PHOTO: Grand Canyon Area Scrubs ‘Offensive’ Name at Popular Trail Stop

An area in Grand Canyon National Park is changing its “offensive” name after a request from the Havasupai Tribe.

For many years, the stop along Bright Angel Trail was called Indian Garden but the name was changed this week to Havasupai Gardens, CNN Travel reported Tuesday.

In a press release Monday, Grand Canyon National Park said:

Originally called Ha’a Gyoh, the National Park Service (NPS) instituted policies that forced the Havasupai people from Ha’a Gyoh and in 1928, the last Havasupai resident, Captain Burro, was forcibly removed. Havasupai people continued to live and work within Grand Canyon National Park, despite the forced removal from the inner canyon.

The village of Supai, Arizona, which is located eight miles below the Grand Canyon’s rim, has been home to the Havasupai Tribe for over 1,000 years, according to the tribe’s website.

This week, Chairman Thomas Siyuja, Sr. claimed the eviction of those living in Ha’a Gyoh along with the “offensive” name of Indian Garden hurt the families who made their homes there and their descendants.

“Every year, approximately 100,000 people visit the area while hiking the Bright Angel Trail, largely unaware of this history. The renaming of this sacred place to Havasupai Gardens will finally right that wrong,” he added.

Park Superintendent Ed Keable called the renaming effort “long overdue.”

Officials are now working to update signage in the area, the website, and other materials. In addition, a rededication ceremony is being planned for the coming year.

In February 2021, the Cherokee Nation asked Jeep to stop using the tribe’s name on its vehicles.

“I’m sure this comes from a place that is well-intended, but it does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car,” Chuck Hoskin, Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, said in a statement at the time.

The company has reportedly been producing vehicles bearing the Cherokee Nation’s name for more than 45 years.