Evelyn Begay has worked in the school district for twenty-eight years. She thinks she knows why the population is falling in Ganado schools.

EVELYN BEGAY: “Families can’t find jobs here. They go to the urban areas to look for employment, and that’s where they move their families.”

Ms. Begay has five adult children herself. All went to Ganado High School. They each attended Arizona State University, in Phoenix. And all five stayed in the Phoenix area after they graduated.

EVELYN BEGAY: “Even though you hear politicians say we’re going to build jobs, we’ve heard that fifty years, and we haven’t seen any significant impact on employment for our young people. And as long as that’s continuing, we’re going to continue to lose our families, our children, to move away.”

Strong winds blow across the one highway that passes through Ganado. There are few local industries in town. The largest employers are the hospital and the school system. That is why the teachers and administrators at the high school advise students to leave the reservation after graduation. Nathan Brady is on the staff at Ganado High School.

NATHAN BRADY: “Every one of them is going to encourage them, ‘Go, go, get an education, get a job.’”

Then when they have their university degree, he says there is no reason to return.

NATHAN BRADY: “They look back, and there’s nothing here. There’s nothing for them to build on. There’s no employment so they stay out there.”