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by Mike Morellato, B.A., M.Sc. (August 22, 2007) The first time I heard of the Grand Canyon Skywalk, I have to say it reaked of a tourist trap project and blemish on the edge of a majestic natural wonder. Upon learning more about the project and other developments in the region I'm not sure I've changed my mind, but I understand the debate surrounding the sustainability of this new attraction. If you're not familiar with the Skywalk, I will summarize it for you with a few numbers: 71 - the number of fully loaded Boeing 747 jets that the walkway is theoretically designed to hold, 40 - the millions of dollars the project has cost, and 1,000,000 - the amount of steel, in pounds, that was used to buttress the Skywalk. After discovering the Skywalk on the internet, I checked out the official website that feeds you almost as much 'social sustainability stew' as the Vancouver 2010 website showcasing all aboriginal athletes. With pictures of tribe leaders donning full headdresses on the website behind an epic "Star Wars-like" soundtrack, who could argue with the "bridge that gives [them] a chance to share the wonder of the canyon that the Hualapai Tribe has graciously offered"?1 There are various perspectives that have emerged from the dust after the last steel rod was pounded into the uplifted Proterozoic and Paleozoic strata down in The Copper State. The first perspective that I will discuss is that of the pro-Skywalk group. This group is comprised of tribesmen, members of the general public, Skywalk developers, foreign investors, Las Vegas entrepreneurs and other individuals. The argument here is slightly different for each of the above mentioned groups, but they walk in the same general direction - they welcome this $40 million-dollar "marvel." | Grand Canyon tourists peak down 4000 feet from the new "Skywalk," an attraction that it is acting a catalyst for much more development in the Grand Canyon West area
(Source: Flickr website Usage: Creative Commons 2.0 ) |
Perhaps the most compelling argument (if considered genuine) from the pro-Skywalk group is that of select Hualapai tribe members (Hwal'bay means "People of the Tall Pine"). To provide some background, the Hualapai tribe settled in the area around 1883 and have a population of approximately 2500. The reservation was receiving about 500 visitors a day prior to the construction of the Skywalk, most of which came to experience helicopter and boat rides.2 With a new daily visitor count of 2000, there are a number of reasons why the Hualapai (and supporters of the tribe) see this as a beneficial endeavour: - A boost of tourism is expected at developments already established on the reservation - including an Old West Main Street and cowboy show, horseback riding, an Indian village, Humvee tours and wagon rides.
- The Skywalk and subsequent developments will lead to an increase in jobs for local tribe members, half of which are currently fraught with chronic unemployment.2
- Tribal officials are convinced that increased development in the area is the best way to combat the social problems that have traditionally affected the Hualapai - including widespread alcoholism and poverty.3
- Leaders have stated that this growth was necessary simply to establish an economic base for the tribe, especially given their relatively isolated location.
With any mega project such as this, there are questions about the sustainability of the Grand Canyon Skywalk and there have been harsh words from critics regarding its construction. Not all of these critics are outside environmentalist observers. A good number of Hualapai tribe members have been uneasy with the project and are concerned with possible overdevelopment and environmental impact. Hualapai guides have mentioned that they want to keep the area pristine, mentioning in the same sentence their frustration with visitors that walk off buses and throw cigarette butts onto the sacred burial grounds of their ancestors. In my opinion it seems quite contradictory to allow the development process to proceed as it has, vowing to keep the area intact while clearly ignoring principles of sustainability through much of the planning phase. A few examples of this include issues of water use, waste management and transportation. The local tribe has claimed they have undertaken two and a half years of cultural and biological assessments along with extensive community consultation. The result? There is no shortage of issues: - Water being trucked miles down narrow, rutted dirt roads4 to make up for the lack of a local water source, with future thoughts of pumping water nearly a vertical mile from the Colorado River to the rim of the canyon.
- A simple lack of sewer, telephone and waste management services - with quick and dirty fixes such as the expanding airport running on diesel generators.3
- An explosion of development ideas in the region - with "Grand Canyon West" penciled out as a 9000-acre project to include everything from hotels, restaurants and a golf course to a cable car ferrying visitors from the canyon rim to the Colorado River.
When confronted with the allegations of desecrating sacred ground, the Hualapai point the finger to their neighbours to the east in Grand Canyon National Park - who receive 4 million visitors per year compared to the estimated 730,000 likely to step foot on the Hualapai reservation per annum. In addition, some find criticism from outside of the tribe quite ironic. A cultural anthropologist, Chris McDaid, who has worked in Southwest reservations points out: "Three-hundred years of Indian-government relations have been about trying to make the Indians more like the white man... now that they're doing that, we don't like it."2 On the economic side of things, there is a tremendous amount of investment at present and there doesn't seem to be any shortage of investors willing to support future endeavours. Will this transform the future of the locals' social and economic well-being, or will it create a set of new problems? The tribe has already been surprised by the quadrupling of visitors since the Skywalk opened, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. The problems listed earlier will only be compounded with seemingly endless projects on the horizon and more visitors on their way. What would I recommend? A few checks and balances thrown into the reservation's expansion process would be nice, although this would likely be shielded by their rights as Native Americans at the Canyon. Nonetheless, the Colorado River Management Plan was a breath of fresh air, which worked to regulate the number of passengers allowed on the tribe's motorized pontoon boats per day at 600. The daily allotment requested by the Hualapai? 18004 . This number, along with the rest of the Grand Canyon West project seems excessive, which seems to be a common theme here.
One can be optimistic that social problems will evaporate and the cultural identity that this tribe calls their own won't dwindle - even as the influx of tourist dollars flood the canyon - but I have my doubts. This is in addition to the environmental impact that will continue to make its mark if limits are not set on the South Rim developments. A few tips prior to your visit: don't drop your camera over the railing like that last couple - you may want a lasting memory of what this place used to look like.
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Related links:
The Skwalk on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvzlZuWrJNw
Colorado River Management Plan - http://www.nps.gov/archive/grca/crmp/
Grand Canyon Glass Skywalk Opens (BBC) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6469941.stm
Grand Canyon West: The Hualpai Nation - http://destinationgrandcanyon.com/history.html 1 Jin, David (2007). Official Site of the Grand Canyon Skywalk [online]. Available at: http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/mainmenu.html 2 Yost, M. (2007). Close to the Edge [online]. Opinion Journal - Leisure and Arts. Available at: http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110009920 3 Cart, J. (2007). Tribe's canyon Skywalk opens one deep divide. Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. p.A.1. 4 Wikipedia (2007). Grand Canyon Skywalk [internet]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_Skywalk
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