Who Are the Hualapai?
The Hualapai (Walapai, meaning "people of the tall pines") are a Native American nation inhabiting northwestern Arizona along the southern rim of the western Grand Canyon. Numbering approximately 2,300 enrolled members, they speak Hualapai, a Yuman language essentially identical to Havasupai—the two peoples separated relatively recently in historical terms. The Hualapai reservation, established in 1883, covers approximately one million acres of high desert and plateau country, including 108 miles of Grand Canyon rim. The Hualapai adapted to a challenging environment through seasonal movement between ecological zones, hunting, gathering, and limited farming. Today, they are perhaps best known for the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a glass-bottomed observation platform extending over the canyon, which the tribe developed as an economic enterprise.
Traditional Life
Traditional Hualapai territory extended from the Grand Canyon to the Bill Williams River and from the Colorado River to the desert valleys east. They were semi-nomadic, moving seasonally to exploit different resources: hunting deer and rabbits, gathering pinyon nuts, agave, and various plant foods, and farming where possible. Unlike their canyon-dwelling Havasupai relatives, the Hualapai primarily inhabited the plateau country above the gorge. They lived in dome-shaped brush wickiups that could be quickly constructed at seasonal camps. Social organization was based on patrilineal bands rather than strong central authority. The Hualapai were known as formidable warriors, fighting both neighboring tribes and later American settlers and soldiers. The Hualapai War (1865-1870) against US forces was fierce; ultimately, the Hualapai were confined to a reservation.
The Grand Canyon Skywalk
The Grand Canyon Skywalk, opened in 2007, represents tribal economic development in spectacular fashion. The horseshoe-shaped glass-bottom walkway extends 70 feet over the canyon rim at Eagle Point on the Hualapai reservation, offering vertiginous views 4,000 feet down. The project was developed through a partnership between the tribe and a private developer. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, generating significant revenue and employment. The Skywalk has been both celebrated as indigenous economic self-determination and criticized for commercializing sacred landscape. The Grand Canyon West complex includes other tourism facilities and helicopter and pontoon boat tours. This development transformed Hualapai economy from poverty and dependence to relative prosperity, though debates about cultural values and environmental impacts continue within the community.
Contemporary Hualapai
Modern Hualapai balance tourism development with cultural preservation. Grand Canyon West tourism provides the primary economic base; the tribe also manages timber and grazing resources. The Hualapai language is critically endangered—most fluent speakers are elderly—though documentation and teaching programs exist. Traditional ceremonies, including the annual Peach Festival in August, continue. The tribe has fought to protect the Grand Canyon from development outside their control, including proposed developments at the Canyon's South Rim that would affect tourism. Water rights in the arid Southwest are perpetually contested. The tribal government, based in Peach Springs, manages education, healthcare, and other services. The Hualapai experience illustrates how tribes can leverage spectacular natural resources for economic development while navigating the tensions between modernization and cultural continuity.
References
- Dobyns, H. F. & Euler, R. C. (1976). The Walapai People
- Shepherd, J. F. (2010). We Are an Indian Nation: A History of the Hualapai People
- Kroeber, A. L. (ed.) (1935). Walapai Ethnography