It rained all night long so we were extremely happy we had made it to the falls yesterday. In truth, I’d be afraid to go down the road to the falls in the rain with the condition the road was in. I wouldn’t be surprised if more of it had washed away in the night. We managed to get up the earliest we had the entire trip—6a. I just wanted to get off of the reservation. I’m well aware that our European ancestors have screwed the Native Americans and I know I have benefitted from the genocide perpetrated on these people’s ancestors but this has just been a depressing experience even though the falls were beautiful. I don’t know what can be done to help the situation.
Chris was determined to make even a small difference. On the way out, she grabbed a trash bag and decided she was going to pick up trash while walking out if only to show them at least one white American cared. We did pass one well maintained house near the edge of the village. How we missed it yesterday, I don’t know. The house was freshly painted and had a full yard of well-maintained grass. On the back side was a shop. Even though we didn’t need anything, we stopped into have a look. The store was run by an older couple that still had pride left.
Chris and Pam talked to the old man for a bit. It was so refreshing to meet a resident that welcomed us and was friendly. He, too, was disappointed with the direction his people were taking and wished that they would embrace pride of their surroundings. Even if their ancestors had been screwed (my word, not his) and things weren’t fair, that was no reason to not take personal pride (his words). In the end, we bought some candy, drinks, snacks, and ice cream we didn’t need. I think Chris even gave him an extra $20 and told him to use the money in whatever way was useful for the village or himself. One thing that I noticed, through no fault of his, was that there were absolutely no fresh vegetables or fruit in either store we had been in. I also didn’t see any gardens at any of the houses. No wonder the obesity rate is so high, they are eating a diet of nothing put processed foods which are carried in on horseback. I seriously question if the policy of genocide isn’t continuing to this day.
I just wanted to get to the car and get back home. Chris was making a point with the trash and I refused to pick any up because the people were doing this to themselves. I did continue to not litter and not make the situation worse. On the walk out, Chris would pick up whatever trash she saw. After about 100 yards she changed to only picking up what was directly in her path. She still got a full bag long before we were to the car.
It was a quiet walk out and kind of a downer to end the trip on. We almost missed the turn to climb up out of the canyon. In fact I had walked passed it when Pam saw the spray paint on a rock. As we were climbing up, we could see further up the canyon. One of the horses from the village had escaped and was out gorging himself on whatever foliage he could find.
When we got back to the car at 11:30, I asked Chris what she was going to do with the trash because all of the dumpsters were over flowing and hadn’t been emptied for some time. To leave it would accomplish nothing. She had already planned to carry it to the airport if she had to. We drove back to Seligman for lunch then headed on down to Phoenix via Prescott. We got to see some different areas of the state and did a little shopping. Our moods started to brighten the further we got from the reservation.
By the time we got a hotel and repacked for our flights tomorrow, it was 10:30—a long day starting on an Indian Reservation with primitive facilities and ending in the shadows of a modern airport.
In hindsight, I would have skipped Havasu Falls in the off season, or gone to it before going to the National Park. I’m sure if we had gone in the summer months, the situation would have been better with more tourists. The park was an amazing spiritual experience (and I’m not spiritual). Although there are lots of places I want to go and see in my life, I would gladly go again in the future.
