An outside development under consideration by the Navajo Nation -- referred to as “Grand Canyon Escalade Project” -- is splitting Navajo Nation 50/50 for-and-against the project. Those in favor say, for a nation that has a 45% unemployment rate, the proposal could yield jobs and economic opportunities heretofore unseen. The exact nature of the project is in flux – it might include a restaurant, a river walk platform and possibly an amphitheater, but the concept definitely includes a gondola ride that takes visitors down to the bottom of the Canyon.
Critics say where the gondola would land is uncomfortably close to the confluence of two rivers considered sacred to not only the Navajo, but the Hopi and Zuni, too. Backpackers and river runners hold the Canyon -- and the feat of getting there by foot or mule -- close to their hearts as well.
Would development of this sort be ruinous to the majestic views of the Canyon? Are marring the views and the untouched beauty on and around the canyon floor worth the promise of economic prosperity for the Navajo Nation? Is economic prosperity a real possibility? And can the Navajo come up with locally-generated ways to bring on economic benefit, and even development, while respecting the sacredness of the Canyon?
Guests:
Kevin Dahl, Arizona Program Manager for National Parks Conservation Association
Deswood Tome, Special Advisor to the President of the Navajo Nation; he's of Navajo descent and supports The Grand Canyon Escalade Project
Renae Yellowhorse, Diné of the Navajo Nation, is spokesperson for Save the Confluence, a group opposed to The Grand Canyon Escalade Project