GC Centennial - header
Amy Martin

Native Voices GC - park centennial background

The centennial anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park in 2019 brought dozens of individuals from Hualapai, Havasupai, Zuni, Hopi, Southern San Juan Paiute, Navajo, and other Grand Canyon tribes together to reflect on the past and chart a new vision for collaboration between tribes and Grand Canyon National Park. Together, they’re ushering in a new era of stewardship for the Grand Canyon region for the next century and beyond.

Native Voices GC - Intertribal Centennial Conversations Group

Native Voices GC - Intertribal Centennial Conversations Group
Jake Hoyungowa

Intertribal Centennial Conversations

Leading up to the park centennial, dozens of cultural leaders formed the Intertribal Centennial Conversations Group to heal, share their true histories, and strengthen relationships with the National Park Service and other partners to protect the Grand Canyon's heritage. Today, momentum continues as the group works to place Native voices at the forefront of education, stewardship, and economic opportunities in Grand Canyon National Park. More ›

Native Voices GC - Vision

Vision Statement: We, the descendants of ancestral inhabitants of the Grand Canyon, acknowledge the spiritual pathways of our ancestors by commemorating our indigenous presence and sharing our true history while we begin to heal, build, and strengthen relationships with all people to protect Grand Canyon's heritage.

Native Voices GC - Three areas (title)

Three Areas of Focus

Native Voices GC - Education, Stewardship, Economics

Sarana Riggs presenting at GCCPA announcement

Education

Much of the Intertribal Centennial Conversations Group's work centers on the education of park staff, Grand Canyon river guides, hiking guides, educators, and tourists.

 

Photo by National Park Service

Economic Equity

The group is organizing an economic summit (tentatively scheduled for spring 2022) that focuses on building an inclusive, culturally-appropriate Grand Canyon economy. Stay tuned for details. 

Intertribal Centennial Gathering

Stewardship

Long term, the group is working to incorporate cultural practices and knowledge into the management of park lands and beyond.

GC Centennial - cultural connections (map)

A map showing tribes connections to lands around the Grand Canyon

Native Voices GC - next century

Redefining the next century

The Intertribal Centennial Conversations Group presented 40 recommendations to the park service and other partners on how to better engage with tribes in the centennial year. But its work didn't stop there. Today, the group is continuing to promote greater involvement of the Grand Canyon's first stewards in managing the park and public and tribal lands. See what the Intertribal Centennial Gatherings Group has accomplished so far ›

GC Centennial - Ophelia

GC Centennial - Ophelia
Jake Hoyungowa

Ophelia Watahomigie-Corliss, Havasupai

I want people to know that the cultural history of the Grand Canyon is not the history you read in colonial books. I want them to honor and respect our oral history and to understand that the history of the Grand Canyon doesn’t start with Mary Colter...more ›

 

GC Centennial - Richard Powskey

GC Centennial - Richard Powskey
Jake Hoyungowa

Richard Powskey, Hualapai

Since the creation of the national park at Grand Canyon, their whole approach was not very accommodating to the tribes. Theodore Roosevelt went there, designated it, and had all the tribes moved out of that area, claiming it a natural treasure for the American people. We are the American people too, and that’s our homeland...more ›

GC Centennial - Renae Yellowhorse

GC Centennial - Renae Yellowhorse
Jake Hoyungowa

Renae Yellowhorse, Navajo

I’d like to see my progeny — all my great-grandchildren, and their grandchildren — be able to go to the canyon and realize and know that those places are protected and preserved for them. I don’t want them to come to face what we had to. The humiliation, the attempts to make us so ashamed of where we come from...more ›

 

Voices - screening kit

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We'll send you hard copies of the:

  • Voices of the Grand Canyon DVD
  • Nine-page print booklet
  • Discussion questions

Send me a kit

Voices of the Grand Canyon DVD

Voices of the Grand Canyon booklet

Intertribal Centennial Conversations Group Blog

02/24/22

Placing Native voices at the forefront of education, stewardship, and economic opportunities in Grand Canyon National Park.

Read More
02/26/20

Native voices set the tone for the next era of Grand Canyon National Park in this collection of stories about cultural identities, histories, and ties to the Grand Canyon.

Read More
02/20/19

As Grand Canyon National Park turns 100, Native knowledge and culture needs to be more involved in the next 100 years of park management.

Read More
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