Grand Canyon National Park – As the sun rose, Carretta Tiluci appeared on the trail, and the light revealed clusters of cottonwood and ash trees deep within the Grand Canyon.

Birds soared above and reptiles scurryed over rocks as the canyon walls behind her rose higher and higher. This was her home, but she had hardly been there over the years.

“I can’t believe I’ve come this far. “I can’t believe my ancestors always did this.”

The trip was both moving and celebratory. She recalled the words of her late uncle Rex Tiluci, who told the story of the Havasupai people being forced out of what is now Grand Canyon National Park. But that day, she was hiking with joy at a pivotal moment in her tribe’s relationship with the National Park Service, recreating the popular campground as Havasupai Gardens (“Haa Gyo” in Havasupai). I was on my way to a private dedication ceremony.

The name change from Indian Gardens came in November after years of lobbying for the tribe to regain some of its heritage and force a historical liquidation over its treatment of the Havasupai. The last Havasupai were removed from their former farmland by the Park Service in 1928.

Descendants of Captain Barrow, the last Havasupai man to leave, recall how he carried watermelons in baskets to sell to tourists and the heartbreak when he was ordered to leave the country. . Some family members later changed the name Burro, which means “donkey” in Spanish, to Tiluci, which means “storyteller.”

Parks superintendent Ed Keble acknowledged decades of federal removals and sometimes violent malfeasance. Speaking after a ceremony at Havasupai Gardens last Friday, he said the name change marks a new era of cooperation with Havasupai and other Native American tribes associated with the canyon.

“Because of the history of the land being established as a national park against the will of the people who have lived here since time immemorial, it took time to build some degree of trust,” Keble said. .

The Havasupai were landless for some time after the migration until the federal government set aside land in the Grand Canyon hinterland for tribal members. It he shrunk to less than 1 square mile (2.6 sq km) and almost a century later he expanded significantly in 1975. This was one of the largest land transfers to the tribe.

About 500 of the approximately 770 tribe members now live in Supai Village on a reservation adjacent to the Grand Canyon, a remote area accessible only by foot, mule or helicopter.

It is known for its towering waterfalls, which gave Havasupai (Havasu Baaja) the name of the ‘Turquoise Waterfolk’. Thousands of tourists from all over the world visit each year, making it the tribe’s largest source of income.

Events marking the rededication of Havasupai Gardens began last Thursday, with dozens of tribe members and others gathering for a public event on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Dancers from the traditional, intergenerational group Guardians of the Grand Canyon perform, with men wearing sheep horns representing the bighorn sheep that roam the canyon, and women in woven baskets. I carried it. As they moved in a circle, the bells at their feet jingled.

Many had their faces marked with red ocher, the pigment of the walls of the Grand Canyon. Tradition ties everything from the birth of a child to the first steps towards protection and as an expression of beauty.

“Wherever we go, wherever we are, we are still the Grand Canyon,” said Rochelle Tiluci, great, great, great-granddaughter of Bro and cousin of Carletta Tiluci. rice field.

“This is our home, our land, our happiness,” said another cousin, tribal vice president Edmund Tirusi.

That evening and the next morning, a small group moved under the rim for a closed-door ceremony, descending 900 meters (3,000 feet) on a hike that typically takes two to four hours. Some went on foot, others took a quick helicopter ride.

Carletta Tiluci walked steadily along the rocky switchbacks, stopping occasionally to rest and chat with fellow hikers. One person said the name Havasupai Gardens would be difficult to get used to.

She arrived at Haagyo just as the helicopter landed, and smiled broadly as several Havasupai disembarked. She and Ophelia Watahomiggy-Corlis introduced themselves to the canyon, greeted the ancients in prayer beside the stream, and joined the others to remind them that the canyon was never forgotten, even though the people had taken refuge. I let the canyon know that it wasn’t there.

“We have always maintained a connection with this place, not by showing or showing off. Elder Deanna Sue Uquala, who attended the celebration at a small amphitheater at the end of the Bright Angel Trail, said. Hearing that, I awoke and said, ‘Yes, you’re still here. ”

Her younger brother Ukuala (nicknamed Ukuala) was preparing for the ceremony, beating a drum in front of a bonfire and sitting next to an antlers holding a water-filled gourd.

He encouraged those in attendance to put their egos aside and see the canyon as a source of medicine, hear it and feel it. It also connects with elements that Havasupai regards as cousins: trees, rocks, birds, clouds, and wind.

“When the heart is open, it is good at receiving everything,” said Ukuala, who makes the pilgrimage to the valley once a month, every full moon. “What comes through here is talking about everything that’s here.” A few hikers wandered into the amphitheater, but he told them there must be anyone there. I affirmed.

14-year-old Chris Shuyuja immersed himself in his duties over the two-day event, untwisting bundles of sage, carrying a staff and beating drums said to amplify Havasupai’s voice.

“One day grandparents, parents and some members of the family may pass away, and they can carry on the tradition, wear headdresses and regalia and just follow in their footsteps,” said Siyuja. said. his generation.

When the sage was lit, Ukuala put red ocher and corn pollen into the fire. Tribe members directed the smoke at themselves using bundles of feathers as a blessing. They prayed and sang in Havasupai and English. Before departing, they placed staffs on the hillsides to honor the spirits.

Several nearby signs already bear the name of Havasupai Gardens in a lush landscape that includes campgrounds and cabins, one of which Keble recently made available to Havasupai members. Secured. Park officials say more signs and programs are planned based on the history told by the tribes.

This parallels a broader trend in which the park has collaborated with a dozen Native American tribes with ties to the Grand Canyon on exhibits, cultural demonstrations, first-person audio and video. The effort will be supported by other national park bodies, such as California’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore, as well as the American Indian Alaska National Recreation Area, said Jean Balsam, Grand Canyon’s director of public relations, partnerships and external affairs. It is also attracting attention from the Indigenous Tourism Association.

“The more information we provide, the more interest the visiting public has,” Balsam said.

Carletta Tirusi seems to want Havasupai to be more involved in shaping how the Grand Canyon and its resources are managed, but this is not the case with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Indigenous cabinet-level official to join the federal government. This is something that has been promoted within the institution.

At Haa Gyo, Tilusi envisions a return to traditional agriculture growing apricot trees, melons, corn and sunflowers. She also promoted the use of Havasupai on maps, posters, and ranger badges.

The day after an inspiring trek, she woke up with a feeling of serenity to find that she and others had returned home and the canyon recognized their voices, songs and prayers.

“It was such a growing experience that I will probably keep it in my heart for a long time and I hope to come back as soon as possible,” said Tiluci. “I want to know more about the trails, feel the animals and the air, enjoy the environment and make the most of it.”