Marietta Wetherill: Life With the Navajos in Chaco Canyon

by Marietta Wetherill

First published in 1992 and now available only from the University of New Mexico Press, this is a firsthand account of life at a famous archaeological ruin. Married to Richard Wetherill, the rancher and amateur archaeologist who ran a trading post in Chaco Canyon from 1896 until he was murdered by a Navajo in 1910, Marietta Wetherill got to know her Navajo neighbors as intimately as an Anglo could. While Richard was excavating at Pueblo Bonito, Marietta managed the trading post. She befriended a singer who adopted her into his clan and gave her a close-up view of Navajo medicine and religion.

Genres: Biography Memoir, Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Victoria Wiedrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great to read in conjunction with, or after, Frank McNitt’s book “Richard Wetherhill: Anasazi.” You get two perspectives of the same events.

[Kate Lawrence · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although Wetherill does have much that is fascinating to say about her life among the Navajos in 1880s Colorado-New Mexico, she turns out to be a highly unreliable narrator. To quote from the introduction (p. 14):

"By the time she came to record her recollections, Marietta's memory was actually pretty bad. She confused dates, events, and people, and didn't experience some of the episodes she claims as her own. One of her favorite stories is about being kidnapped by the Paiutes. This is a true story, but she wasn't the one who was kidnapped. Perhaps her advanced age lowered the shades on her faculty of recall . . . In 1932, one of her incredible stories was published in Scribner's Magazine, and when it was criticized, she changed the story."

I stuck with her tales of her adventures for awhile, but ultimately abandoned the book out of frustration in not being able to tell what actually happened and what she made up. We have enough fake news these days.

[Tony Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this book at a gift shop on our trip through the "Four Corners" area. An interesting read of the life of settlers in the Navajo nation.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do women define themselves?