SUPAI, Ariz. (AP) — The Havasupai Tribe is pushing back the reopening date for its reservation over concerns about the swine flu.
Flooding forced the closure of the reservation to visitors last year. Tribal camping office employee Suzanna Siyuja said Thursday that the tribe now plans to reopen on June 1 instead of Monday.
Water from a summer thunderstorm surged through the canyon that is the ancestral home of the Havasupai Tribe in mid-August. Hundreds of residents and tourists were evacuated.
Tribal members live in the village of Supai deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon National Park remains open to visitors.
Siyuja says the tribe is anxious to reopen because it’s so dependent on tourist income. But they’re being cautious because of the swine flu outbreak in the state.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
I cannot express enough my disappointment at the closure of the Havasupai Falls and campground by the Supai tribe, due to the ridiculously overblown “Swine Flu” hysteria. This decision was clearly based upon nothing but panic and fear. They are far more likely to have a visitor bring in Tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV, or the regular everyday flu, than the “Swine Flu”, and yet none of those ever spark a closure. There have been 4…count them….4 cases of this flu in Arizona so far, in a state of 6 million. In the US as a whole, there are 109….total…out of 300,000,000 people! For them to close and ruin the vacation plans of a few thousand people, not to mention the loss of dollars to their community, on the basis of .000000363 percent of the population having a flu that is hardly any worse than any other flu, is absolute over reaction and hysteria. A huge thank you to the media for turning this inot the “pandemic” that is clearly isn’t.
I’m afraid that I agree with Nanook.
Yes, the media has blown this way out of proportion.
Yes, the tribe has gone over the edge (no pun intended).
The interaction between the visitors and the locals is minimal, maybe slightly more for the helicopter, horseback riding, lodge staying folk … but, even that is minimal.
I’ve backpacked into Havasupai and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of their spot here on God’s creation. I was thrilled that they shared it with us.
However, I was thoroughly disappointed regarding the minimal time and effort that was put into the care and maintenance. As an example they had 10 port-a-potties for a 3/4 mile long campground … they were stationed at either end. We took the time to hike to them when the need arose, but we overheard numerous other campers that didn’t. Blame the campers, yes … but the tribe there has COMPLETE control and re-invests very little. Those port-a-potties stunk, we heard that they were changed weekly … I doubt it.
That is only one example of the poor management by the local tribe. Fortunately God comes through and cleans periodically for them. And I don’t mean that the people are swept out, don’t go there. I believe them to be very good, private people, attempting to live in a very difficult, but beautiful, environment.
May God continue to bless them, and us, with the opportunity to live in, and visit, such a beautiful, remote spot. Thank God it isn’t in downtown USA some place, because then it would really be ruined.