Meranden Numkena is Hopi and Navajo from northern Arizona. Her love for the outdoors started with a trip to the Grand Canyon and she knew from that moment that she wanted to work with the park. As a current student at Arizona State University, Meranden is interested in exploring the special events industry and elevating Indigenous voices in national parks to help acknowledge that Native peoples are still here and always will be. She is excited to work with the Grand Canyon Trust to organize a Native arts and crafts market with vendors from tribes that are traditionally associated with the Grand Canyon. Meranden believes these artists deserve to showcase their art on their ancestral lands and sell their work in the shops and buildings throughout Grand Canyon National Park.
