The Havasupai Indian Tribe can now move out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act signed by President Ford early this month gave the tribe 185,000 acres of land on the rim of the canyon and adjacent to the park. It is land that the Havasupais had occupied for about 1,000 years, until it was taken away from them about a century ago.
Since 1882 the tribe has been confined to 519 acres of almost inaccessible land at the bottom of the canyon. In good weather it can be reached by traveling 63 miles of graveled road off Highway 66 to Hualapai Hilltop at the top of the canyon and then proceeding by mule or foot down an eight mile trail into the canyon. In severe weather access is limited to helicopters.
The traditional pattern of living for the Havasupais had been to use the floor of the canyon for crop raising during the spring and summer but to move to the rim during the winter. They maintained homes in both areas. They also used the rim for grazing horses and other animals.
The tribe now has 425 members, of which 275 have been living on the 519 acre tract. Since 1908 the Havasupais have been granted grazing permits for about 250,000 acres in an area set aside as the Coconino Forest Reserve. They were not permitted to live on this land, however.
In 1944 the tribe was also given lands totaling 2,539 acres in Cataract Canyon. This land is a long, narrow strip even more remote than the 519 acre tract. It is used only for grazing horses.
Restrictions on the use of the 185,000 acres granted the Havasupai are included in the Act to ensure compatibility with the uses of the adjacent park. Commercial timber production or mining, for example, are forbidden. The Act also granted the Havasupais the exclusive use of an additional 95,000 acres running from near the canyon rim down to the river on the floor of the canyon.
