 Narbona Pass was originally called Beesh Lichii'l Bigiizh, or Copper Pass, and was the location where Navajo warriors led by Narbona decisively defeated a Mexican slaving expedition under Captain Blas de Hinojos.Later it was renamed Washington Pass, after Colonel John M. Washington, who commanded a military expedition against the Navajo.Narbona was a Navajo headman killed in an encounter with Washington's troops in 1849.