For over a thousand years, Native Americans have lived within the Grand Canyon.  The Havasupai Tribe has inhabited the north-central Arizona region, practicing summertime irrigated farming in the canyons and wintertime hunting on the plateau.  The 188,000-acre reservation is adjacent to the western edge of Grand Canyon’s South Rim.  Tribal members live in Supai Village, 3,000 feet below the rim of the canyon.  Located 8 miles from the nearest road, the village is accessible only by canyon trail or helicopter.  Mail is delivered via mule.

GSC Board member, Rich Stein, has traveled extensively within Indian Country during his career at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  He was fortunate to spend a week in Supai, conducting a GPS survey of the tribe’s irrigation system and touring the incredible waterfalls, including the spectacular Havasu Falls, in the surrounding area.