Senate Engrossed

Grand Canyon; monuments; rename

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

2022

SENATE CONCURRENT MEMORIAL 1003

A Concurrent Memorial

urging the United States board on geographic names to rename the geographic features in the grand canyon with native american names.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

To the United States Board on Geographic Names:

Your memorialist respectfully represents:

Whereas, since John Wesley Powell's three-month exploratory river trip through the Grand Canyon in 1869, this natural wonder has become a cherished national treasure as more people have visited and settled in the area.  President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a national monument in 1908, and the Grand Canyon achieved national park status eleven years later, in 1919. In 1979, Grand Canyon National Park was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and

Whereas, the Grand Canyon is Arizona's most famous natural landmark, one of the seven wonders of the natural world and a tourism destination that attracts approximately five million visitors from around the world each year, including outdoor recreationists who seek out the challenges, inspirations and life-altering experiences that the Grand Canyon wilderness provides; and

Whereas, the Grand Canyon's exposed geologic layers span nearly half of Earth's history and record past environments ranging from erupting volcanoes to quiet seas; and

Whereas, this natural wonder has been continuously inhabited by indigenous groups for almost 12,000 years, and six Native American tribes still live in and around the canyon, including the Hualapai, the "people of the pines," who make their home atop the West Rim, and the Havasupai, the "people of the blue-green waters," who live on the canyon floor; and

Whereas, a push is underway to rename the Grand Canyon's incredible geographic features and natural monuments with Native American names in recognition of the centuries-long association of Native American tribes with the canyon. Such a renaming is a fitting and appropriate tribute that will promote an understanding of and an appreciation for the unique and significant cultures and heritage of the Grand Canyon's tribal peoples.

Wherefore your memorialist, the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring, prays:

1. That the United States Board on Geographic Names rename the geographic features in the Grand Canyon with traditional Native American names.

2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the Chairperson of the United States Board on Geographic Names.