The Hualapai Tribe, related to other Pai Indian groups, traditionally inhabited the lower Colorado River Valley. They were forcibly relocated but allowed to return home and established a reservation in 1883. They lived in wickiups and farmed, hunted, and gathered wild plants. Today, they make a living primarily from tourism, offering attractions such as a glass walkway over the Grand Canyon, helicopter rides, and big game hunting. Their capital is Peach Springs, Arizona, on Route 66.
The Hualapai Tribe is a group of Native Americans who historically inhabited the lower Colorado River Valley in the United States. They traditionally spoke Yuman and are related to other Pai Indian groups, such as the Havusapai and the Hopi. The Hualapai still occupy some of their ancestral lands today and their reservation consists of approximately one million acres (4046.8 m2) of land along the Grand Canyon.
Before the arrival of gold prospectors in the mid-1800s, the Hualapai and Havasupai tribes were one group. When the non-natives arrived, the Hualapai tribe began to live apart from the Havasupai. The Hualapai fought for their lands and lost. They were forcibly relocated to a camp in La Paz, Arizona, where many of them died. After agreeing to give in to the foreign immigrants’ demands, they were allowed to return home.
The Hualapai Reservation was established in 1883. It is located within lands that were traditionally inhabited by the tribe. The geography is diverse, with forests, prairies and canyons. Elevations of the Hualapai lands reach 7,300 feet (2 m) at the Aubrey Cliffs and 225 feet (1,500 m) at the Colorado River.
Historically, the Hualapai tribe lived in wickiups, which were similar to wigwams. These structures were circular and framed by pushing young saplings into the ground and folding and pinning them together at the top, often with strings of yucca leaves. They were thatched and covered with bushes or, sometimes, adobe.
The people of the Hualapai tribe generally farmed, hunted and gathered edible wild plants for their subsistence. Rabbit, deer and bighorn sheep were abundant on their lands. Some of the edible wild plants they ate included agave and cactus fruits.
Today, the Hualapai tribe makes its living primarily by exploiting the Grand Canyon’s tourism industry. At Grand Canyon West, within the lands of the Hualapai Reservation, the tribe built a glass walkway 13,000 feet above the Colorado River. Visitors can walk over it from the canyon rim. Other attractions that Hualapai offers to tourists include helicopter rides and boat rides. They also offer big game hunting, fishing and rafting.
The main city and capital of the Hualapai Tribal Reservation is Peach Springs, Arizona. It is so called because of the peach trees that grow near the springs near the town. Famous Route 66 runs through Peach Springs. Its name was appropriated in the Pixar Animation Studios film, Cars, in which it was referred to as “Radiator Springs”.
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