A human burial site in Grand Canyon National Park was recently uncovered during construction work on the cross-canyon water pipeline. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports.
The replacement of the Transcanyon Waterline is now on hold as Grand Canyon National Park addresses the “inadvertent discovery,” according to Joelle Baird, the park’s public affairs officer.
Baird says, “The Park is currently in the process right now of taking initial steps to secure and protect the site and undergo tribal consultations with associated Tribes of Grand Canyon.” That’s in accordance with the guidelines of the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Baird asks the public for patience with that process and says there is limited information to share at this time.
The Transcanyon Waterline carries water from Roaring Springs on the North Rim up to Havasupai Gardens and the South Rim. Major replacement work on the aging infrastructure began last month.
