Longtime Havasupai Leader Was Staunch Advocate For His Tribe

A longtime leader of the Havasupai Tribe who advocated against uranium mining around the Grand Canyon and snowmaking at an Arizona ski resort has died.

Services for Rex Tilousi begin Friday with a traditional wake at the family's home in the village of Supai. Public events are scheduled over the weekend at the Grand Canyon, where Tilousi retired as a cultural interpreter for the national park. Tilousi's family says he died last week of natural causes. He was 73. Tilousi served as a tribal leader for more than 30 years, including multiple stints as chairman and vice chairman. The tribe's reservation lies deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon.