Chinle High School is a public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

(grades 9 to 12) in Chinle, an unincorporated area of

Apache County Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by part ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The school is the only high school in the

Chinle Unified School District Chinle Unified School District No. 24 (CUSD) is a public unified school district headquartered in Chinle, a census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is managed by a five-member elected school boar ...

, and all of the district's elementary and middle schools feed into it. Chinle High School serves several unincorporated areas in Apache County, including Chinle,

Lukachukai Lukachukai ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,701 at the 2010 census. It is within the Navajo Nation. Etymology Lukachukai comes from a Navajo word translated as "a fi ...

, Many Farms, Rough Rock,

Tsaile Tsaile ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States, on the Navajo Nation. The population was 1,205 at the 2010 census. Tsaile is the home of the main campus of Diné College (formerly Navajo Community Col ...

, and some areas considered to be Nazlini. The areas the school serves are within the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

. The school is the largest high school within the Navajo nation. As of 2013 it has 1,250 students and 125 staff and faculty. 99% of the students are Native Americans, mainly

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

History

A previous facility, with capacity for about 300 students, was constructed prior to 1966. The population of Chinle increased in the 1960s and enrollment was over 1,000 in 1986. In 1986 the federal government gave a grant to Chinle USD to build a new Chinle HS building, with the grant totaling $10,000,000. The district anticipated spending $20,000,000 on a 1,500-student facility, with funds from the Apache County government and taxes being used to fund the remainder of the facility.

Athletics

The school's Division III basketball teams, known as the Wildcats, play in the Wildcat Den, a large arena seating 6,000 people. It was built in 2006 at a cost of $23 million and is described by ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'' sports columnist Richard Obert as "the best high school arena in Arizona". It is also tied for the rank of 15th-largest high school basketball gymnasium in the United States. Before playing in the Wildcat Den, the teams played at the 1,000-seat Chinle Community Center.

Student discipline

In the 21st century, this school and others in the district, have struggled with gang activity; some brought by students who had lived in large cities before coming or returning to this largely rural area of the reservation. The community has also struggled with poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and family issues. In 2003, a display of weapons confiscated from students included

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...

knives A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

, nunchucks and

brass knuckle Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

Representation in other media

* In 2019, the docuseries ''Basketball or Nothing'', based on the Chinle Wildcats' pursuit of a state basketball championship in the 2017–2018 season, premiered on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. It was directed by Matt Howley, Michael Lucas and Gabriel Spitale. The team's second-year coach was

Raul Mendoza Raúl Mendoza (born November 25, 1991) is a Mexican professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the name Cruz Del Toro and is a member of Legado Del Fantasma. Professional wrestling career Ear ...

, who had a 40-year career, led a team to a state title, and worked also as a counselor before starting here. He was profiled by ''The New York Times'' for his work. A reviewer for ''Decider.com'' concluded about this series: "STREAM IT. 'Basketball or Nothing' is sincere, heartfelt and absolutely worth your time." * Michael Powell, a sportswriter and journalist, wrote ''Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation'' (2019), about the same period. He explored the importance of the high school's basketball team and games as a way that the community came together.

Notable alumni

Megalyn Echikunwoke Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke ( ; born May 28, 1983), also known as Megalyn E.K., is an American actress, known primarily for her roles in television and film. Born in Spokane, Washington, she was discovered while performing in a theatri ...

– actress *

Tatanka Means Tatanka Wanbli Sapa Xila Sabe Means (born February 19, 1985) is a Native American activist, actor, boxer, comedian, and entrepreneur of Oglala Lakota, Omaha, Yankton Dakota and Diné descent. He is best known for his roles in ''Saints & Stranger ...

– actor/comedian *

Nicco Montaño Nicco Montaño (born December 16, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She was the inaugural UFC Women's Flyweight Champion. Background Of Navajo, Chickas ...

–

MMA fighter Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

References

External links

Chinle High School

{{authority control Public high schools in Arizona Schools in Apache County, Arizona Education on the Navajo Nation