For at least the last 250 years (some would say longer), the twin gorges of Canyon de Chelly have formed one of the most sacred locales in the Navajo universe. This was the stronghold in which the Diné (as the Navajo call themselves) believed they could never be conquered by enemies. It was the refuge where, during the cruelest droughts, the water would always flow and the corn grow. And it was the dwelling place of Spider Woman, the deity who taught the Diné to weave and who gave the Hero Twins the power to overcome monsters.
