GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Carletta Tilousi hit the trail as the sun rose, the light revealing a grouping of cottonwood and ash trees deep in the Grand Canyon.
Birds soared above and reptiles scampered across the rocks as the canyon walls grew taller and taller behind her. This was home, yet she rarely had been there over the years.
“I can’t believe how far I’ve come, it’s amazing,” she said about halfway through the 4.5-mile hike over steep, rocky terrain. “I can’t believe my ancestors used to do this all the time.”
Tilousi’s journey marked a pivotal moment in the Havasupai Tribe’s relationship with the U.S. government nearly a century after the last tribal member was forcibly removed from what’s now Grand Canyon National Park — one of the biggest tourist draws in the world...