Into the Canyon: Seven Years in Navajo Country

by Lucy Moore

In 1968 newlyweds Lucy Moore and her husband moved from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Chinle, Arizona, where he had taken a job with the recently created Navajo legal services program. They were part of a wave of young 1960s idealists determined to help others less fortunate than themselves. After fulfilling the two-year commitment with the legal program, Lucy and Bob stayed for another five years. Into the Canyon is her account of the places and people they came to love and the lessons they learned from their Navajo neighbors. "Ms. Moore's recollection of time spent in Navajo County is a beautiful and spirited tribute to Chinle culture. Moreover, we are given a glimpse into what it means to be affected by a place, time, and people. Beautifully constructed."-- Women Writing the West "Never a false note. Clearly written, candid, and funny . . . an engaging read."--Peter Iverson, historian and award-winning author of Diné and For Our Navajo People "Lucy Moore tells this story with humor, sensitivity, and grace. Her absorbing memoir of seven years living, working, and being herself with Navajo people is a journey of discovery not only of 'the other' but, even more important, a confrontation with her own identity as a white person."--Mark Rudd, last national secretary of SDS, founder of the Weather Underground, teacher, and activist "A delight to read; an invaluable historical and cultural narrative. . . . A good deal of my first novel, Ceremony, was inspired by Chinle, but I didn't fully appreciate just how much was going on during those years until I read Lucy's book."--Leslie Silko, author of Gardens In the Dunes and Ceremony

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

236 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Born and raised in Seattle, Lucy Moore went east to attend Radcliffe College, where she experienced the first of many formative culture shocks. After graduating, she worked for the Boston Welfare Department as a caseworker and later as an assistant to Dr. Robert Coles, author and child psychiatrist. Both jobs taught her to listen to and value the voices of those engaged in struggle and inspired her to strike out and make a difference. She moved to Chinle, Arizona, heart of Navajo country, where her two sons were born. There she taught with Head Start, sold car insurance (as an alternative to the exploitative practices of local dealers), and served as justice of the peace, registering hundreds of voters, holding trials, and acting as coroner. In 1975 she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she served for a brief time as policy aide for Indian affairs for the governor of New Mexico and worked as a paralegal before joining the fledgling conflict resolution firm Western Network.

Since the late 1980s Lucy has worked as a mediator, facilitator, trainer, and consultant specializing in natural resource and public policy disputes. She continues to work, as Lucy Moore Associates, Inc., with a diverse group of colleagues on both regional and national cases, often with a multicultural or tribal component. She has a credibility and depth of experience in Indian country rare in conflict resolution practitioners. Lucy regularly mentors those who might otherwise not have access to her field, believing that the future health of the profession depends on its diversity and accessibility.

Lucy lives in Santa Fe with her artist husband, Roberto Gallegos. Her memoir, Into the Canyon: Seven Years in Navajo Country, won the 2005 Willa Award for Best Memoir from Women Writing the West. Lucy is a regular contributor to Back Roads Radio, a program dedicated to original storytelling.

Reviews

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought Lucy Moore's memoir of living in Chinle, Arizona, at the Visitors' Center in Chinle after hiking on the White House Trail at Canyon de Chelly. Fascinated by Navajo culture, I was looking for a book that had more information about the area. This book is well written, entertaining, informative, sometimes funny and sometimes poignant. It gives an insight into the people of Chinle through the eyes of an Anglo trying to "fit in" and be accepted during the years 1968-1975.

It was an easy and fun read. Fun to read about an area that I have a sense of how it looks, and where things are--the Holiday Inn, Basha's, and especially the Thunderbird Lodge, where we stayed, and its cafeteria, where we ate.

[Alethea Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book at a Wyoming Writers conference, along with another memoir, Marjane Ambler's Yellowstone Has Teeth. The two books are similar in theme: a woman in a new relationship chooses to spend time in isolation from her larger culture while learning to survive and grow and also learning to fit in to a smaller, closer-knit culture that's totally foreign. Not incidentally, a background theme of both stories is the idea of trust. Learning to trust and depend on others, sometimes for sheer survival, is a facet of the growth of the narrators. The love stories underlying the main narrative of "woman against nature" are just one of the joys of reading these memoirs.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I have lived just outside the edge of the Navajo Reservation for 60 years, this book was like reading about home. The time that this young couple spent in Chinle was during my high school days and after, so it was very enlightening to get a different perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Moore’s memories and recollections.

[Monica Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great non-fiction account of an east coast couple (he as an attorney) who move to Chinle and live with the Dine people in the 70's. interesting story about their integration into the community, how it worked and how it didn't! Especially meaningful if you have visited Canyon de Chelley.

[Barbarawiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author now lives in Santa Fe and writes about the early years of her marriage when she lived on the Navajo reservation. Provides a perspective of being the "outsider minority" which white people rarely have the chance to experience.

[Vicki Holmsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admire Lucy Moore's clear prose and willingness to be honest about her life in a complicated situation. It is not easy to live as an outsider in another culture and she demonstrates both the joys and the pitfalls of her family's time living with Navajo people in Chinle, Arizona.

[Brian]

Takes place in Chinle, AZ and is about people in my law firm who get married, and apparently in between the time of the book and now split up. Can't wait to read.

[Marsha]

Canyon de Chelly Adam Teller tour guide. Read 2006. Good. --

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about Canyon de Chelly in the 70's. Unimaginative writing.