# Tohatchi, New Mexico

Tohatchi (Navajo: Tó Haachʼiʼ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. It is a health-services and education hub along Highway 491. Its population was reported to be 785 at the 2020 census. As Tohatchi is located on the Navajo Nation, it is designated federal trust land.

## Geography

Tohatchi is in northwestern McKinley County, along U.S. Route 491, which leads south 24 miles (39 km) to Gallup, the county seat, and north 69 miles (111 km) to Shiprock. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Tohatchi CDP has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17 km$^2$), of which 0.1 square miles (0.26 km$^2$), or 1.96%, are covered by water (Chuska Lake, on the eastern edge of the community). The CDP is drained by Red Willow Wash, passing through the center of the community, and its tributary Muddy Wash, running along the southern edge. Red Willow Wash runs northeast toward Coyote Wash, a tributary of the Chaco River and part of the San Juan River watershed.

## Demographics

As of the census of 2020, 825 people and 244 households resided in the CDP. The population density was 46.86 inhabitants per square mile (18.09/km$^2$). There were 263 housing units, of which 244 were occupied. The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.0% Native American, 4.7% White, 0.5% African American, 3.3% Asian, 0.8% from some other race, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.9% of the population.
Of the 244 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 43.0% were married or cohabiting couples, 39.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, and 17.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. About 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% were someone living alone who was 65 or older.
In the CDP, the age distribution was 24.3% under 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

## Education
### Gallup-McKinley County Schools

The three local public schools in Tohatchi are operated by Gallup McKinley County Schools. They include Tohatchi Elementary School, Tohatchi Middle School, and Tohatchi High School. The public schools are located west of Highway 491.
The Tohatchi mascot for the Gallup-McKinley County Schools is a cougar, with the school colors being maroon and gold. The Tohatchi High School Lady Cougars notably won the 2017 New Mexico high school girls 3-A basketball championship.
Before Tohatchi High School was built in the 1980s, the mascot had previously been a bobcat, but the mascot was changed to a cougar sometime in the 1970s. The school colors were different, as well.

### BIE/BIA schools

Formerly Chuska Boarding School, Ch'ooshgai Community School is a grant school boarding facility of the Bureau of Indian Education that offers kindergarten through eighth grade.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs previously had a bureau-operated boarding school, Tohatchi Boarding School, but it was shut down after the addition of public schools to Tohatchi. Cindy Yurth of the Navajo Times described it as one of the first such schools on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Its students included children from Tuba City, Arizona. According to Tohatchi Chapter President Edwin Begay, his father told him that the townsite was formerly an area maintained by the school to have swine. In 1979, the school had Navajo-language classes and one of the few Navajo school principals on the Navajo Nation at the time, Phillip Belone.

### Private school

A private, non-profit facility for students with special needs began in 1976 at Chuska Boarding School. The program aimed to provide opportunities for engaging in life skills, academics, and vocational education, as an effort to develop and maintain special education services for the local indigenous community. Called "A School for Me, Inc.", it served 76 students in 1977 and only 58 in 1982.

## Local tribal government

Tohatchi has a chapter house, a local administrative office that governs a part of the Fort Defiance Agency of the Navajo Nation. It was built in 1952 and renovated in 1989.

## Notable people

* Jennifer Nez Denetdale, educator
* Juanita, Navajo weaver, wife of Chief Manuelito
* Chief Manuelito, Navajo tribal leader
* Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet, Navajo academic administrator
* Shannon Pinto, politician

## In film

The 1965 film The Hallelujah Trail, directed by John Sturges and starring Burt Lancaster, was shot in nearby locations with the Chuska Mountains serving as a backdrop to some of the movie's most iconic scenes.