Hoskinnini Mesa

"A mysterious and otherworldly Monument Valley glows a purple hue in the background under the dark clouds of an Autumn rainstorm.

In the foreground is Hoskinnini Mesa with its lone towering Hoodoo standing strong against the elements in the bottom of this image. To the right of this solitary Hoodoo is Copper Creek and in the background under a low lying cloud layer is the mystical and spiritually inspiring Monument Valley.

“Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii”, means "Valley of the Rocks" to the First Nations Diné (Navajo). This sacred place is on their Tribal Reservation northwest of Monument Valley near Kayenta.

Hoskinnini Mesa is named for the highly respected Diné leader, Hashké neiní, who was born in Monument Valley. Hashké neiní (Diné for" The Angry One" ) was renowned for his resistance to being forcibly removed during the unfortunate events of 1864 when Kit Carson begin a campaign known as the “Long Walk”. Union Army soldiers removed the Diné from their traditional ancestral homelands in the Four Corners Region and made them walk over 300 miles to a new reservation established in eastern New Mexico known as Bosque Redondo.

Hashké neiní and his band evaded capture and lived for four years in the Navajo Mountain region in Utah. He eventually became known as the "Emperor of Monument Valley" because while in hiding, Hashké neiní discovered a large silver mine. This discovery helped he and his family to become wealthy when they started making ornaments out of the silver from the mine. Allegedly he was the very first Diné Tribesman to own a turquoise necklace.

In 1868 after the Diné were finally released and allowed to return to their ancestral homelands, Hashké neiní became known for his generosity to those who had survived their internment at Bosque Redondo. He died in 1912 in Monument Valley. This image of Hoskinnini Mesa is even more interesting because of that lonely Hoodoo tower in the lower part of the picture. Zedekiah imagines this as a beautiful symbol of Hashké neiní, standing strong and proud, surviving through strength, shaped by the elements but enduring the trials of time." - Zedekiah