Gallery

This April 23, 2020 photo shows a sign posted in Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah, saying the Navajo Monument Vally Tribal Park is closed, in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on the Navajo reservation. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country.

Eugene Dinehdeal shields his face from the setting sun on the Dinehdeal family compound in Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 20, 2020. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

A dog sleeps on the red sand on the end of his chain at the Dinehdeal family compound in Tuba City, Ariz, on the Navajo reservation on April 20, 2020. The Dinehdeal family has been devastated by COVID-19.

Angelina Dinehdeal wipes tears from her eyes as she sits with her 8-year-old daughter, Annabelle, on the family’s compound in Tuba City, Ariz., on April 20, 2020. The family has been devastated by COVID-19. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it. (

A boy holds a kitten named “Popcorn Ball” in front of his home in Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah, on the Navajo reservation on April 27, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

Herding dogs rest together next to the sheep corral on Leslie Dele’s family sheep ranch outside of Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation on April 24, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

From left, Annabelle Dinehdeal, 8; Maria Cruz, Christina Dinehdeal, Eugene Dinehdeal, Angelina Dinehdeal, and their dog, Wally, pose for a photo on the Dinehdeal family compound in Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 20, 2020. The family has been devastated by COVID-19.

Eugene Dinehdeal holds photos of family members, including Eva Dinehdeal at top, at the Dinehdeal family compound in Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 20, 2020. Eva Dinehdeal died of COVID-19 on April, 11, 2020.

A sign is posted on the door of the hogan, a traditional Navajo dwelling, of Mabel Charley’s home-bound uncle, to keep visitors out in Chilchinbeto, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 21, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

On a small table next to an image of Jesus in a crown of thorns, the ashes of Gloria Uriarte, right and her mother, Eva Dinehdeal, are displayed on a table in Tuba City, Ariz., on April 22, 2020. In the foreground at left is Gloria’s son, Curly, as his aunt Christina Dinehdeal holds his hand. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

Team Rubicon volunteer Cindy Robison, a U.S. Air Force veteran and nurse from Colorado Springs, Colo., works in the emergency room at the Kayenta Health Center on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Ariz., on April 18, 2020. Team Rubicon is helping with medical and emergency room operations here as cases of COVID-19 surge. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country.

A man runs a hose from a water pump to fill a water tank in the back of a pickup truck outside a tribal office on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City, Ariz., on April 20, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

Team Rubicon volunteers, nurse Cindy Robison, a U.S. Air Force veteran from Colorado Springs, Colo., left, and Dennis Grooms, an EMT from St. Louis, center, work with their only ventilator, as Christra McDermont, a U.S. Navy veteran from Los Angeles, and operation section chief, counts face masks in the emergency room of the Kayenta Health Center on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. Team Rubicon is helping with medical operations as cases of COVID-19 surge.

Navajo shepherd Leslie Dele stands next to his all-terrain vehicle as he waits for the sheep to come in on his family ranch outside Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation April 22, 2020. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

Mabel Charley, left, applies hand sanitizer as she arrives to care for her home-bound uncle in his hogan, a traditional Navajo dwelling, in Chilchinbeto, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 21, 2020. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it. (

A sheep herding dog named “Red” rests in the morning sun before going out with the flock of Navajo rancher Leslie Dele outside Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 22, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

WWII veteran and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald Sr. walks down the porch steps of his home on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City, Ariz., on April 28, 2020. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

An officer with the Navajo Nation Police talks to a driver at a roadblock in Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 22, 2020. The roadblock was to inform residents of evening and weekend curfews, hand washing, and wearing a face mask to help control the spread of COVID-19.

A boy and his sister play in their family compound in Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 22, 2020. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

This April 23, 2020 photo shows an empty Interstate 163 in Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah, on the Navajo reservation. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Navajo Monument Vally Tribal Park is closed. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Navajo medicine man Travis Teller gathers sage to perform an herbal ceremony in Tsaile, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 29, 2020. He will make a tea to drink, and smoke and steam to purify the air to protect his people and those in his care from COVID-19. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

A sign reads “Navajo Monument Vally Tribal Park Closed Until Further Notice” posted at the entrance of Monument Valley in Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah, on the Navajo reservation April 19, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

A rainbow is seen in the distance from the closed Chilchinbeto Church of the Nazarene in Chilchinbeto, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation on April 21, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

The mesas of Monument Valley are seen beyond the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah on the Navajo Reservation April 30, 2020. The reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.

A hand-painted sign points the way to the Chilchinbeto Church of the Nazarene in Chilchinbeto, Ariz., on the Navajo reservation at sunrise on Sunday, April 19, 2020. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. If Navajos are susceptible to the virus’ spread in part because they are so closely knit, that’s also how many believe they will beat it.