The History and Culture of the Hualapai Tribe

When you are getting ready to go on vacation, have you ever wondered about the history of the location and the people that call the place home? Of the large amount of visitors to the Hoover Dam each year, many may not already know about the rich history and culture of the Hualapai tribe. The Hualapai, which means “people of the tall pines,” have lived near the site of the present-day Hoover Dam as far back as 600 A.D. Though their ancestral land once stretched five million acres, today their reservation is just 100,000 acres in size.

The Hualapai tribe approved a constitution in 1938 and is known for a 1941 Supreme Court decision in which the tribe was able to hold onto reservation land rather than concede it for the building of the Santa Fe Railroad. The next time you plan to travel to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon, be sure to research more about the Hualapai people and their role in the shaping of the western part of the United States.