Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Finding aid for the Henry G. Peabody Collection

Over the course of the 2018-19 academic years, the National Park Service’s Washington, DC Office of Interpretation, Education and Volunteers (WASO IEV), with support from Kutztown University, has overseen a series of pilot programs aimed to facilitate unique, place-based learning experiences in…

Navajo families have grown small, white-fleshed peaches in Canyon de Chelly since the 1700s, through the Army's destruction of the orchards in 1864 and a century of decline. Horticulturist Reagan Wytsalucy's DNA work shows the traditional trees are a landrace isolated for 240 to 480 years — and more drought-tolerant than modern peaches.