Grand Canyon National Park has received a grant to support a program that gives involves Indigenous youth job training in natural resource protection and recreational experiences.
The funds from the National Park Foundation will provide on-the-job opportunities for up to a dozen Native youth from the Hopi Tribe and Albuquerque through the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps.
It’ll address climate change, disaster response, conservation and other community needs within the park.
The Grand Canyon is culturally and spiritually significant to several Southwestern tribes and officials say the program’s goal is to bring underserved Indigenous youth to the park to involve them in stewardship.
It’s part of a larger $4 million effort by the National Parks Foundation to incorporate tribes in service corps programs at several parks including Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.