Tohatchi

Tohatchi, New Mexico Tó Haachʼiʼ (Navajo)
Census-designated place
Building in Tohatchi
Location in McKinley County and the state of New Mexico
Tohatchi Location in the United States Show map of New Mexico Tohatchi Tohatchi (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 35°51′30″N 108°44′50″W / 35.85833°N 108.74722°W / 35.85833; -108.74722
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	McKinley
Government
• Type	Chapter (Navajo Nation)
Area [1]
• Total	6.60 sq mi (17.09 km2)
• Land	6.47 sq mi (16.75 km2)
• Water	0.13 sq mi (0.33 km2)
Elevation [2]	6,319 ft (1,926 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	785
• Density	121.4/sq mi (46.86/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code	87325
Area code	505
FIPS code	35-78440
GNIS feature ID	2409328[2]

Tohatchi is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. It is a health-services and education hub along Highway 491. Its population was reported to be 785 at the 2020 census.^[3] As Tohatchi is located on the Navajo Nation, it is designated federal trust land.

History

The name (Navajo: Tó Haachʼiʼ) translates as "Water in rock ledge," or "water dug out". A settlement was built here around an Indian school established by the US government in 1897.^[4]

The Two Grey Hills Trading Post^[5] was established here soon thereafter, and as of 2025, is one of the few Navajo trading posts still in operation. The community is the center for Navajo weaving of the Two Grey Hills weaving patterns.^[6]

The design style of Two Grey Hills weaving is named for the trading post, and was first developed around 1910-1915. The patterns involve intricate geometric motifs based on four-fold symmetry. Historically they were woven with handspun natural (undyed) wool; later natural plant-based and commercial dyes were used, although most weavers create natural colors blends by combining wool of various colors from their sheep. These rugs are still woven today in Tohatchi; the weavings are known to have the highest wefts-per-inch counts of other local weavings.^[6]

• 
  Family and teacher in a Navajo hogan, Tohatchi, New Mexico, 1901
• 
  Peshliki, a Navajo Indian silversmith, and a friend outside his shop (and hogan) in Tohatchi, ca.1901
• 
  Two Grey Hills Trading Post
• 
  Two Grey Hills Trading Post

Geography

Tohatchi is in northwestern McKinley County, along U.S. Route 491, which leads south 24 miles (39 km) to Gallup, the county seat, and north 69 miles (111 km) to Shiprock. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Tohatchi CDP has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17 km²), of which 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²), or 1.96%, are covered by water^[1] (Chuska Lake, on the eastern edge of the community). The CDP is drained by Red Willow Wash, passing through the center of the community, and its tributary Muddy Wash, running along the southern edge. Red Willow Wash runs northeast toward Coyote Wash, a tributary of the Chaco River and part of the San Juan River watershed.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, 825 people and 244 households resided in the CDP.^[8] The population density was 46.86 inhabitants per square mile (18.09/km²). There were 263 housing units, of which 244 were occupied. The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.0% Native American, 4.7% White, 0.5% African American, 3.3% Asian, 0.8% from some other race, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.9% of the population.

Of the 244 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 43.0% were married or cohabiting couples, 39.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 17.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. About 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% were someone living alone who was 65 or older.

In the CDP, the age distribution was 24.3% under 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

Government

Tohatchi has a chapter house, a local administrative office that governs a part of the Fort Defiance Agency of the Navajo Nation.^[9]

Education

BIE/BIA schools

Formerly Chuska Boarding School, Ch'ooshgai Community School^[11] is a grant school boarding facility of the Bureau of Indian Education that offers kindergarten through eighth grade.^[12]

The Bureau of Indian Affairs previously had a bureau-operated boarding school, Tohatchi Boarding School,^[13] but it was shut down after the addition of public schools to Tohatchi. Cindy Yurth of the Navajo Times described it as one of the first such schools on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Its students included children from Tuba City, Arizona. According to Tohatchi Chapter President Edwin Begay, his father told him that the townsite was formerly an area maintained by the school to have swine.^[14] In 1979, the school had Navajo-language classes and one of the few Navajo school principals on the Navajo Nation at the time, Phillip Belone.^[13]

In Popular Culture

The 1965 film The Hallelujah Trail was shot in nearby locations with the Chuska Mountains serving as backdrop to some scenes.^[17]

Jim Chee, fictional Navajo Police officer in several Tony Hillerman crime novels, is said to have attended the boarding school here. ^[18]

Notable people

• Jennifer Nez Denetdale, educator
• Manuelito, Navajo tribal leader
• Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet, Navajo academic administrator
• Shannon Pinto, politician
• Daisy Taugelchee, Navajo weaver
• Aneva J. Yazzie, industrial engineer

See also

• List of census-designated places in New Mexico

References

Media related to Tohatchi, New Mexico at Wikimedia Commons