The Story

My ancestors escaped the U.S. military’s attempted genocide of the Diné culture in 1863, in the months leading up to what is called “The Long Walk” (1864). The Long Walk was the forced deportation of the Navajo People by the U.S. government in 1864 and is also referred to as "Hweelde". Navajos were forced to walk for 450 miles at gunpoint from their homes in what is now the Navajo Nation reservation to a place called Bosque Redondo, in eastern New Mexico. Many died along the way from cold, starvation and murder. Many more died in Bosque Redondo from starvation, lice, vermin and disease.

In the months before The Long Walk, the U.S. military began their sweep south, from the San Juan basin through what is called Dinetah, the land of The People (the Navajo). A small U.S. military cavalry arrived at a homestead located in the east plains at the base of the Chuska mountains. A tracker led the group to this location where a family of six lived. After attempts to seize the household and deport the occupants failed, the parents were murdered. Three children, with an infant, fled east by foot.

A few military individuals separated from this cavalry to capture the children. The pursuit turned to a 300-mile trek along the Colorado plateau where the children hid among vast crevices, boulders and gorges. During the pursuit, the siblings’ infant brother died of malnutrition and they were forced to bury him in a crevice in a sandstone wall-face in the plateau. A 17- and 15-year-old and their nine-year-old sister survived. They continued fleeing east and made their way into what is currently the Cibola National Forest, along the Mt. Taylor mountain range. There the 15-year-old was attacked by a bear and killed while gathering firewood. The remaining two girls decided to leave the safety of the forest not only because the killer bear was in the vicinity but it was taboo to be near such an episode of death.

The two girls fled northeast onto the farmland of the Pueblo of Zia. Here a Zia Pueblo farmer found the girls on his crop field, took them home and hid them. The pursuing military tracked the two girls into the Pueblo and searched the homes. The farmer and his family hid the two girls in a woodbox under beddings and blankets. The girls miraculously escaped detection and the military party continued on toward Bernalillo, New Mexico. The two girls, Glinibah and Pablita, were adopted by the pueblo and raised as its own, learning the language and customs. The youngest girl, Pablita, married a Pueblo man with the last name Medina and they had a daughter, Loli, together. Loli married a Pueblo man named Jesus Salaz and they had two sons. Loli and her sons were baptized in the Pueblo Catholic Church and were given names of Polito and Frank Montoya. Polito Montoya had 12 children, 48 grandchildren, and 94 great-great grandchildren. I am one of his grandchildren.

iPhone 4S HD Video Recording

Apple, Inc. introduces the new iOS5 and dual-core A5 chip into the iPhone series of phones calling it the iPhone 4S. Besides having the same design as the iPhone 4 it is very different inside and gives notice to a lot Apple fans....like myself. Most notably the HD Video Recording continues on the 4S and it relates to my current project of self-directing a short film. Yes, you heard it here, I will be filming my short film off an iPhone and seeing the iPhone technology evolving does good timing for me to say the least.

I currently have the iPhone 4 which has HD 720p with a 5-MP built-in camera and is optimal for some of my projects, but the new 4S has HD 1080p with 8-MP! Will I upgrade to the new 4S? Probably, but I am leaning towards the other features of iCloud and the new voice assistant, Siri, to be my new companions everyday.

The idea of filming from an iPhone occurred to me when recording my 4-yr old learn to ride her first bike. I immediately started searching other projects that used an iPhone to create film pieces. I came across some rough looking pieces showing hard transitions and bad audio.

Then I found a nice clip telling the story of a grandfather and his granddaughter window shopping through their small town. They come upon the shop with an antique train and grandfather recollects his own childhood experience with his own train set. The transitions looked pretty smooth and I was impressed with the angles of shots. What really caught my attention was how the iPhone was small enough to be attached to the model train. It meandered around the tracks and we see a point of view that was pretty neat. Seeing this work I strapped my iPhone 4 to my RC helicopter. Unfortunately, I misplaced the remote antennae, so once I get another one from my local Radio Shack I'll post "flight simulation videos".

Monument Valley, Arizona to Fort Sumner, New Mexico USA

The author at Monument Valley, Arizona USA

I often thought about the distance my Dine' (Navajo) ancestors walked in 1860. The Long Walk which was the U.S. military's campaign to incarcerate the Dine' people was truly a tragic event still felt today. I cannot fathom the hardships of walking that distance with little to no necessities. The Dine' were herded from their homes from all over the southwest, including the far reaches of Grand Canyon National Park and Monument Valley Tribal Park. Grandmothers, grandfathers, toddlers and infants were pushed to their physical limits each day of the long walk and given what the military provided in food which were, to say the very least, new to their lean diets.

I traveled to Fort Sumner, New Mexico on a quest to locate a map c.1860 from the walls of the Bosque Redondo Memorial (the memorial opened June 4, 2005). This map artifact shows military routes and landmark place names represented by the U.S. military. During my first visit in 2006, I did not know I would need it as a major piece of research for my Chaco Project writing. I decided to return to the memorial after remembering the map and the supervising National Park Service Ranger (Grace) welcomed my story with such intrigue she searched deep in the memorial archives to locate this map. To my enthusiasm it was found and showed names of roads and landmarks I needed. I will post a portion of the map soon. In the developing novel, the antagonist - a contracted Ute tracker, will name these routes throughout his pursuit of three Dine' girls. Thanks again to NPS Ranger Grace!

Monument Valley Tribal park on the Utah/Arizona border celebrates massive buttes. Timed with early dawn you will stand amazed at the spectacle of colors displayed right after seeing the silhouettes of the buttes. I stood in awe then offered a flute melody.

Upon leaving the site I wondered which horizon the U.S. military emerged from to locate Dine' homesteads in the area. I imagine the U.S. government provided luxuries of horses, food, water, abundant fire power and mutual aid from local militia volunteers. Captured Dine' were forced to march 500 miles with only the clothes on their backs. I thought maybe some were allowed to take necessities such as blankets and small valuables, which led me to recount oral stories of military personnel and militia volunteers raping women, killing infants, terrorizing elders and torturing the Dine' as they were herded to Fort Sumner. I will post more narratives by individuals and texts soon.

The View Hotel, Monument Valley Tribal Park, Arizona USA

I traveled to these two locations in 2011: Bosque Redondo Memorial, Fort Sumner, New Mexico and Monument Valley Tribal Park, Arizona. These visits continued my research for developing characters in a novel about three Dine' girls who escaped the initial roundup south of the Four Corners area. I have tentatively titled the novel "The Great Chacoan Escape", but am warming to this blog's title of "Chaco Runner".

Tracks...of Man & Animal

Often I hear the coyotes howling, yelping and barking early mornings or during odd times of the day. I see the occasional coyote track while running and wonder at their hunting strategies. Not only do they scavenge carcasses but I'm sure they put themselves into organized hunting packs. I've seen my dogs Trevor, Lady and Flo do this as I run the trails. Trevor the alpha male would be in the center while his two ladies are at either side. Trevor would flush out the cotton tail rabbits then Lady and Flo would follow chase.  While driving to work one early morning I saw three coyotes in the distance traveling in this form obviously tracking a predator. Seconds later they gave chase to a jack rabbit.

I'm an avid reader of Louis L'amour books and many military autobiographies. I find it deeply interesting to read how a tracker walks the earth and leave little signs of their passing through. The Native American culture consists of expert trackers throughout history on the north and south american continents. Currently the Shadow Wolves patrol our southern borders which consists of a dozen Native American "...law enforcement professionals who use time-honored tracking traditions". How do professional trackers move without anyone knowing they traveled through the area? As a tracker what signs do you look for when tracking? 'Time-honored' is correctly stated when a student learns from the master.

My novel consists of three teenage girls trekking approximately 200 miles along a ridge of the Chaco plateau. The time is around 1860 when the U.S. military initiates their quest to 'control' the Navajo people from unlawful raiding, stealing, intimidating and murdering peaceful families in the southwest region. The girls escape the initial capture on their homestead and head north. They travel along a ridge of the Chaco plateau and are tracked by a veteran tracker of the Ute nation contracted my the military. How does one travel as a group and beat an expert tracker?

About Kialo Winters

Kialo Winters at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, CO USA

Hiking Huerfano mountain in Dzil-na-o-dilthle, NM USA

My name is Kialo Winters and am Dine'/Zia from Ojo Encino, New Mexico. This journey I am attempting is a memoir of sorts - which in context explains my research into a historical novel I am currently writing. I decided to create this blog to not only help organize my thoughts, but to give and receive insights from friends. The novel I am writing can be further explained in upcoming posts. My research will include the Native American understanding of trail running and the effects of exposing oneself to the environment. This was the major form of travel before the horse arrived in this region. Follow me on Google+ and Twitter @kialowinters

On the set during filming of "The Great Chacoan Escape" - Torreon, NM USA

Thirty foot petrified log near my home in Ojo Encino, NM USA

I have been running trails in my area of mesas, rolling hills, tired unpaved roads and sandy arroyos. Sage, different types of cacti, pinon and juniper trees litter all these landforms. I see the occasional petrified wood pieces the size of a man's fist and forearm, but recently I discovered a fallen petrified log the length of thirty feet. It was surprisingly intact and a great wonder for me.

Offering greetings to the sunset at Monument Valley, UT USA (photo credit: +Terri Winters)

Sunset on the Navajo Nation reservation 2012

Playing the native american flute at Monument Valley, UT USA (photo credit: +Terri Winters)

The area I run shows the horizon in all directions. The Cibola National Forest to the south with Mt. Taylor, Bear mountain and Cabezon Peak. To the east, I see the Santa Fe National Forest with the Jemez mountain range traveling south for about fifty miles and peaking at the tail is Sandia Peak. To the north, you cannot see the Rocky mountains, but another plateau ridge atop this massive Chaco Plateau. To the west, I see another thirty miles to the ending ridges of the Chaco Plateau. I wonder how our ancestors who lived and traveled this area could manage crossing this massive area and why. This question begins my journey...

Trailrunning on the Navajo Nation reservation

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Park in Cortez, CO USA - Trekking for B-roll shots as the event photographer at a middle-school youth summit for Futures for Children, Inc.