Long before the Grand Canyon joined ranks as a national park, it was home to Indigenous people. At least 11 tribes trace their ancestors, culture, and places of origin to the Grand Canyon. But Native peoples — the canyon’s original caretakers — have been pushed off their homelands and excluded from park management for the last 100 years.
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.
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 ›
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.
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.
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.
Long term, the group is working to incorporate cultural practices and knowledge into the management of park lands and beyond.
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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Placing Native voices at the forefront of education, stewardship, and economic opportunities in Grand Canyon National Park.
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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.
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As Grand Canyon National Park turns 100, Native knowledge and culture needs to be more involved in the next 100 years of park management.
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