‘LONG OVERDUE’

Grand Canyon Tourist Spot Changes ‘Offensive’ Name for Native American Tribe

The Tribe, who was forced out by the park almost 100 years ago, requested the name Indian Garden be changed Havasupai Gardens.

The name of a popular area of the Grand Canyon off Bright Angel Trail will be renamed in a move Grand Canyon superintendent Ed Keable called “long overdue” in a statement on Monday. The change is “a measure of respect for the undue hardship imposed by the park on the Havasupai people,” he added, speaking of the Havasupai Native American Tribe who were removed forcibly almost a century ago and who described its former name – Indian Garden – as “offensive.” After tribe members asked the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to approve the renaming for their ancestors’ honor, the board voted unanimously in early November to rename the area Havasupai Gardens, according to the National Park’s statement. The Havasupai Tribe, initially named Ha’a Gyoh, were forced out of the area due to park service policies, with last resident Captain Burro forcibly removed in 1928, the statement said. The area’s “offensive” name “has had detrimental and lasting impacts on the Havasupai families that lived there and their descendants” said Tribe Chairman Thomas Siyuja, Sr. “Every year, approximately 100,000 people visit the area while hiking the Bright Angel Trail, largely unaware of this history. The renaming of this sacred place to Havasupai Gardens will finally right that wrong.”