Respecting A Sacred Place

I attended a meeting recently of the Hopi Tribe's Cultural Preservation Task Force and was given some feedback which I would like to pass on to the guides and outfitters of Grand Canyon. The Hopi Tribe periodically sends tribal delegates down the Canyon in connection with some of their cultural beliefs and practices. In some cases, other Canyon trips have been behaving in ways which are making the Hopis feel rather uneasy about modern recreational uses in Grand Canyon. When I heard the stories, I felt that a general call for respect—call it a reminder—might be in order. I am writing to you in the hopes that you will agree, and will publish something in your newsletter, etc., to let the guides know that there is an issue.
Grand Canyon has great value to the Hopi, as many of you know. They express some of this in their official comments to the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam. In our meeting with them, various people who have taken part in official Hopi trips down the Canyon expressed some of the concerns they have about modern uses of the river corridor.
The feedback I want to pass on relates, basically, to the second to last paragraph of their official comments to the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam: “Given the sanctity of Grand Canyon, the Hopis are concerned about the attitudes of people who use the canyon for recreation or scientific research. With the proper attitude, use of the canyon for those purposes can be both enjoyable and educational. Using the canyon with a disrespectful attitude can cause serious spiritual problems.” What the Hopi encountered along the river was to them, I think, a good example of a disrespectful attitude. They have seen a degradation of archeological sites, which are also sacred sites to them, due to tourist visitation.

They also experienced a large, loud group, intent upon partying, who settled onto the same beach where the Hopi delegation was camped. While the Hopi group was there for spiritual purposes and “in a meditative mood,” they said people from the other group were yelling, running around, playing music and drinking apparently without regard for them. One person even ran over and shoved aside the bedroll of one of the elders to gleefully dig up beer which had been buried there on a previous trip!
While, of course, visiting archeological sites and partying are among the many things people want to be able to do in Grand Canyon, it is a shame that the partying parties (so to speak) could not have been a bit more sensitive to the rights, needs and wishes of others. Instances such as these are hard to forgive and forget, and they don't speak well for tourism in a sacred area. As we all know, Hopi people have suffered more than their share already of loss and infringement on their cultural heritage. It ends up not mattering much whether this was a commercial trip or a private trip, (although I am trying to get the word out to each sector) because the overall perception of recreational use versus abuse is negatively affected.
The lesson here is that sensitivity to cultural issues probably needs to be given more attention in our guide association educational literature and training seminars wherever possible. I hope that you all can receive this as a well-intended wake-up call rather than just a wagging finger. As a lifetime member of the Colorado Plateau River Guides Association, and a full-time guide working with Native American people myself, I fully believe in the power of guides rallying to do some self-reflection/ self-correction from time to time. This is one of those times. Some improvement is called for. I hope you will help to pass the word.
Thank you for helping out with this important matter.
Rebecca Martin