Indigenous Voices of the Colorado Plateau

The Hualapai Wars (1865-1869)  These wars took place on the toll road located between Fort Mohave and Fort Whipple, Arizona. When the Anglo-Americans started building the Santa Fe Railroad for mining purposes, they demanded that the Hualapai vacate their homes. The Hualapai resisted the attempts to displace them from their homelands. When sub-tribal Chief Wauba Yuba, who was on a goodwill mission to negotiate with the Anglo-Americans, was killed along with his two sons, the Hualapai wars began. However, the Hualapai were eventually defeated, finally surrendering to the U.S. troops in the 1869.

The Forced Internment and La Paz  After the defeat at the hands of the Anglo-Americans in the Hualapai Wars of the 1860s, the Hualapai survivors were led to a camp located near Parker, Arizona, on the Colorado River. In 1874, orders were issued to relocate them to another place. The Office of Indian Affairs in Washington D.C. demanded that the Hualapai move to the relocation camp at La Paz, Arizona. The forced march to La Paz was physically exhausting and the route through the mountains of western Arizona was very rough. During the Hualapais' internment at La Paz many died due to disease and lack of food. Hualapai survivors were once again allowed to return to their homes after they consented to let the Anglo-Americans take the lands they wanted. The Hualapai occupied a small section of their lands, grouped together as the Hualapai Reservation in 1883.

Establishment of the American Indian Language Development Institute  In 1978, with the help of linguistic experts and Native American parents, the Hualapai tribal educators established the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) in Tucson to promote a curriculum and written language that focuses on Native American history and culture. During the summers, a Hualapai tribal member teaches at the institute.