Just before Thanksgiving in late November, the U.S. National Parks Service (NPS) quietly announced it was changing the name of a historic Grand Canyon viewing area because its original name is considered “offensive” to the Havasupai Native American Tribe.
The viewing area long-known as Indian Garden will now be known as Havasupai Gardens. Located along the Bright Angel Trail, Havasupai Gardens is a popular stop for day hikers and backpackers exploring the Grand Canyon’s backcountry. For years the site was originally named Ha’a Gyoh until the NPS forced the Havasupai people out of the inner canyon area in the mid-1920s.
“The eviction of Havasupai residents from Ha’a Gyoh coupled with the offensive name, Indian Garden, has had detrimental and lasting impacts on the Havasupai families that lived there and their descendants,” the Havasupai Tribe Honorable Chairman Thomas Siyuja, Sr. told the NPS.
