Grand Canyon's Desert View Watchtower May Be Converted To Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site

Above, the Desert View Watchtower at Grand Canyon National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Desert View Watchtower at Grand Canyon National Park is on the far east end of the park. Many visitors don't go that far and the tower is under-utilized (I last visited the Watchtower in 2016).

All that may change if a plan that is being talked about is implemented.

According to the Grand Canyon News:

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — Located at the southeast edge of Grand Canyon National Park, the Desert View Watchtower rises high above the Colorado River — for many, it’s the first glimpse they get of the park. It’s also an area of great cultural significance, and as such, the National Park Service is planning a facelift for the area. 

Desert View Watchtower is, of course, on the National Register of Historic Places, but it’s a deceptively young building in relation to many other structures within the park. Designed by architect Mary Coulter, who had a knack for making the new look old, it was painstakingly built to resemble many Native American structures Coulter came across in her Southwestern travels. 

Hopi artist Fred Kabotie painted murals that still adorn the walls inside the tower — Coulter created the tower to serve as not just architectural eye candy, but to give visitors an experience. 

An experience that connects them to the Native people who lived on and revered the land for hundreds of years. 

It’s this experience that the National Park Service (NPS), along with the Intertribal Advisory Council and the 11 traditionally-associated tribes, hopes to improve by embarking on the Desert View Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site plan. The plan calls for transforming Desert View from a traditional scenic overlook and visitor services area into an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site that provides opportunities for first-voice cultural interpretation from associated American Indian Tribes —including cultural demonstrations — and enhances visitor orientation to both the cultural significance of the site and greater park, as well as information about tourism opportunities on surrounding tribal lands.

To read more, go here.