Mythologies of the Havasupai Tribe

The Havasupai people (Havasupai: Havsuw' Baaja) are a Native American people and tribe who have lived in the Grand Canyon for at least the past 800 years. Hava means "blue sky," (or just 'sky'), "su" means "water," and pai "people". Located primarily in an area known as Havasu Canyon, this Yuman-speaking population once laid claim to an area the size of Delaware (1.6×10⁶ acres [6,500 km²]). In 1882, however, the United States federal government forced the tribe to abandon all but 518 acres (210 ha) of its land. A silver rush and the Santa Fe Railroad in effect destroyed the fertile land. Furthermore, the inception of the Grand Canyon as a national park in 1919 pushed the Havasupai to the brink, as their land was consistently being used by the National Park Service. Throughout the 20th century, the tribe used the US judicial system to fight for the restoration of the land. In 1975, the tribe succeeded in regaining approximately 185,000 acres (75,000 ha) of their ancestral land with the passage of the Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act. As a means of survival, the tribe has turned to tourism, attracting thousands of people annually to its streams and waterfalls at the Havasupai Indian Reservation. Ethnically, the Havasupai and the Hualapai are one people, although today, they are politically separate groups due to U.S. government policy. The Hualapai (Pa'a or Pai) had three subtribes: the Plateau People, Middle Mountain People, and Yavapai Fighter. The subtribes were divided into seven bands, which themselves were broken up into thirteen regional bands or local groups. The local groups were composed of several extended family groups living in small villages: The Havasupai were just the Havasooa Pa'a regional band (or local group) of the Nyav-kapai ("Eastern People") of the Plateau People subtribe.

For over 1,000 years the remote village of Supai, Arizona, located eight miles hike below the rim of the Grand Canyon, has been home to the Havasu Baaja, People of the Blue Green Waters, or as they are known today, the Havasupai Tribe. Just above the village, a hidden limestone aquifer gushes forth the life sustaining blue green waters that have nourished the fields of corn, squash and beans which have allowed the Havasu Baaja to thrive living in the harsh desert landscape deep in the Grand Canyon for centuries. This remoteness creates many obstacles for residents and visitors alike. The United States Postal Service office in Supai transports all mail in and out of the canyon by mule train. Everything must make the 8 mile trek in and out of the village either by foot, on horseback. The Havasupai tribe's reservation is at the end of Route 18 off historic Route 66. It consists of 188,077 acres of canyon land and broken plateaus abutting the western edge of the Grand Canyons South Rim. The reservation was established in 1880 and substantially enlarged in 1975. The tribe is known for it's location, traditional cultural life and beautiful arts and crafts.

Havasuw `Baaja, the people of the blue green waters, are the traditional guardians of the Grand Canyon. Related to the Yuman, the Havasupai have from the beginning, inhabited the Grand Canyon and its environs. By 1919 with the establishment of the Grand Canyon National Park, the Tribe was restricted to 518 acres, 5 miles wide and 12 miles long in a side canyon. The Tribe has since had returned to them 188,077 acres of their former homelands which makes up their reservation today. The Havasupai Reservation is located in Coconino County, at the southwest corner of the Grand Canyon National Park. The nearest community to the Reservation is Peach Springs, 64 miles southwest from Hualapai Hilltop. The Havasupai Reservation consists of plateau country, dissected with deep, scenic canyons characteristic of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. Notable geographic features include “The Great Thumb,” Long Mesa, and Tenderfoot Mesa, which converge on the Coconino Plateau at the south end of the reservation. Havasu (Cataract) Canyon, now the permanent home of the Havasupai Indian Tribe, is internationally known for its blue water and spectacular water falls adorned with travertine columns, shelves and skirts. Topography of the plateau areas varies from rolling, gentle slopes, to escarpments of outcrops of the Kaibab Limestone. The population for the Havasupai Tribe is 639 with a median age of 24.8 years. The largest employer of the tribal members on the reservation is the Tribe. The main occupation of individual members is packing and working for tribal enterprises (tourism). The Havasuw `Baaja, draw their strength from the land, which is sacred. Visitors are asked to preserve the magnificence of the Havasupai homeland and respect their natural resources which contribute to their spiritual direction. All visitors are asked to leave their liquor, drugs, weapons and pets at home and to take their trash out of the canyon. The best way to reach Havasupai is from Highway 66, six miles east of Peach Springs, onto Indian Route 18, a 64 mile road to Hualapai Hilltop. From the Hilltop parking lot there is an eight mile trail to Supai Village. This trail may be traveled either by foot or horse.

Nestled deep within the Grand Canyon lies a hidden treasure—Havasu Falls. But this turquoise wonder isn’t just a postcard-perfect destination; it’s the heart and soul of the Havasupai Tribe, the “people of the blue-green water.” For over a thousand years, the Havasupai have called this stunning and remote part of Northern Arizona home. Their story is one of resilience, connection to the land, and a deep spiritual bond with the waters of Havasu Creek. Let’s dive into the history, culture, and significance of the Havasupai people and their sacred land, and how their guardianship preserves one of the world’s most breathtaking natural wonders. Imagine living in a village so remote it’s only accessible by foot, horseback, or helicopter. Welcome to Supai, the home of the Havasupai people. Tucked 3,000 feet below the Grand Canyon’s rim, Supai is not just remote—it’s a world apart. Here, life moves at a pace dictated by nature. For centuries, the Havasupai have thrived in this isolated oasis. They cultivated crops along the fertile banks of Havasu Creek, a lifeline that provides not only sustenance but also spiritual meaning. Havasu Creek isn’t your ordinary waterway. Its vibrant turquoise hue, caused by calcium carbonate deposits, makes it look almost otherworldly. But for the Havasupai, it’s more than just a visual marvel; it’s life itself. The creek creates a series of stunning waterfalls, including Navajo Falls, Mooney Falls, and the crown jewel, Havasu Falls. These waters are sacred to the Havasupai, symbolizing renewal, purity, and their connection to the earth. Generations of Havasupai have performed ceremonies at these waterfalls, seeking blessings and harmony.

Today, most of the Havasupai people, or the Havasu ‘Baaja, live in Supai, a tributary canyon to Grand Canyon. But historically, they lived across a broader expanse, as far south as Bill Williams Mountain and east to the Little Colorado River. They moved up and down the vertical layers of the Grand Canyon, depending on seasons. During the fall and winter, they lived on the Colorado Plateau (the level of the Canyon’s rim), hunting and gathering food. In the spring and summer, Havasupai families farmed the Tonto Platform (including Indian Garden) and other arable areas, harvesting corn, beans, squash, melons and pumpkins. They did not encounter any European explorers until the Spanish priest Francisco Garcés traveled to Havasu Canyon in 1776. Garcés later traveled east to the Hopi mesas, and it is his report that tells of another Havasupai village as far east as Moencopi Wash, well beyond the Grand Canyon. The Havasupai did not have to contend much with Euro-American intrusion until the late 1800s, when men looking for adventure or mineral riches traveled to the Canyon. These newcomers explored the landscape of the Grand Canyon by following trails of the Havasupai, Hopi, Cohoninas and Ancient Puebloans. The Euro-Americans, upon finding irrigation ditches and the remnants of cultivated fields on the Tonto Platform, named the area Indian Garden. The Santa Fe Railroad opened a line to Grand Canyon in September of 1901. Two years later, President Theodore Roosevelt visited the canyon and rode down Bright Angel Trail. He met Yavñmi’ Gswedva (known as Big Jim to Anglos) and Billy Burro, two Havasupais who lived with their families at Indian Garden. Roosevelt told the Havasupai that a park was being created and they had to leave Indian Garden. Although Gswedva did as Roosevelt requested and moved his family out of Indian Garden to a cave higher up Bright Angel Trail, he continued to farm Indian Garden. Billy Burro and his wife, Tsoojva, remained at Indian Garden until the National Park Service forced them out in 1928. For decades, the Havasupais were restricted to a 518-acre reservation in Havasu Canyon, part of their ancestral home. In 1975, Congress returned 185,000 acres of canyon and rim territory to the Havasupai Tribe. During the decades from the creation of the small Havasupai Reservation in 1882 and the enlargement in 1975, the Havasupai had to adjust the way they used their environment. More and more, they counted on farming, wage labor and tourism for survival.