Adams] SHONTO: ROLE OF NAVAHO TRADER 163 



White trader and. for traveling salesmen and other occasional over- 

 night visitors. 



Other structures on the trading post premises include a series of 

 log sheds (J, K, L) used for storage of wood, hay, and hides and 

 housing the power plant; the original overnight hogan for Navaho 

 visitors (P) ; and the weighing corral and scales. 



EQUIPMENT AND UTILITIES 



Shonto generates all its own electric power, and also supplies the 

 school (see above). Water is pumped from a nearby Government 

 well (ca. 15 feet deep) into a reservoir above, which serves both store 

 and school. Because the reservoir holds only about 30 hours' supply, 

 it is necessary to pump water for 3 to 4 hours every day. Under the 

 original agreement both reservoir and electric pump were installed 

 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but are operated and serviced by the 

 trading post. Both the water and sewage systems of the store are 

 tied into those of the school. 



A 750-gaUon butane tank is leased from a Flagstaff gas supply 

 company. It must be replenished about every 4 months. Butane is 

 used only in the main kitchen range and in a heating stove in the 

 store (fig. 3). All heat in the living quarters, including water heat- 

 ing, is obtained from wood and coal stoves and a fireplace. Cut fire- 

 wood is regularly supplied at $5.00 a wagonload by a local Navaho. 

 Coal is delivered from a small Navaho-operated coal mine on Black 

 Mesa at $20.00 a ton. 



Rolling stock belonging to the trading post consists of a Ii^-ton 

 stake-body truck for occasional hauling of supplies and a i/2-ton 

 pickup for local runabout work. 



The full staff of Shonto Trading Post consists of the owner and 

 his wife, a resident White trader and his wife, and one Navaho 

 helper. 



Shonto's owner, who also has interests in neighboring trading posts, 

 serves chiefly as absentee business manager of the enterprise. As a 

 general rule he spends no more than 1 or 2 days a week on the 

 premises, and is often absent for several weeks at a time. Neverthe- 

 less he retains nearly all executive authority in his own hands. He 

 handles most wholesale and commodity transactions, accounting, and 

 finance. All relations between the store and outside institutions 

 such as the wholesale house, the bank, and the Bureau of Internal 

 Revenue are entirely his responsibility. He also retains for himself 

 the position of claims agent for the Railroad Retirement Board, 

 necessitating his presence at the store on every Thursday during the 

 "benefit year" (see "Railroad Work," pp. 129-133) . 



