[Summer 2001] 

They moved into their present location on the corner of Main and Maple in 1993, but the Leighton family trading dynasty began four generations earlier with Jack Martin, great-grandfather to Notah Dineh’s present owners. “It’s our eighth year at this location, and our 40th in Cortez,” says Glenn Leighton, who together with his brother Gregg, owns Notah Dineh, the trading business started by their father, Bob Leighton. 

“It all started when Martin freighted onto the Navajo Reservation from Farmington back in the late 1800s. Eventually he and my granddad, became traders there. My dad started out in trading when he was 13 years old. The family was working at the Oljato Trading Post, near Monument Valley. Later Dad worked at Two Grey Hills, which my Uncle Willard owned. Uncle Willard married one of the Carson girls. The Carson's were another trading family from the Farmington/Blanco area.” 

After the Second World War, Bob Leighton went to school on the GI bill and became a teacher. But trading was in his blood. He opened Totah Trading in Farmington, and soon what had begun as a weekend job became a full time career. “We moved to Cortez in 1961,” Glenn says. “Dad’s first trading post here was just two and a half blocks north of this one and less than a quarter the size. We stayed there 32 years.” 

Before the time Bob Leighton and his family moved to Cortez, his brother Willard died. Three years earlier he had started a Two Grey Hills weaver, Rachel, on the largest rug ever woven from that region. “Dad sold the rug for Two Grey Hills—for the first time—after Uncle Willard was gone. But he couldn’t afford to buy it or keep it. Money was tight. There were a lot of things Dad wanted to collect,” Glenn says, “but he couldn’t do it then.” 

Thirty-two years later, however, he was able to buy the rug back. Perseverance had paid off. Hard-won prosperity finally prevailed. Bob Leighton and his sons moved into the new post equipped with a special below-street level museum to house much of Bob’s fascinating collection of Indian art and artifacts—and showcase that rug. 

As Glenn Leighton is relating the tale of his family’s history—including the fact that his paternal grandmother was born in a covered wagon—we are frequently, and politely interrupted by his customers. It is the third of the month, a busy day at this and the other Indian trading posts. Navajo, Ute and a few Hopi as well, come in to buy, sell, trade and pawn. Wearing their wealth, dressed in their finery—for trading days are also social days, a time to visit with friends and catch up on local news—they are in stark contrast to the decidedly “belegana” (white person) trader. Where his customers’ hair is long, straight and black, Glenn Leighton’s is fair, now gone mostly grey, and curly. It is this inherited physical trait that gave his uncle and father their Navajo names. “The Navajo called Uncle Willard, ‘Chis Chilly’ (Curly Hair in Navajo),” Glenn explains. “My father was ‘Chis Chilly Yazzie’ (Little Curly Hair).” 

Leighton doesn’t say what his Navajo name is, but looking at his curls, it’s a sure bet “Chis Chilly” must be a part of it. We are seated on a long bench in the trading area, a seating arrangement common to many trading posts. A lady approaches with a medicine basket, probably used in a recent ceremony. Glenn gets up, walks to the counter with her. They confer. A deal is made. The lady, after stopping by to thank me for not minding the interruption in my discussion with Glenn, is on her way, cash in hand. Glenn tags the basket which will soon be on the shelf. When he resumes his seat, he explains, “That basket was probably purchased here and given in payment to a medicine man for a ceremony. Afterward, he probably gave it to her to bring in here and sell.” The completed transaction was, as in most things Navajo, part of a circle. 

Two more women approach, both weavers. Glenn carefully considers the rugs they show him, then buys them both. “We buy a lot of rugs here,” he explains, once we are again seated side by side on the long bench. “Notah Dineh is primarily known for its rugs. And my brother and I are dedicated to continuing our tradition of supporting and supplying Navajo weavings.” To that end, Notah pays more than a fair price for the rugs they buy, wanting to support the weavers. Small rugs, for instance, can go—wholesale or retail—from anywhere to $100 to $3000 apiece, depending on quality and workmanship. The finer the weave, the more the rug costs. 

“It’s a very integral part of our trading, something we’ve always dealt in. And although it’s a major amount of work for the Navajo, they still don’t get paid enough for it,” Glenn laments. “It’s like quilting,” he adds, comparing the two crafts. “No matter how much work they put into it—and the hours and labor are really intensive—they can’t get the actual value.” Like all other successful traders, the Leighton brothers also place a high value on mutual respect and tradition. “The old time traders carried everything the Navajos (and other Native Americans) could not produce themselves,” Glenn explains. “They knew the families. They knew how many sheep they had, the good weavers. It’s not like this today, because of mobility and the wide-flung community. In the old days, the weavers had to walk or ride in to the posts—it was a great distance. Uncle Willard had hogans on the post so Indian weavers could stay over. Today’s posts are more of a glorified storage facility, a place to keep valuable things safe.” 

Even so, like most long-term traders, the Leighton brothers and Notah Dineh see most items returned—less the interest payments for storing them. “Ninety-five percent of our pawn items are retrieved,” Glenn says. “In one to three months, they come in and take care of the interest or get the items out again. Often they bring them back again. As much for safe keeping as anything else.” 

Whatever the reason for the transactions, outright purchase, short or long-term pawn “loans,” Notah Dineh respects their relationships with their clients. Courtesy is an important part of every transaction, and the mutual respect of trader and tradee is very evident. As is the quality of merchandise available in Notah Dineh. 

Besides the extensive weavings, the Leighton’s also carry a variety pottery, baskets, jewelry, kachinas, carvings and a number of other Indian arts and crafts as well as some supplies for making these items. 

Notah Dineh, open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. 345 W. Main, Cortez, CO. 1-800-444-2024.