About Low Mountain Chapter

Ta’ Sahdi’ Da’ Askani’ / Lone Mesa

The Low Mountain Chapter is situated at the northwestern edge of the Fort Defiance Agency. Low Mountain Chapter shares its Chapter land boundary with the Steamboat, Whippoorwill Springs, Jeddito, Tachee/Blue Gap and Tselani/Cottonwood Chapters, and also borders the Hopi Partitioned Lands. The Chapter area extends into both the Navajo and Apache Counties. Although Low Mountain Chapter is geographically in Ft. Defiance Agency, all programmatic services are administered under the Chinle Agency. The chapter consists of a broad valley between two mesas. One known as “Low Mountain” in English — Ta’ Sahdi’ Da’ Askani’, or “Lone Mesa” in Navajo. Most of the top of the southern mesa, known as Jeeh Deez’ah (“Piñon Gum Point”) in Navajo, was lost in the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974. The Low Mountain Chapter lost a considerable portion of its land base to the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974, resulting in most of the Low Mountain community members were force to relocate to New Lands, Arizona or Nahata Dziil (Near present day Sanders, AZ) or to Flagstaff. The Navajo-Hopi Land dispute and eventual land partitions have kept the Chapter and community from much needed development. However today, the Low Mountain Community has The Low Mountain Chapter, Low Mountain Senior Center, Low Mountain Head Start, Jeeh Deez’a Elementary School (K-5th Grade), The Low Mountain Lil’ Cougars Little League Team, Teacher Housing and a NHA Housing. Upcoming Projects will be coming soon in the near future, including, 3 Cell Phone Towers, a new Head Start Building, and a Multipurpose Building. Though wounds are still fresh from the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement, Low Mountain still moves forward to a brighter future.