Incorporating Hualapai Ethnobotany into the Hualapai Cultural Atlas

The Hualapai Indian Reservation is located in northwestern Arizona on one million acres of land situated along a 108 mile stretch of the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  Hualapai ethnobotanical knowledge is in danger of being lost and Hualapai elders of the tribal community have expressed concerns that their tribal youth are not learning about their plants and landscape.  The goal of the study has been to research, create, and incorporate a Hualapai ethnobotanical database into the existing Hualapai Cultural Atlas Geographic Information Systems Geodatabase Project.  The methodology for the ethnobotanical database included reviewing published and archival materials, conducting ethnographic interviews with Hualapai elders, conducting participant observations during harvesting activities, and acquiring photographs of plant species, pressed plant specimens, and geo-located harvesting landmarks.  The resulting ethnobotanical database provides a comprehensive central location for Hualapai ethnobotanical knowledge to be retained and archived for the Hualapai Tribe and their future generations.