This Navajo citadel was the scene of climatic events in the conquest of the Navajo Indians by the U.S. Army. Col. Christopher C. "Kit" Carson’s invasion of this bastion of Navajo defenses in the winter of 1863 - 1864 was a final blow that convinced most of the tribe to surrender. Some 8,000 Navajos, three-fourths of the tribe, participated in the tragic "Long Walk" across New Mexico to Bosque Rendondo. In 1868, after four years of exile, they were allowed to return to their homeland. The site is operated by the National Park Service.