Tse Bonito (

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

: ') is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

McKinley County McKinley County is a county in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 72,902. Its county seat is Gallup. The county was created in 1901 and named for President William ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. It is part of the greater

Window Rock, Arizona Window Rock, known in Navajo language, Navajo as Tségháhoodzání (), is a city and census-designated place that serves as the capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, Nativ ...

, population center, and seat of the Navajo Nation government. The population was 380 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Tse Bonito is in western McKinley County, with its western border along the

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

state line. It is bordered at its southeast corner by the community of Black Hat. The northern portions of Tse Bonito lie within the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...

, the McKinley

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, is by road to the southeast. New Mexico State Road 264 passes through the community, leading east to U.S. Route 491 at Yah-ta-hey. To the west, the highway leads into Window Rock, Arizona. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Tse Bonito CDP has a total area of , all land. The community is drained by Tse Bonito Wash, which flows west past Window Rock to

Black Creek Black Creek may refer to: Communities In Canada * Black Creek, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island * A neighborhood in Fort Erie, Ontario * Black Creek, Toronto * Black Creek Pioneer Village, a historic site in Toronto In the United States * ...

, a south-flowing tributary of the

Puerco River The Puerco River or Rio Puerco is a tributary of the Little Colorado River in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. It flows through arid terrain, including the Painted Desert. Name The Puerco River is sometimes called Rio Puerco ...

and part of the

Little Colorado River The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in ...

watershed.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 261 people, 78 households, and 62 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 102 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 71.26% Native American, 22.61%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.38% Asian, 2.68% from other races, and 3.07% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.21% of the population. There were 78 households, out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.35 and the average family size was 3.77. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 37.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,077, and the median income for a family was $38,365. Males had a median income of $24,915 versus $24,625 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $20,187. About 12.7% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 40.0% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

Education

It is in

Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools Gallup-McKinley County Schools (GMCS) is a school district based in Gallup, New Mexico which serves students from Gallup and surrounding areas of McKinley County. History Prior to 1980, the district had of land. That year parts left to form t ...

. Zoned schools are: Chee Dodge Elementary School in Yah-ta-hey, Chief Manualito Middle School in Gallup, and

Gallup High School Gallup High School (GHS) is a public high school in Gallup, New Mexico. Gallup High School is the largest high school in the Gallup-McKinley County School District. The school's campus is relatively new as GHS moved to its current location in 199 ...

in Gallup.

Notable people

Christian Musician and songwriter

Rich Mullins Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his contemporary worship music, worship songs "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". Some of his ...

moved to Tse Bonito, NM in May of 1995 after graduating from Friends University in Wichita, KS. with a BA in Music education. Mullins intended to teach music to the children of Hilltop Christian School.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in McKinley County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico Populated places on the Navajo Nation