Borrego Pass, New Mexico facts for kids

Borrego Pass is a small community in the Navajo Nation lands of McKinley County, New Mexico, in the United States. It's not a city or town, but a place where two Navajo communities and a special store called a trading post are located. In the Navajo language, its name is Dibé Yázhí Habitiin, which means "Upward Path of the Lamb."

You can find Borrego Pass on Navajo Route 48. It's about 12 miles by air or 15 miles by road southeast of a larger community called Crownpoint.

History of Borrego Pass

The community of Borrego Pass grew up around the Borrego Pass Trading Post. This trading post was like a general store and a place for people to trade goods. It first opened in 1927. Ben and Anna Harvey were the first people to run it.

Later, in 1935, Bill and Jean Cousins took over the trading post. Then, in 1939, Don and Fern Smouse bought it. They ran the trading post for more than 40 years! The trading post got its name from a nearby natural feature called Borrego Pass. This pass is an ancient "water gap," which is a place where a river or stream has cut through a mountain ridge. It crosses the Continental Divide in the Dutton Plateau.

Education at Borrego Pass

There is a school for Navajo children in Borrego Pass called the Borrego Pass School. Its Navajo name is Dibé Yázhí Habitiin Óltaʼ. This school was started in the early 1950s.

In 1972, it became one of the first "contract schools" of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (B.I.A.). This meant the local community had more control over running the school. Today, it is connected with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which helps support schools for Native American students. The school is part of the Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools system. Students from Borrego Pass usually go to Crownpoint Elementary School, Crownpoint Middle School, and Crownpoint High School.