Havasupai Tribe COVID-19 Relief Fund

The Havasupai Reservation is located in the bottom of the Grand Canyon and is the most remote reservation in the lower 48.  The village of Supai, where 426 of the 769 Havasupai Tribal Members live, is accessible only by foot, horseback, or helicopter.  An additional 25 Tribal Members live in the satellite community of Supai Camp, a historic and continuous settlement of the Havasupai People located within their aboriginal territory in what is now known as the Grand Canyon National Park.  Roughly 75 percent of the jobs on the Havasupai Reservation are tied to the tourism economy, and this economy is fragile with roughly 15 percent unemployment.  Roughly 15 percent of the community is elderly, and many are diabetic or asthmatic, and thus particularly vulnerable to Coronavirus.

 

Due to the rapid spread of Coronavirus and COVID-19 in the United States and Arizona, the Tribe has had to temporarily suspend tourism within the Reservation in order to protect Tribal Members from the spread of this pandemic.  Thus, the tourism revenues the Tribe relies upon to run its government, and its Tribal Members depend upon to feed their families and their animals, has been disrupted.  For example, the Tribe's 60-day closure of the Reservation to tourism is expected to result in an estimated loss of 15 percent of the Tribe’s annual revenues.  Additionally, non-essential travel into and out of the Canyon has been suspended, including for Tribal Members.  However, there is only one small grocery mart in Supai.  The Tribe is bringing in bulk food supplies to its people for themselves and their animals, but additional help is needed, especially as the pandemic is projected to remain in full force for a number of months. 

 

Please consider making a donation to ensure that the Havasupai People and their animals have the food and the Personal Protection Equipment that they need to remain in their communities and be protected from exposure to the Coronavirus and COVID-19.  Prevention is paramount because the Tribe does not have a permanent doctor or nurse on the Reservation, and they do not have a single ventilator or hospital bed.  With such a small Tribe, the spread of this disease within the Canyon and Supai Camp could be devastating to the Tribal community and to the continued viability of the Havasupai People.  Any contribution will help and will be greatly appreciated by the Tribe and the Havasupai People.  I am the General Counsel to the Tribe and will ensure that these funds are deposited directly with the Tribe through its Chief Financial Officer, Jim Usevitch, and are used for food, pet food, and PPE for the community during their COVID-19 response period.