This iconic location in the Grand Canyon will be named after a Native American tribe

After a violent past, it’s time to make amends. It is in this logic that the authorities of the Grand Canyon of the United States wanted to register, launching a highly symbolic name change. Indian Gardens, a popular location and stop on the Bright Angel Trail (one of the most popular trails in the national park), will now be called Havasupai Gardens. A far from trivial gesture, as highlighted in the official press release issued on November 21.

Because this new name refers to members of the Havasupai tribe. The latter, who had been in place for several generations, were evicted in 1926 by the authorities of the National Park Service, the federal agency responsible for managing national parks. The area, which the Havasupai called Haa Gyoh, later became the Indian Park. Despite this forced displacement, these American people remained connected to these lands. Indeed, the Havasupai believe that they are guardians of the Grand Canyon, responsible for its preservation.

“Exactly This Error”

“The Expulsion of the Havasupai from Haa Gyoh, [terre] The offensive naming of Indian Garden has had a damaging and long-lasting effect on the Havasupa families living there and their descendants.”said the honorary chairman of the tribe, Thomas Sijuja, in a press release. “Each year approximately 100,000 people visit the area to hike the Bright Angel Trail, mostly unaware of the history. Renaming this sacred site Havasupa Gardens will finally right that wrong.”

Already, the park administration is reporting this change on its website, but also in documents related to the Grand Canyon. Signs and other information points are also being changed to reflect the new name. A ceremony is also planned for the spring of 2023 to mark this new chapter in history.

In the realm of semantics, Grand Canyon isn’t the only one looking to make amends. In 2021, the ski resort in California, then known as Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, changed its name to Palisades Tahoe. Management actually judged that the term “squaw” (a word with racist and sexist connotations meant to refer to a woman of Native descent) was inappropriate. At the time, governing bodies wanted to include in their thinking the Washoe tribe, members of the tribe present in California and Nevada. A symbolic gesture.