Navajo Nation sees opposition to Grand Canyon tourism project

Tuesday, July 31, 2012  

The Navajo Nation is seeing opposition to its proposal for a tourist attraction near Grand Canyon National Park.

Earlier this year, President Ben Shelly signed a memorandum of understanding to host the Grand Canyon Escalade. The main attraction would be a tramway to carry tourists to the floor of the canyon.

Environmental groups, including the Grand Canyon Trust and Save the Confluence, have raised concerns about the project. So has the Bodaway/Gap Chapter, which voted against development, and the Hopi Tribe.

“The tramway goes right into the heart of the Hopi Nation. It can’t happen. That’s all I can say to the Navajo Nation: you can’t do it," Hopi Cultural Preservation Officer Leigh Kuwanwisiwma told Indian Country Today.

Then there's the National Park Service. The agency claims jurisdiction over some of the land that are supposedly within reservation boundaries.

Get the Story:
A Development Dispute in the Grand Canyon (The New York Times 7/31)
Opposition Grows For Navajos’ Planned Grand Canyon Escalade (Indian Country Today7/30)