A summit this week will explore ways to make the tourism economy of Grand Canyon National Park more inclusive to Indigenous peoples. The Grand Canyon is the ancestral home of at least 11 tribal nations. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny spoke with Jack Pongyesva, program manager of the Intertribal Centennial Conversations group, which organized the first-of-its-kind event.
So the question you’re raising is, we’ve got 5 million visitors a year going through Grand Canyon National Park, and how can Native people tap into that tourism economy?
Absolutely. That’s correct. Just from – there’s so much money made, like you said, I actually think the pre -COVID number were 6.2 million visitors a year, which is crazy…