St. Michaels () is a

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

and a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Apache County Apache County is a county in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupie ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States. The Navajo Nation Government Campus is located within the chapter at Window Rock. The population was 1,443 at the 2010 census.

Geography

St. Michaels is located on the eastern boundary of the Defiance Plateau. The community is located on the western side of the Black Creek Valley and

Black Creek Black Creek may refer to: Communities In Canada * Black Creek, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island * A neighborhood in Fort Erie, Ontario * Black Creek, Toronto * Black Creek Pioneer Village, a historic site in Toronto In the United States * ...

, a north tributary to the southwest-flowing

Rio Puerco The Rio Puerco is a tributary of the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico. From its source on the west side of the Nacimiento Mountains, it flows about ,Calculated in Google Earth generally south to join the Rio Grande about south of ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

History

The St. Michaels area is referred to as Ts'ithootso in the Navajo language and translates to "area that extends out in yellow and green." The

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

was originally referred to by its Spanish translation Ciénega Amarilla (Spanish: "yellow meadow") describing the late summer yellow flowers and grass. The area was first noted by the U.S. military in 1850 when Lt. James Harvey Simpson named it Sieneguilla de Maria, its Spanish name misheard by a non-native speaker. In the 1850s a planned ambush against local Navajos was thwarted by a man who went on to become a signatory to the Navajo Treaty of 1868. Delgadito (Chách'oshnééz ((“Tall Syphilis”)) successfully alerted Navajos preparing for a prisoner exchange with Mexican slave-holders.

Saint Michael Convent

Construction on the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

began in 1896 using financing from Rev. Mother

Katharine Drexel Katharine Drexel, SBS (born Catherine Mary Drexel; November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955) was an American Catholic religious sister, and educator. In 1891, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious congregation serving Black ...

, founder of the

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (SBS) are a Catholic order of religious sisters in the United States. They were founded in 1891 by Katharine Drexel as the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. During her life, Sai ...

. Rev. Anselm Weber took over construction on October 11, 1897, adopting the name Saint Michaels for the area (from

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

''Tsʼíhootso'': "Green Meadow"). St. Michael Parish would be officially founded in 1898. In 1910, Fr. Berard Haile prepared a Navajo ethnologic dictionary at the Franciscan Mission.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,295 people, 306 households, and 247 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 360 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.1%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 7.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.8% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. 2.2% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 306 households, out of which 50.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 25.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 13.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.0 and the average family size was 4.5. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 40.8% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $34,107, and the median income for a family was $28,839. Males had a median income of $41,964 versus $24,531 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $11,572. About 20.3% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 27.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

St. Michaels is a part of

Window Rock Unified School District Window Rock Unified School District (WRUSD) is a school district within Apache County, Arizona, United States. The district comprises seven schools within a 65-mile radius. WRUSD serves several unincorporated areas, including Fort Defiance, Oa ...

, and is served by Window Rock Elementary School, Tse Ho Tso Middle School, and

Window Rock High School Window Rock High School is a public high school in Fort Defiance, a census-designated place in unincorporated Apache County, Arizona. WRHS is the only high school in the Window Rock Unified School District. WRUSD, and therefore the high school ...

. The community is also served by the

Saint Michael Indian School St. Michael Indian School (SMIS) is a private Roman Catholic day school. It is part of Saint Michael Parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico. It is located at St. Michaels chapter on the Navajo Nation. History St. Michael ...

, a K–12 private, Catholic school established by

Saint Katharine Drexel Katharine Drexel, SBS (born Catherine Mary Drexel; November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955) was an American Catholic religious sister, and educator. In 1891, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious congregation serving Black a ...

in 1902. Saint Michael Indian School is a member of the National Catholic Education Association and the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Catholic School System. A tribal elementary school that contracts with the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs that directs and manages education functions. Formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs ...

(BIE), Hunters Point Boarding School, is nearby and has a St. Michaels postal address.

Health care

St. Michaels is served by the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital at Fort Defiance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michaels, Arizona Census-designated places in Apache County, Arizona Census-designated places in Arizona Populated places on the Navajo Nation