Kelkiyana Yazzie was in fourth grade when her teacher took her class on a field trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. No one mentioned that this was historically Native land — that this land and water were revered by the tribes that have always lived here. Instead, the 9-year-old Navajo students were told stories of intrepid Anglo pioneers who had “discovered” the area, explored and mapped it, developed the amenities that would one day bring millions of visitors to this American national park. As Yazzie, now an interpretive ranger at Grand Canyon National Park, says: “No one talked about Indigenous people.”
The lands now included in the national park are lands traditionally associated with 11 peoples who lived, hunted, farmed and held ceremonies there, including the Navajos (Diné), Havasupais, Hualapais and Hopis. These tribes have been here since time immemorial, and these people have the longest history, the greatest knowledge and the deepest cultural ties. Theirs is an understanding that comes from being birthed by this land...