where I’d be working.”

“Since this is a Diné project, built on Diné land, I believe it should                                 also benefit those who care for the Diné people.  What if I were to work it into my plans to create an unrecorded line that we could connect to your property?”

“But wouldn’t it show up in how much electricity was being used?”

“It would, but I can design it so it would appear that the electricity you are using is connected to the operation of the power plant.  That way, no one will ever suspect what we did.”

“I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I don’t want you to get in trouble, because then no one else would be willing to hire you.”

“I can make it so no one will ever know.  I’ll make sure there is a residential line that is hidden below the area where they’ll be pouring the cement on which the equipment will be situated.  I’ll just make sure both ends of that line will extend well beyond the cement pad so there is enough line to hook both ends up later.”

“But how will we get that line to my property?”

“There’s bound to be one or more three-day weekends while we’re working on the power plant, so we’ll use that time to dig a trench between the plant and your property.  We will bury your end of the line in the trench, and once that is taken care of and the power plant is operational, I’ll secretly hook up the other end of the line to the power plant.”

“Then I’d better get busy, because there are a lot of things I’ll need to get done before that can happen.”

*           *           *           *           *           *

“I didn’t think Kiah would be able to pull it off, but he did, and that’s how I have electricity out here.  Not only do I have lights and heat, but it also allows me to have wi-fi and to electrify the fence that surrounds the property.” 

“Why did you electrify the fence?” 

“For two reasons.  One is to prevent anyone who would attempt to rob this place, and the other is to keep animals out of this area.  My plans included having a garden and I didn’t want the animals to eat the things I grew and leave nothing for my family or those who need my help.  I also didn’t want to enter the ceremonial hogan some day and be confronted by a cougar or a bear that had decided it would make a perfect den.”

“Ok, I get all of that, but what did you need such a large building for?” Pops wanted to know. 

“Those that live around here or come to me for help will know that I intend on using this building to store supplies, as well as where I’ll park my truck when it’s not in use.  The double-wide garage doors will allow delivery trucks to back inside so they can drop off the items I’ve ordered.” 

“Do you really order that much?”

“Once a year I plan on ordering a pallet of lime that I use for multiple purposes.  I will use it to neutralize the odors that emanate from the outhouse, as well as to ward off flies that will breed there.  I’ll also use the lime in the garden to add nutrients to the soil and to improve the soil structure.  I have some other ideas for how I’ll use this building as well, but I still need to work out a few minor details first.”

“Like what?” I asked. 

“I’m trying to get the Casinos on the reservation to donate money that I can use to buy clothing and food that I can give to those that need help the most.  I’m also trying to get other national charitable organizations to help out as well.”

“Are things that bad on the reservation?” Gramps followed. 

“Yes, the situation on the reservation is dire!  There happens to be a high unemployment rate among the Diné people and a low per capita income level.  Many Diné are living below the poverty line, which makes the Diné worse off than many developing nations.  I’ve been doing as much as I can to improve the situation on the reservation, but there’s just too much that needs to be done.”

“But with four casinos on the reservation, why are things so bad?”

“There are many factors for that, including poor distribution of casino profits, limited economic diversification, geographic isolation, and lack of infrastructure.  There are also historic federal policies that have disadvantaged Native American tribes.” 

“What exactly does that mean?’ I asked. 

“it means that while certain individuals may benefit from having a casino job, the overall economic impact of the casino on the Diné Nation isn’t evenly spread out.  It’s also not enough to alleviate the widespread poverty that exists here.”

“Where are these casinos located?”

“One is in Shiprock, New Mexico, which is in the area that I cover, and another in Church Rock, New Mexico, which is in the area that Shizhe'é covers.  The other two are in Farmington, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona.”

“Wait a minute,” Gramps challenged.  “Farmington, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona aren’t on the Navajo reservation, so how can they have casinos in those places?”

“It is because the Navajo Nation owns land within those areas, and that allows them to operate casinos on their tribal lands situated near those cities.” 

“That’s awful, but then how did you get the money to build all of this?”

“I applied for and received a federal grant.  When I applied for the grant, I explained what I was hoping to accomplish, and mentioned that I’d need some sort of security system as well.  I said that I’d need that so others wouldn’t be able to break in and steal the donations I acquired so they could sell them to others later.”

“What about the tunnel we used?  How did you explain that?”

“I didn’t.  I merely bought the materials for the tunnel with the grant money, and then Shizhe'é and I did all of the work on it ourselves.  However, he helped me build the ceremonial hogan and the outhouse first, before we worked on the tunnel.”   

“Is your ceremonial hogan like the one I was trained in?”

“It’s basically identical,” Tokala confirmed, “except for the artwork and the potbelly stove that I use for warmth and to cook my food.”

“Can we see it?”

“Yes, because that is where I was planning for us to sleep.  With the fence surrounding the property and the motion detector on the entrance into the hogan, I felt we’d be safe from the evil skinwalker there.”

“Great, because now I won’t have to sleep with one eye open or worry about him creeping up on us.”

Hania then led us over to the ceremonial hogan, after pointing out where the outhouse was located.  “You can sleep as yourselves or as an animal, if you think you’d be more comfortable doing that, but I have plenty of blankets to go around.  I use them during ceremonies, especially when I treat children, because their parents often want to remain with them.”

After using the outhouse, Devin and I did the same thing we’d done when I was training with Tokala – we shared our blankets and slept together.  Gramps and Pops slept close to one another, but they didn’t share blankets, and Hania and Tokala did the same thing.  We all spread out in different locations on the floor, got comfortable, and eventually fell asleep.

Unfortunately, Hania had failed to tell us that he’d set an alarm to wake us, so when it went off, we thought it was the motion detector going off and that the evil skinwalker had entered the hogan.  Gramps, Pops, Devin, and I were all extremely relieved when Hania explained what had happened and apologized for his faux pas. 

“It’s four o’clock, so we all have time to use the outhouse before we follow the same procedure as last night to go over to the target range.”

As soon as we arrived there, we pretended to eat the grass again, but just like the previous night, there was no sign of the evil skinwalker.  We stayed there until 8:00, well after the sun had risen, figuring that it would give the evil skinwalker plenty of time, in case he was a late sleeper, but still there was no sign of it.  Frustrated and discouraged, we followed Hania back to the thicket. 

Once he opened the bulkhead, we made our way down the ramp to the corridor below and immediately began to transition.  As soon as we were able, we began asking questions. 

“What are we going to do now?” I wondered. 

“We’re going to do the same thing this evening and tomorrow morning,” Hania replied. 

“Are the rifles going to be safe there?” Devin asked. 

“Yes!  The Diné have to sign up to use the target range and no one  has signed up to use it any time over the next few days, because of the warning they’d been given.  I doubt we’ll even see anyone around.”

“That works in our favor then,” Pops agreed.

“What do we do next then?” I asked. 

“We’ll go back to my double-wide, where Tayen and Chenoa will have breakfast waiting for us.”

“That sounds like a great idea, because I’m starving,” Gramps replied. 

 When we got back to the double-wide, the women met us as we entered.  “Wash up and then hurry back here, because your breakfast is almost ready,” Tayen advised us. 

After Hania showed us to the facilities, we washed up quickly and returned to the other room to see what the women wanted us to do next.  “We have a traditional Diné breakfast, as well as scrambled eggs and home fries.  You have a choice, or you can have some of each.”

Tokala and Hania stuck with the traditional Diné meal, while the rest of us had some of each.  “Thank you!  This is excellent and just what I needed,” Pops said after he’d taken a few bites. 

“Yes, it is,” Gramps, Devin, and I agreed. 

“Thank you, but it is our way of thanking you for helping our husbands with this situation,” Chenoa responded.

“And we’ll take all of us out for an early supper at Amigo Café in Kayenta again,” Pops stated.

“That isn’t necessary,” Tayen replied.  “We can fix something for us to eat here.”

“That may be, but the four of us have seen other things on the menu that we want to try, and we’re not sure how long we’ll be here until the hunt is over.”

“Ok, as long as you don’t feel you have to do it,” Chenoa added. 

We all chatted for a brief time after we finished eating, and then Hania made a suggestion.  “Why don’t we drive these four around and show them the portion of the Arizona reservation that I take care of.  The boys and Isaac can ride in the truck with me, and you, Chenoa, and Shizhe'é can ride with Jacob in the SUV.  Not only should that be more comfortable for you, but then you’ll be able to explain about each area as we go through there.  And if we time it right, we’ll end up in Kayenta in time to eat an early supper.”

No one seemed to have any problems with that, so we headed outside and got in the two vehicles.  Since we were closest to Round Rock, we drove there first, and then down Route 12 to Navajo, New Mexico so Hania and Gramps could fill the vehicles up with gas.  Once the tanks were topped off, they backtracked up Route 12 for a brief time before taking a left and passing the Canyon De Chelly National Monument before reaching Chinle.  From there we drove to Pinon and Forest Lake before taking a dirt road that connected Forest Lake to Rough Rock. 

From there we drove back to Round Rock before heading north to Mexican Water, and from there we passed by Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park on our way to Kayenta.  Once we arrived there, we went directly to Amigo Café, parked, and prepared to go inside. 

“Now I’ve got a better idea why you needed such a big storage area,” I said before we entered the restaurant. 

“Yes, the need is great, so I hope I can do something about it,” Hania replied. 

This time Devin and I tried the Navajo burgers, and they were excellent.  The burger was covered with Colby cheese, a mixture of spring greens, onions, a slice of tomato, and pickles all on fry bread.  There were also fries on the side, so it was almost like going to a fast food joint, except these burgers were better tasting.

“Are there other Hataalii that cover the other areas?” I asked as we were eating. 

“Yes, there’s another Hataalii that covers the northern edge of the Arizona side of the reservation, including the part of the reservation that’s in Utah.  Another Hataalii is in charge of the area south of my portion of Arizona, and my shizhe'é and I cover the entire New Mexico side of the reservation.”

“That’s good to know, so it means there are only four Hataali?”

“Yes, but the other two may have a trainee or two, since they are getting very old and the younger Diné aren’t eager about covering such large areas.  I suppose the other two Hataali think my shizhe'é should be training a younger person as well.”

As soon as we finished eating, we drove the women back to the double-wide and dropped them off, and then we went back to the property that Hania owned.  Once there, we immediately made our way to the tunnel so we could undress, transition, and head over to the target range again.

After we faked eating the grass for nearly two hours this time, once again there was no sighting of the evil skinwalker.  Was he too smart to fall into our trap?  Or did it possibly smell a setup?  Then again, he might just be in another part of the reservation.

When it didn’t show up again, we headed back to Hania’s sanctuary so we could transition, get dressed, and then get some sleep, hoping that possibly the evil skinwalker would show up in the morning. 

This time Gramps, Pops, Devin, and I didn’t jump and panic when the alarm went off, and then we followed the same process before heading over to the target range again.  We stayed there from about 4:30 to 8:00, and once again no sign of the evil skinwalker, so we headed back to the compound. 

“This is getting disheartening,” Devin said after we’d transitioned. 

“You still haven’t learned patience, grasshopper,” Tokala said, which caused Devin to grimace.

“He’s correct, Devin, so don’t make faces,” Pops concurred.  “You and Michael would benefit greatly by practicing that skill, although Michael is way ahead of you where that is confirmed.”

“Ok, I’ll try to do better.”

“Then let’s do whatever we have to do before we head back to the double-wide for breakfast,” Hania urged.  “I’m sure Tayen and Chenoa will have been waiting for us to return.” 

They were correct, of course, but this time the women had made blue corn pancakes, scrambled eggs, and home fries for us.  “Another excellent breakfast,” Gramps said after taking a few bites, this time beating his father and offering the compliment.

“We take it that you didn’t have any more luck last night or this morning?” Chenoa asked.  

“No, it was a no show again,” Hania confirmed. 

“Then let’s decide what we can do to pass the time today,” Tayen suggested. 

“I have to get off the reservation so I can make a call,” Pops stated.  “I have to change our travel plans, since this is taking so long.”

“In that case, I think it would be faster for you to go to Cortez this time,” Tokala pointed out. 

“Then why don’t we all go there,” Chenoa urged, “and after Isaac has made his call and made the appropriate arrangements, we can find other things to do.”

“We might even see the, uh, you know what,” I began, “that was following us when we were on the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute reservations.”

“Yeah, we even confronted it when we were at the cliff dwellings on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation,” Devin added.

Devin and I then filled in Tokala, Tayen, Hania, and Chenoa a little bit about our experience, while also trying not to say the term skinwalker.  “That’s very interesting,” Tokala said after we finished, “especially the creatures that you decided to transition into.”

We felt we had to justify our choices to him, and when we finished, he agreed they might have been more appropriate than he first thought.  “And it shows you boys are creative problem solvers and are not necessarily bound by convention,” Hania stated.  “That could prove to be very useful asset, so I’m glad you’re here with us for this effort.”

After Pops had changed his previous arrangements and made new ones, Devin and I offered to show them where we’d seen it on the Southern Ute reservation.  We didn’t take them to Mesa Verde or onto the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, though.  We felt we had seen it three times on the Southern Ute reservation and only once at those other two places, so we stuck to the area where we felt we were more likely to see it again.  The women were slightly uncomfortable about doing this at first, but after Tokala explained that they had six good ones to protect them and that it was what their husband did, they relented. 

Much to the women’s relief, we didn’t have any more luck spotting an evil skinwalker there than we had on the Navajo reservation, so we stopped to have an even earlier super than the previous two nights.  That’s because it would take us longer to drive back to drop the women off first, before getting ready for the night’s activities. 

When we were finally back at Hania’s compound, we hurriedly used the outhouse before heading down to the tunnel to undress and transition before heading over to the target range.  We stayed there for nearly three hours, even after it got dark, and then we headed back to the thicket.  Even though Tokala and Pops said we needed to learn patience, this was still very disappointing, but we made our way back to the hogan to get some rest. 

After the alarm went off, we did what we’d done each of the other mornings and eventually headed back to the target range.  We’d been out there for about two hours, with each of us facing in a different direction so the evil skinwalker couldn’t sneak up on us unaware, when I heard one of the other deer snort. 

When I looked to see who it was, I noticed the white flag of his tail showing first, so I knew I had to take off to perform my part of the plan.  I could also see Devin racing to his spot at the same time, and when we got there, we lowered our bodies to the ground first, before we transitioned.  Then, we pulled our rifles out from under the camouflage covering and took aim.