WE ARE HUALAPAI! • WE ARE A NATIVE PEOPLE, WHO FOR MILLENIA HAVE LIVED ON THE LAND OF OUR ANCESTORS • WE ARE THE CANYON KEEPERS • WE ARE A COMMUNITY THAT WORKS TO CREATE A PROMISING FUTURE FOR OUR CHILDREN • WE ARE AMERICANS WHO LOVE AND FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY • WE ARE CHILDREN OF ANCESTORS WHO TAUGHT US TO TO HONOR THE CREATOR, RESPECT MOTHER EARTH, TO VALUE ALL LIVING THINGS • WE ARE ANCESTORS TO FUTURE GENERATIONS WITH A RESPONSIBILITY TO CARRY ON OUR LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND TRADITIONS • WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE TALL PINES –WE ARE HUALAPAI!
We Are Hualapai!
We are the "keepers of the canyon," along with the Havasupai, Hopi and Paiute. We call ourselves Hwal bay, which translates to "people of the tall pine." For generations, the lands in northern Arizona, southern Utah and along the Colorado River have provided us with the necessities of life. We were once part of the same group as the Havasupai, but our bands were forced to live apart when the white man arrived. We are Yuman speakers who hunted and gathered before reservation policies forced us to change our way of life.
By the time the Arizona Territory was established in 1864, prospectors had already struck mineral ores in the Hualapai Mountains of northwestern Arizona. When the Santa Fe Railroad began to build its cross-country tracks, they wanted us to move, but we resisted. The time between 1865 and 1869 is known as the Hualapai War.
In 1874, the Office of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., ordered our people removed to a concentration camp at La Paz, on the Colorado River Indian Reservation. They wanted us to stop resisting the U.S. government. Our people stayed in La Paz for one year. During this sad time many Hualapais died from disease, spoiled rations and starvation. After one year, we were allowed to return home once we agreed to let the Anglo people have the lands they wanted.
Our reservation was established in 1883 by Executive Order. Peach Springs is the capital of the Hualapai Nation. Our Hualapai lands are only a small part of our traditional homelands, but our relationship with the environment and the land remains very important to us. Today, we are cattle ranchers and operate a big game hunting program where permits to hunt elk or deer are sold to those who are not Hualapai.
A unique school program created by community member Lucille Watahomigie integrates the school curriculum culturally and linguistically. It has been very successful, and other tribes throughout the United States seek advice from the Hualapai Nation when developing their own education programs.
We still know the Hualapai names for the important and sacred sites on our land.
- Hualapai elder, 1998
Text courtesy The Heard Museum We Are! Arizona's First People's exhibit made with the participation of Arizona tribes.