Grand Canyon Trust Inc

Native america:gct's native american program focuses on giving native people a voice and role in the protection of the colorado plateau. We do this by facilitating dialogue among the eleven native american tribes that have resided across this landscape for thousands of years, and who now control the future of some 30,000 square miles of this region. The heart of this work is the inter-tribal gatherings process, which brings together colorado plateau tribes to collaborate on addressing environmental challenges and cultural preservation. Gct has facilitated more than a dozen gatherings over the past nine years. The trust's native america program has been organizing the colorado plateau intertribal conversation (cpic) initiative in an effort to reestablish conversations between tribal nations across the colorado plateau since 2009. Today's cpic gathering group prioritizes traditional knowledge-based solutions, building community, and cultivating long term cooperative networks amongst tribes. In years past, this traditional knowledge has allowed tribes to overcome periods of drought and extreme weather. Today, it forms the foundation for tribes' adaptation strategies on the colorado plateau. Cpic members are working with kerley valley community farmers to employ navajo and hopi tribal knowledge to assist farmers with traditional agricultural instructions. Farmers are utilizing these instructions and planting techniques to shift their planting seasons, watering patterns, and harvest timing to fit changing conditions. These techniques are found in stories, songs, and ceremonies and tell of natural timing systems such as animal migration patterns, and plant morphology which serve as indicators to track when planting, watering, and harvesting should occur.in december 2024, the grand canyon trust hosted a cpic gathering in isleta, new mexico. More than 120 individuals representing 15 tribes across the plateau and beyond participated in sessions focused on water, food sovereignty, and establishing initiatives to better protect natural resources.another intertribal group organized by the grand canyon program, the intertribal centennial conversations group, has been convening since 2018 around the 100th anniversary of grand canyon national park. The group now meets three times a year in person in flagstaff, including in 2024, to establish solutions to native-led education, economic paradigms, and stewardship in the grand canyon.the emergence network resulted from the 2022 and 2023 emergence intertribal economic summits aimed at creating meaningful opportunities for native entrepreneurs and business owners to engage in grand canyon national park's tourism industry. In october 2024, 10 advisory members from four tribes gathered in zuni, new mexico, to build on the summits' prior momentum. Participants identified specific goals for improved economic engagement in the coming year, including resource-sharing amongst native business owners and plans for an indigenous entrepreneur expo in grand canyon national park.change labs (formerly the native american business incubator network) has been focused on nurturing thriving native american entrepreneurship since 2014. Although change labs became an independent 501(c)(3) organization in 2019, the trust continues to help ensure its future success by providing staff resources and other support where necessary. Our shared goal is to increase the number of successful new and local native-owned businesses across the plateau by a minimum of ten businesses per year. In 2020, gct decided to prioritize supporting hopi and din communities to develop regenerative economic projects. The trust facilitated a series of remote meetings with community members to begin prioritizing ecologically sustainable economic ideas for the region.

Volunteer and leadership programs: gct's volunteer program is building a constituency of advocates and stewards of public and native american lands on the colorado plateau. Hands-on restoration and conservation work builds connections between people and the land and inspires lifelong commitments to conservation. In 2024, over 250 people collectively contributed nearly 2,000 hours to restoration and research projects across the colorado plateau. This includes 30 volunteers who built or repaired 13 erosion control structures within two priority watersheds in the coconino national forest, and saw beavers return to areas we had previously worked on.from internships to leadership training, the grand canyon trust's rising leaders program mobilizes young people across the colorado plateau to take action on environmental and social issues. Highlights from 2024 include the third annual grand canyon regional intertribal intergenerational stewardship expedition (riise) down the colorado river with 16 native youth and a 10-day intensive leadership workshop, called leadershift, focused on a just transition for navajo and hopi communities. Five interns brought creativity and capacity to the trust's rising leaders, landscape protection, grazing research, and volunteer engagement work.

Energy:in addition to our work supporting the grand canyon tribes following the baaj nwaavjo i'tah kukveni national monument designation, we also continued our support for the havasupai tribe in monitoring and responding to the pinyon plain uranium mine (formerly canyon mine).

Other program services:the grand canyon trust's volunteer program activates our members' energy around restoration, protection, and stewardship of the lands of the colorado plateau. The hands-on conservation work of 2024 enabled connections between the people and the land that inspire lifelong commitments to conservation. During 2024, the volunteer program coordinated and led 15 projects throughout northern arizona and southern utah. Volunteers removed invasive species, planted native seeds, restored degraded stream beds, built wildlife-friendly fences around fragile wetlands and grasslands, and monitored declining pinyon jay populations. Approximately 250 people collectively contributed 2,280 hours to restoration and research projects across the colorado plateau.