Grand Canyon National Park celebrated the premiere of a new film that will educate visitors about the 11 Indigenous tribes who consider the canyon sacred.
The Wednesday premiere included Hopi and Hualapai dancers, native foods, and speeches from members of the Intertribal Working Group which first convened more than a decade ago to advocate for more inclusion of Native stories in the park.
Carmen Clark of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is featured in the film.
“It’s a chance for us to have our voices heard,” she says. “A lot of people that come to these parks, they don’t realize: these are our homelands, this is where we come from, these are the life flows of our people.”
Many tribal members spoke of the trauma of forced relocations. Shanondoah Anderson says the Shivwits Band’s historic homelands bordered the Grand Canyon until the federal government forced them onto a reservation in Utah.
“We have songs for every canyon, songs for every trail…. We lost so much of that because we were relocated,” she says.
The Havasupai were also forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the Grand Canyon. Carletta Tilousi’s ancestor, Captain Burro, was the last tribal member to leave Havasupai Gardens. She wants that history told.
“I know change is slow, takes time,” Tilousi says. “But it really needs to happen, for my children, their children, to also know the true history of what happened to the Havasupai—what happened to my family. That needs to be told, and the healing needs to begin.”
Ophelia Watahomigie-Corliss of the Havasupai Tribe says she sees the film as a sign that the Park Service is ready to take responsibility.
“It’s hard when there’s empty space, or you’re thinking to yourself, ‘no one’s apologized, no one’s acknowledged some of the past wrongs,’” she says. “And I think it’s a big step for the park.”
The film will play regularly at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. Park Superintendent Ed Keable says it’s part of an ongoing effort to tell the nation’s history “honestly, completely, and respectfully.” He says the park is committed to working with Tribes on education and economic opportunities.
The 30-minute film “We Are Grand Canyon” was produced by Bristlecone Media and funded by the nonprofit Grand Canyon Conservancy.
