Indigenous tourism is more than just visiting a museum or a Native American landmark. It’s a $15.7 billion industry in the U.S. alone, according to the American Indigenous Tourism Association. What’s driving this boom is a desire for authentic cultural experiences, often on tribal land that would be off-limits to the average visitor.
With Page, Arizona, as your basecamp, you have access to over 40 National Parks, National Recreation Areas and National Monuments. In Four Corners Canyon Country, you can take a horseback ride on tribal land with a native guide or soar above the watery fingers of Lake Powell with a Navajo pilot. Navajo Nation people work in every aspect of tourism here and are eager to share stories of their heritage.
Pinkcandy - Dreamstime
People riding horses in the desert Navajo Guide
Horseback Riding that Connects You to the Land
The Navajo Nation own 16 million acres of raw and stunning land in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. In much of it, the Colorado River carves masterfully through the slot canyons, forming the great Lake Powell and iconic topography like Horseshoe Bend in Glen Canyon.
It’s in this dramatic backdrop that the Mansion Family runs Horseshoe Bend Trail Rides. Horseback riding is important to Navajo culture, and horses are used in everything from weddings to healing ceremonies. Guests who book a tour with these Navajo wranglers will ride on sacred tribal land, learning the importance of everything from the horse’s mane (it represents rain clouds that nurture the earth) to arrowheads (they protect the Navajo people and all other life). The horses are well-trained and gentle and there’s plenty of time to take photos of Horseshoe Bend and the striated, wind-sculpted walls of the aptly named Wind Canyon.
AOT - Chadwick D. Fowler
Antelope Canyon
A Sacred Slot Canyon
One of the most photographed canyons in the world is Antelope—land owned by the Navajo Nation. Touring this popular slot canyon requires booking—sometimes far in advance—with one of several tribal outfitters.
Considered a sacred site, Antelope Canyon represents a cathedral to the Navajo people and every four years they hold a ceremony to bless the land and give thanks to the elements in nature that created it. Antelope Canyon is also known for its famous beams that illuminate the sandstone floor. Known as God rays, these shafts of light are best seen on clear, sunny days between May and September.
Getting a Bird’s Eye View
At Page Airport, guests can book aerial tours with IKG Air, the first 100-percent Navajo-owned aviation company in the region. Part of the family-owned Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours, IKG Air takes guests in helicopters and airplanes over breathtaking landmarks like Antelope Canyon, Owl Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon and The Wave, the undulating striped sandstone shaped by extreme weather on the desert dunes over some 190 million years.
IKG Air, LLC
“As a Navajo-owned tour operator, we bring our cultural knowledge to visitors who may not know our story, and can learn more about us, which in turn can lead to greater understanding of our people,” says marketing director Jeremy Arviso. A popular 40-minute tour covers over 254 square miles, soaring over iconic landmarks and following the edge of the second largest man-made lake in the U.S.—Lake Powell.
Off Madison Ave
Lake Powell
Water is Life
The importance of water to the Diné (A Navajo word meaning “The People”) cannot be emphasized enough. It is considered the essence of life and has deep spiritual connections to the land and its preservation. Water is also considered a life-giving force, integral to daily existence and a symbol of both change and continuity.
If you enjoy water sports, rent a houseboat, pontoon, kayak or wave-runner from Antelope Point Marina on Lake Powell. The marina on Navajo Nation property also offers guided boat tours.
As a kayak and camping enthusiast, you also have easy access to the clear, slow-moving waters of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry. There’s no charge for a backcountry permit to enjoy this northern neighbor of the Grand Canyon, where you can spend many lazy hours paddling past wild horses, sand beaches and marbled cliffs. Kayaks are available for rent at Lees Ferry where companies like Kayak the Colorado take passengers and their gear several miles upriver for their trip downstream.
Red Heritage
Dinner Service
Frybread, Dancing and Drumming
Evenings in Page offer more opportunities to learn about indigenous culture. The Red Heritage Native American dinner show serves up Navajo Tacos served on home-made fry bread while diners enjoy local talent performing powwow dances, native drumming, storytelling and flute playing. Each interaction with music and dance has cultural significance. For hoop dancers, the hoops can symbolize something good or bad in our lives. The dancers “tame” the hoops to create something beautiful from them.
Ginny Prior
A Hotel that Advances the Story
Book a room at the Hyatt Place, Lake Powell, and you get the added bonus of their partnership with the Navajo Nation. The hotel in Page has the area’s only Adventure Concierge, who has intimate knowledge of Navajo Nation tourism opportunities and can personalize your itinerary to include everything from off-road excursions to cultural landmarks.
The lobby at the Hyatt Place takes on the role of a cultural center, with Navajo Storytelling sessions and Dreamcatcher Workshops for guests. One weekly workshop is held by local weaver Pearl Seaton, who teaches the art of dreamcatcher weaving. Seaton patiently helps visitors choose yarn colors, beads and feathers while she shares stories of her grandparents using dreamcatchers to ward off evil spirits and create harmony in the home.
Ancient stories are shared by local legend, Eli Secody, who grew up listening to the folklore passed down by tribal elders. Secody is a master at recreating Indigenous oral traditions, weaving songs and drumming into his performances as he talks about the harmony between the Navajo people, the wildlife and the land. And harmony is what you’ll find in Canyon Country, where Navajo guides share their secrets to connecting, in the most meaningful way, with this incredible land.
When you go
Contour Air offers non-stop flights between Page and Phoenix, Arizona: contourairlines.com.
Horseshoe Bend Rail Rides: hbtrailrides.com
Red Heritage dinner shows: red-heritage.com
Hyatt Place: hyatt.com/hyatt-place/en-US/pgazp-hyatt-place-page-lake-powell