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'Guardians Of The Grand Canyon': The Havasupai Tribe's Long Connection To The Canyon's Red Rocks

The Havasupai Tribe is the only Native American tribe that still lives below the rim of the Grand Canyon.
Ophelia Watahomigie-Corliss, a Havasupai Tribal Councilwoman, at the Red Butte Gathering in October, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Ophelia Watahomigie-Corliss)

This is part II of our Grand Canyon Centennial series

The Havasupai Tribe is one of 11 Native American tribes that are traditionally affiliated with the Grand Canyon National Park. They’ve been living among the Grand Canyon’s towering red walls of rock and expansive desert landscape for centuries, before it ever became a U.S. national park.

Today, they are the only Native American tribe that still lives below the rim of the Grand Canyon.

“The creation of Grand Canyon National Park was actually some of the darkest days for the Havasupai people. We lost a large area of our migration,” Ophelia Watahomigie-Corliss, a Havasupai councilwoman, says.

The inception of the national park in 1919 meant the lost acres

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