Ashes dumped at Four Corners

Human ashes raise a raucous at Four Corners National Monument

By Ryan BoetelA visitor at the Four Corners National Monument caused a stir Tuesday when the woman dumped human ashes near the point where four states meet.

The park, like all Navajo Tribal Parks, posts at the entrance and on its website that it is against the Navajo people's cultural beliefs to dispose of human remains on Navajo land, said Geri Hongeva, a spokeswoman for the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department.

The incident Tuesday afternoon troubled the 50 or so vendors who sell items near the monument because many are elderly and traditional Navajo people, said Victoria Dee, the park manager at the Four Corners National Monument.

Dee and the parks department did not release information on what happened to the female visitor who dumped the remains.

Dee said the monument brought a Navajo medicine man to the park for a cultural ceremony early Wednesday and the monument will not be closed because of the incident.

"This is not the first time it has happened," Dee said. "It has happened before and with our cultural beliefs it's taboo. Especially with cremated remains."Comment:  People, don't dump your ashes in Navajo territory. Unless you don't mind non-believers urinating in your churches, it's wrong and hypocritical.

For more on the Four Corners area, see Navajo Nation = Great Road Trip and Navajo Tourism Spending Increases 32%.