Canyon de Chelly, by Edward S. Curtis, 1904.

I had an interesting intersection of interests this week.

It was partly due to seeing a famous photo a few years ago that I finally pushed myself to get up and to get out a little more to see some of the wondrous natural attractions in the region.

The photo, taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1904, features a number of men on horseback and a dog traipsing across the floor of a canyon in Canyon de Chelly in northeast Arizona. The photo is famous for illustrating the bleak beauty in the present National Park, and at the time it was taken, the photo was emblematic of Navajo country in the American Southwest.

My new adventures visiting regional attractions over the last year or so spurred me to think more about the people of this part of the country.

I’ve known about the history of my state from the summaries I received in middle and high school classes, but that knowledge was fairly skeletal and modern. How did Europeans and Native Americans end up dealing with each other when they first met? Why did Europeans end up in the Southwest anyways, and how did they get here?

Park visits led to reading.

In the meantime, my interest in board games and historical simulations continued.

Some people are on Facebook to keep track of people. Sadly, in my case, I am on Facebook as much or more to see what is going on daily in the board game universe. Between specific vendor focused groups, wargame groups, modern board game forums, and buy, sale and trade groups, I am probably connected to 12 or so game communities that fill my Facebook feed with 50 percent or more of its posts.

Well, at one point in one of these wargaming groups, a particular title ended up surfacing that caught my attention.

The game, called Navajo Wars, focuses on the struggles of those Natives in the Southwest to survive inter-tribal conflicts and the impact of European settlers moving into their lands. Featured on the game’s box top is that very recognizable photo of the horseback men in Canyon de Chelly.

My interest in the game piqued this week as I learned that that game was a favorite of many solitaire players, and also that its focus fit right into the time period and topic my studies were circling.

It suddenly became a pretty important game to me. And of course, printed in a limited first run, it also turns out it is a bit of a collectible and somewhat pricey for a game.

My research into the game led me to learn a little bit about its designer, Joel Toppen.

Joel, it turns out, has designed two game, both published by war game heavyweight GMT: Navajo Wars, and a companion volume called Comancheria, focused on the Comanche in a similar plight as the Navajo.

Joel, it also turns out, is by profession an Assemblies of God pastor who lives now in Montana.

Who grew up in Gallup, New Mexico.

Needless to say, I have been keeping my eyes on eBay a fair amount lately, looking for those titles, but specifically Navajo Wars.

Because it seems to tie all of the major interests in life right now- Southwestern natural attractions, New Mexico prehistory, and board gaming- nicely together in one box.

Navajo Wars game play.
Photo credit to Colm McCarthy at BoardGameGeek.com