Havasu 'Baaja

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Havasupai home, Arizona, 1887

Havasu Falls, located 2 miles further into the canyon from Supai

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The Havasupai (Havasu 'Baaja) are a Native American tribe inhabiting the western Grand Canyon area in the U.S. state of Arizona. The tribe has about 650 enrolled tribal members, governed by an elected seven-member Tribal Council. The tribal center is the village of Supai, Arizona, and is only accessible by foot, horseback or helicopter.

The Havasupai have lived in the area for hundreds of years (since roughly A.D. 1300). Historically the tribe would spend the fall and winter months hunting in plateau regions south of the Colorado River, and the spring and summer months farming in Havasu Canyon (a southwestern branch of the Grand Canyon). However, the U.S. federal government established the Havasupai Indian Reservation in 1882. The 518 acre reservation covers only about 10 percent of the tribe's aboriginal lands (primarily in Havasu Canyon), and the tribe was forced to rely almost entirely on farming. Over time, outdoor enthusiasts have been drawn to Havasu Creek and its four blue-green waterfalls. As a result, tourism has today become a major source of income for the tribe.

In 1975, the U.S. Congress reallocated 185,000 acres of hunting grounds back to the Havasupai tribe.

The Havasupai speak a Yuman-Cochimí language.

See also

• Havasupai language
• Havasu Falls
• Mooney Falls

External links

• [Website of the Havasupai tribe]
• [Roland and Jeff Manakaja, Havasupai music, from Oyate Ta Olowan site]
• [A Brief History of Havasupai Formal Political Organization]
• [Audio documentary about Havasupai music]

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