Navajos began raising sheep in Arizona in the 1600s, but the distinct Anglo-Mexican tradition didn’t become widespread until the 1870s. Every spring, thousands of sheep were herded on a three-week trek north, up onto the Colorado Plateau for summer grazing.
To avoid clashes with cattlemen, the Arizona Wool Growers Association established formal sheep-driving trails in 1896. Up to six miles wide, these ‘hoof highways’ were used every spring and fall for over 100 years. They were regulated by permits and monitored by driveway inspectors. Cordes Junction, located at the meeting point of several sheep routes, became a major wool shearing and sheep dipping center.
The legal status of most driveways was revoked in 1982, but the U.S. Forest Service still maintains jurisdiction over a few, located inside forest boundaries.
Once on their permitted range, sheep were grazed for fiyr to 10 days before being moved on.
Historically, each band of sheep had a herder, a camp tender or “Campero,” and sheep dogs. At each temporary sheep camp, herders cooked food in Dutch ovens. Traces of these sites can still be found, often marked by low curved rock walls built to shelter the cooking fire.
Contrary to popular belief, although there were some Basques in the industry from the late 1800s, most of Arizona’s sheep herders were either Navajos or of Mexican descent, until World War II, when immigration laws changed, allowing in more Basque guest workers from Spain and France.
This Earth Note was written by Diane Hope and produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.
