Kayenta

Kayenta, in northeastern Navajo County, is about 20 miles south of the Utah border on US 163. It is 148 miles north-northeast of Flagstaff and 99 miles west of Shiprock, New Mexico. Because of its remoteness, in the early days the Kayenta region was seldom visited by non-Indians. In 1874, Mormon emigrants travelled through on their way from Tuba City to Aneth. In 1910, a trading post opened at Kayenta; In 1914, the March Pass School opened; and in 1916, another trading post opened. Since that time, especially with road paving through the area, Kayenta has had considerably more traffic and has been designated a ‘growth center’ of the reservation. Navajos refer to Kayenta as Tohdenasshai.