The Navajo believe that their ancestors traveled on this "Winged Rock" to the land in the Southwest
and they lived on it. They came down to the flats only to plant crops and get water via a trail that
was one day struck by lightening and destroyed. This rock and the surrounding lands are very sacred
lands for the Navajo. No one is allowed on the rock so as to not disturb the remains of the women and
children stranded there by the loss of the trail.

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2015/08/the-shiprock-of-new-mexico.html