Reviving the rails: Fueling the Navajo Nation’s future
LeChee Rock, a 5,900-foot-elevation sandstone feature located south of Lake Powell, is one of the sights tourists will see along the 78-mile repurposed railroad track. Courtesy photo
Growing up in Page, Arizona, Celesta Littleman would fall asleep to the sound of the coal train's whistle as it traveled to and from the Navajo Generating Station.
Along with the nearby Kayenta Mine, the station employed 700 people and generated up to $50 million for the Navajo Nation. But when the station, the largest power-generating plant located west of the Mississippi River, shut down in 2019, the Navajo Nation lost those jobs and income — and the 78-mile railroad, which it retained ownership of, sat vacant.
Littleman, an MBA student at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, is changing that.
As founder and CEO of Sunbeam Tours and Railway, or STAR, Littleman is using what she learned in her courses to transform cultural sustainable tourism by launching a zero-emissions electric rail vehicle to make the Southwest accessible to tourists like never before while creating economic opportunities for Navajo people.
"With the loss of hundreds of well-paying jobs and the explosion of tourism on Navajo land, this is a great way to employ my people," Littleman says. "Let them return home, or remain in their homeland, while building a business that contributes to the Navajo Nation."
Using the repurposed railroad, STAR tourists will experience 78 miles of uninterrupted views as they are ferried across the Southwest while learning about the region's geography and history from a Navajo tour guide. Along the way, passengers will see traditional Navajo hogans and stop at craft markets to purchase handmade jewelry, rugs and art directly from Navajo locals.
Littleman received STAR's Emergency Operating Agreement from the Navajo Nation in June, which is a lengthy process that spanned five years and two Navajo administrations. Now, she's preparing to complete a feasibility study and test the ERVs, which will be fueled by renewable solar/hydroelectric power provided by the Glen Canyon Dam and will run through Arizona's Grand Circle Region.
As a student and entrepreneur, Littleman is uniquely positioned to apply her studies directly to scaling STAR, and credits her MBA classes with educating her on a range of business concepts, including supply chain management logistics and strategy, money management, thinking like a CEO and making complex business decisions.
Associate Professor Luiz Mesquita's MGT 591: Entrepreneurial Mindset course had a particularly impactful effect on encouraging Littleman to redefine herself as an entrepreneur.
"It helped me dig deeper to visualize my business' bigger picture, and helped me identify and justify my values as a business owner," she says.
"A lot of students want to advance within a company or start a business, and that's the reason I'm here," she adds. "Every course is valuable in some way and applicable to my business."
Reversing ‘brain drain’
For many Indigenous students, balancing work, academics, and family and community obligations is challenging, especially when employers, educators and classmates don't recognize or understand their responsibilities at home.
Through STAR, Littleman is creating opportunities for her people to generate income while honoring their responsibilities to their people and homeland. The business will also contribute to reversing the Navajo "brain drain," a phenomenon where Navajo people leave their community due to a lack of educational and economic opportunities.
Littleman was part of the Navajo migration away from home. However, after hearing Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Council Speaker Chrystalyne Curley advocate for ending the brain drain, she was inspired to pursue her MBA and build a business back home.
"I knew they were talking about me," Littleman says. "I wanted to come home. I was ready to become an entrepreneur, take a big risk and start this business."
Entrepreneurship is rarely an easy path, so Littleman draws strength from her culture and past experiences. She remembers her Kinaaldá, a four-day Navajo coming-of-age ceremony, as a transformative experience in her early adulthood.
After earning her first ASU degree in criminal justice, Littleman applied to and passed an incredibly competitive and rigorous Power Plant Fundamental School program at the Navajo Generating Station. Littleman is also a dedicated daughter and mother, and says all of these experiences taught her the importance of perseverance and discipline.
"I've relied on my culture to help get me through difficult times, to connect me back to my values and where I come from," she says.
As Littleman prepares for the next phase of STAR's growth, she looks forward to the day when her passion for business, sustainability and her culture fully align to power not just ERVs, but new opportunities for her people to honor their tribal heritage while maximizing the use of resources made available to them.
"Cultural tourism is a way for Native people to tell our stories," she says. "That is exactly what I want to do."
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