Las Vegas Hustler

The Grand Canyon is probably the biggest and most beautiful of all canyons in the world. It is 446 km long, up to 29 km wide, and is 1.83 km deep. It is composed of profound sequences of ancient rock formations that surround the Colorado River. It is the home of multiple tribes and cultures that are found dwelling along the rim of the Canyon. And, more than just a natural wonder, the Grand Canyon has been a host to approximately five million tourists per year.

A huge part of the canyon belongs to the Grand Canyon National Park and is managed and operated by a private corporation. The surrounding areas of the Park, however, are owned by local tribes whose ancestors were the original settlers of the area. Two of the tribes that steward portions of the Canyon are the Hualapai and the Havasu tribes.

The Hualapai and the Havasu are Native Americans or American Indians. They, along with the other tribes have been occupying the area since before the Spanish colonizers ever discovered the area back in 1540. They are the longest known permanent settlers of the area. The Havasu’s territory is located on the northwestern part of the Canyon while the Hualapai tribe is located on the edge or the Western side of the Canyon. These tribes are the stewards of the Indian Reservation Area where they are dwelling now.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is located on the Western Part of the Canyon. It is within the territory of the Hualapai Indian Reserve, outside the Grand Canyon National Park’s territory. This project was commissioned and managed by the local tribe for reasons that will benefit their community. It will be the source of income of their people by attracting numerous tourists from various places.

Normally, the West Rim of the Canyon (Part of the Hualapai Indian Reserve) accommodates only 200,000 visitors a year as compared to the 4 million that the National park, located on the Southern Rim, accommodates each year. The Hualapai, in its efforts to increase the number of visitors that would come in and to increase the income that the community would earn, decided to build an attraction within an attraction.

The Grand Canyon in itself is already an attraction but the Natives decided to offer an experience that no visitor would ever forget. They built a glass bridge over the Canyon. The purpose of the glass bridge is for tourists to have a new point of view on the Canyon. Now, with the Skywalk, people can see the majestic beauty of the Natural Wonder 6000 feet above the ground without use of airplanes or hot air balloons. But this idea was not immediately accepted by a lot of people, particularly environmentalists, former National Park officials and some members of the tribe as well.

Since the conception of the Grand Canyon Skyway, it has faced countless controversies and oppositions from various individuals and organizations. The main concerns of the opposition were safety, preservation of the natural treasure and even tarnishing the sacred ground. The Skywalk is installed on a wall on the West Rim of the Canyon, the walls of the canyon are very unstable since it is subject to erosion. Of course, the engineers and the architects of the project assured the stability of the design, but not of the wall. They say that the life span of the infrastructure depends on the wall’s stability. The supporters of the project, however were not too skeptical about the project but rather optimistic with the income and employment this new tourist attraction will create.

When the Skywalk was inaugurated on March 2007 it attracted a lot of visitors and worldwide media attention. In this respect, the project was a great success, having brought a lot of tourists and revenue to that previously quiet part of Nevada. Unfortunately for the tribal operators reports soon started to come in from tourists complaining admittance was well over-priced which has reduced the anticipated attendance numbers since then.

For this project, the Grand Canyon Skywalk, to really contribute to the Hualapai community, it appears they will need to balance their competing goals a little better. Protection the land which they are stewards of (the West Rim of the Canyon), creating employment, developing their local economy, and finally providing their customers with an experience memorable for more than just what it cost.

It is a difficult task considering even the greatest nations facing similar dilemmas have not always solved these simple problems. But even if difficult, this is one balancing act the Hualapai need to perform expertly for the future of tribe.