Hualapai

The Hualapai are a Native American tribe. There are about 2,300 Hualapai people. Most of them live on the Hualapai Reservation in northern Arizona. The reservation is in three counties: Coconino, Yavapai, and Mohave.

Their name means "people of the tall pines." It comes from their word for the ponderosa pine. The Hualapai have lived for a long time near the southern side of the Grand Canyon and close to the Colorado River. The main town on their reservation is Peach Springs. Other communities include Valentine and Grand Canyon West.

Government

The Hualapai tribe is its own nation. It has a leader and a group that helps make decisions. The tribe gives help to its members for things like learning, culture, and jobs.

The Hualapai Nation Police Department helps keep everyone safe, for both tribe members and visitors.

Language

The Hualapai language is part of the Pai group of the Yuman–Cochimí languages. The nearby Havasupai people also use this language, and the Yavapai people use it sometimes. Many Hualapai people over 30 still speak the language. It is also taught to younger students. The Peach Springs School District has special classes and camps to help all local children, Hualapai and non-Hualapai, learn the language.

Reservation

The Hualapai Reservation covers 1,142 square miles (2,960 km²) and was created in 1883. It is located in Coconino and Mohave counties. The main community is in Peach Springs.

History and culture

The Hualapai have many important traditions. They celebrate ceremonies like the "Maturity" ceremony and the "Mourning" ceremony. Today they also hold a Sobriety Festival in June.

The Hualapai believe that after people pass away, their spirits travel to a beautiful land in the northwest where there are plenty of crops.

In the past, Hualapai people wore clothing made from deerskin and rabbit skin. Their homes were cone-shaped buildings made from cedar branches, called a Wikiup.

The Hualapai Reservation was created in 1883 by a leader's order. It includes lands that only some Hualapai bands called home. Other bands, like the Havasupai, lived far away.

The Hualapai War happened from 1865 to 1870. It began because more people were traveling through their area, causing trouble. There were fights between the Hualapai and others. Leaders worked to make peace, but it was hard. The war ended in 1870.

Hualapai bands and villages

The Hualapai people are made up of three main groups, called subtribes. These are the Middle Mountain People in the northwest, the Plateau People in the east, and the Yavapai Fighter in the south. Each of these subtribes has several bands, which are smaller groups. These bands lived in small villages, often near springs or water sources.

The Plateau People lived in the east, mostly in areas with plateaus and canyons. The Middle Mountain People lived to the west of the Plateau People, mostly north of the modern city of Kingman. The Yavapai Fighters were the largest group and lived in the southern part of Hualapai country.

Education

The Hualapai Reservation has parts in three school districts. In Mohave County, students go to the Peach Springs Unified School District and the Hackberry School District. Some students also go to the Valentine Elementary School District outside the reservation. Since the high school in Peach Springs closed in 2008, students can attend high school in the Kingman Unified School District or the Seligman Unified School District.

In Coconino County, the reservation is in an area without its own high school. In Yavapai County, students go to the Seligman school district.