The Navajo name T'aabiich'iidii (Just like the Devil) was the term applied to the business practice of the community's first anglo trader. Oral history places Navajo homelands as far north as Moab, Utah and Delores, Colorado. However, when the original Navajo Reservation was created as part of the 1868 Navajo and United States treaty, Utah portions of the Navajo country were not included. The Chri
stian concept of "the devil" is not applicable to traditional Navajo thought, but is used here as the losest inference; "Ch'iidii" is much like "ghost" and is a very negative connotation. The Aneth Chapter conducts meetings monthly to keep residents informed; residents have a forum to express their opinions to their Navajo Nation Council Delegate or to decide on matters concerning their chapter. Several land transactions lead to the inclusion of the Utah Navajo Lands to the Navajo Reservation. A United States Presidential Executive Order added the southeastern part of Utah south of the San Juan River to the Navajo Nation on May 17, 1884. On March 10, 1905, the area north the San Juan River was added. The "Paiute Strip" was also added to the Navajo Nation in the same executive order of March 10, 1905. Later, a land exchange between the Navajo government and the United States Park Service was conducted due to the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam and the City of Page, Arizona. The City of Page land site and the eventual lands, which would be covered by Lake Powell, were exchanged for McCracken Mesa and other lands referred to as the “Aneth Extensions”.
