HUALAPAI PEOPLE By: Haley Ann Yost

Hualapai Reservation The Hualapai Reservation, established in 1883, is located within the southern part of the Colorado Plateau and the Grand Wash Cliffs escarpment, or a long, steep slope at the edge of a plateau. The modern, northern border of the reservation is beside the Grand Wash Cliffs and the Colorado River, heavily forested with Ponderosa Pines.

HOMES The Hualapai peoples traditional housing was made of cedar boughs using the single slope called a Wickiup, or an Indian hut made up of an oval frame shielded by brushwood, animal hide, or grass to protect the Hualapai people from the harsh weather. They were only temporary structures that stayed in one place for a few days .

FOODS The Hualapai people were hunter/gatherers. They hunted rabbit and deer, then skinned them, and finally, they used their fur for clothing. When they weren’t hunting, they were gathering berries and acorns. They ate cactus fruit, corn, melons, squash, sunflower seeds, and beans.

Crafts Basket weavers were the Hualapai women. They made some coarse, or rough, baskets to hold personal belongings, surplus foods, and/or water. Basket weaving is the procedure of braiding vegetable fibers into baskets, hence the word “basket weaving”. The baskets are made from any bending material, stems, animal hair, hides, grasses, thread, etc… They also made pottery out of clay that required a great amount of heat. Then they used the color from fruits and berries to make designs.

Family Life The Hualapai people lived in houses called Wickiups. Only a few people could live in a normal sized house at

a time. The siblings learned things from their parents, who learned from their parents etc… They all learned from

their ancestors who lived years ago, and that was their culture.

The women made jewelry and weaved baskets. The colors from the jewelry were made from shells, turquois, and the color from fruits, berries, and

flowers, the children helped them gather supplies. The men stayed outside for hours chopping wood,

hunting, making houses, and watching over the villages.

Conclusion The Hualapai people live in a reservation beside the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River heavily forested with Ponderosa Pines. They take shelter in a Wickiup for a short amount of time before migrating again. Hualapai people are hunter/gatherers, so they hunt rabbit and deer in their area. When their not hunting, their gathering food like berries. Hualapai women make crafts like baskets by weaving bendable material. To make pottery, they mold clay into the shape they want and give it a lot of heat.

References Retrieved September 28,2013

http://dictionary.reference.com/ http://hualapai-nsn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AboutHualapaiBooklet.pdfhttp://images.google.com/http://nanact.org/http://wiki.answers.com/