We hope you appreciated the stories shared throughout Season 3! To wrap up this season, Meranden and Lakin were interviewed about their experiences while working at Grand Canyon National Park as interns with Arizona Conservation Corps and Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps. They expressed the importance of highlighting Indigenous voices through Grand Canyon Speaks, event planning, and programming at the Park. Take a listen as Meranden and Lakin share behind the scenes at the canyon and enjoy!

[Meranden Numkena]

And then she looked at me and then all of a sudden she started crying and then she hugged me and she's like thank you so much for like doing what you're doing and that was a really big thing.

I was like wow like what I'm doing is really impacting and that youth is very much important to highlight and make sure we're educating them and letting them know how much our culture means to not only us but everybody because they we want people to know we're here and that we're doing stuff to amplify our voices.

[Lakin Epaloose]

When I thought of the NPS I thought of everyone having like kind of like telling you not to do things.

Then they'll be like no don't do that no you can't do that no that's illegal.

But actually it's the opposite like the people of not just the Grand Canyon but also other Parks are working to provide those ways to practice culture on government land because of course like the land is that of the ancestors of all our people.

[Meranden Numkena]

Hello everyone, welcome back to season three of Grand Canyon Speaks. I'm Meranden.

[Lakin Epaloose]

And this is Lakin.

[Meranden Numkena]

We hope you appreciated the stories shared throughout season three. Lakin and I have been producing and managing Grand Canyon Speaks throughout our internship at the canyon however this marks the final episode of this season.

[Lakin Epaloose]

To wrap up season three we have an episode of our own where we share our internship experience with Rangers Dan and Brian. This interview was part of a festival that Meranden and I planned and hosted in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.

[Meranden Numkena]

We appreciate everyone for tuning in to this season as we highlighted indigenous athletes and coaches of the 11 tribes that connect to Grand Canyon.

[Lakin Epaloose]

Take a listen as Meranden and I talk about behind the scenes at the canyon and enjoy.

[Meranden Numkena]

I'm from Tuba City and Moenkopi which is about an hour away from here and I am an intern with Lakin at Desert View and it's been really cool.

I feel like one of the questions will tell why I'm here but yeah really excited to be doing this and share a lot of what we've done because we did a lot of cool stuff so happy you guys are here too and more people come in.

[Lakin Epaloose]

Yeah I'm one of the interns here at Desert View well we are at the village but out at Desert View we do most of our work there our programming our Grand Canyon Speaks podcast editing.

Every now and then we'll come to the village to help out with performances or to work the desk or just to come hang out here but yeah I'm one of the interns I'm from Zuni.

[Ranger Dan]

Alright so this is this podcast has a specific focus and it is about your internship and what you have done in over a year here because you started in August of 2024 in our office and you've seen a couple generations of seasonals in that time frame supervisors even.

So you've been here quite a while but it all starts with one thing and that's an application to do this job and so our first question here is what about this internship made you want to apply for it?

[Lakin Epaloose]

I first found out about the internship through an organization in Zuni called Zuni Youth Enrichment Project. There's a program or an organization in Zuni that provides youth with opportunities to grow closer to their culture and practice their culture in many different ways and so I participated in a hike with them down to Phantom Ranch several years ago and then I kind of kept in close contact with them.

I was an art instructor for them so I taught an apprenticeship for watercolor students and after that I saw that they were sharing the opportunity to come out here as an intern at the Desert View office and it was kind of like a last minute decision it was like the night before the closing of the application and I don't know what came over me I just I just decided to do it but I think it was the best decision I've made in the past five years.

[Ranger Dan]

Very cool, very cool.

[Meranden Numkena]

So mine goes back to my first time coming to the canyon. I went on this trip with Talent Search with Northern Arizona University and they give students a chance to go like prepare for college so basically we went on a trip to Grand Canyon and the first thing we went to was headquarters because that used to be where like the visitor center was and people would go there first.

We parked there and we went to see the canyon for the first time and from that moment I knew I was like okay like when I saw the view I was like okay I want to grow old here and I want to work here so I pretty much worked my way to there to get there.

Another thing is my mom she always prioritized our education so she was like no matter what you guys do because I'm the oldest she's like I want all of you guys to go to college it doesn't matter where as long as you go get your education and when you have your bachelor's at least and then you can do whatever you want you can have a family kids whatever but she said as long as you get your education you can do whatever you want.

So I was like okay I'm going to college and growing up my mom went to ASU Arizona State University so I went there too because it was a really big thing in our family and also I got really homesick so I wanted to choose something that was close.

I knew I was going with the Grand Canyon trip I was going to go into something in that field so I majored in park sports and recreation management at ASU and then I also with that I knew I was going to work at the park.

I just didn't know exactly what the purpose was I knew I wanted to be a ranger like okay work with the public let them know who we are and stuff like that and then I started looking at stuff online and then I came across somebody who works here and I noticed how she was working with tribes that called the Grand Canyon home and that's actually Kelki that's here in front row.

She became a role model to me from that moment I saw her and online saying how the works that she's doing for the tribes and stuff like that so I knew I want to reach out to her and see how she got to where she was so I was able to talk with her and then she's kind of been a mentor there since then this was probably like my sophomore year in college so we kind of just talked back and forth about different opportunities and then she told me about this internship and I was like she's told me like you should apply they're a pretty cool team out in Desert View and I was like okay so same thing with Lakin a little bit, I kind of took a little while because I don't know what I'm going to do after I graduate from college and then I thought about the interview and then I was like okay we might as well just try it you never know like what if it you never know let's just do the interview.

And I did it and honestly it was like the best most perfect thing in the world like we just felt like everything clicked because I was talking with Brian and it's just like everything worked and I felt like I answers the questions like really passionately and I just knew in that moment like this is something that I want to do so and it's been working really good so that's how I heard about this opportunity .

[Ranger Brian]

It has been working really good this has been a pretty amazing year plus I kind of want to backtrack and ask Lakin because he specified that five-year time frame and like if there was a decision five and a half years ago that was better but I'm not going to put him on the spot I'm going to keep going.

You guys have had so many different experiences and done so many different things while you've been here.

I'm wondering like what are the things you're going to take away? What are one of the moments that you won't forget?

[Lakin Epaloose]

I feel like through this opportunity it gave me a greater perspective on how the tribes express their culture and how that's important and when it comes to sustaining their identity because each culture not just ones of the canyon but of Native America have their unique way of expressing who they are where they come from and how they want to cultivate that sense of culture and family.

So growing up in Zuni I knew a lot about Zuni I knew some Hopi but it gave me a better idea of how we can better manage the lands that we all share and lands that we have called home forever and so that that's the number one thing that this internship has provided me with, this a position to develop that knowledge and ways to share that knowledge and stewardship.

But besides that I would say working with youth more; my favorite part of the internship was going on the river and that gave me a lot of motivation to get back on the river and work with youth and provide them cultural knowledge so that they take care of land when they're visiting whether they're indigenous or non-indigenous so yeah.

[Meranden Numkena]

When I went to college I didn't really spend a lot of time at home and I would stay in Phoenix because I didn't have a way to come home. Sometimes it would have to be my mom and with that I felt like I kind of became like they call them a city native or urban native and I didn't really get to connect with my culture as much or go home for ceremonies and things like that.

So through this internship I feel like with being so close to home I'm able to go there go home more and then also the cultural demonstrators being able to talk to a lot of the Hopi ones they have told me like a lot of different things.

There's a lot of them that are really welcoming. I know sometimes some tend to be upset like you don't know what where you come from you don't you spent too much time in the city now you don't know anything but it's like there's people here that have welcomed me and told me like it's okay you can ask these questions there's always going to be some things you don't know you're not going to know everything.

So it's good to that you're asking these questions so I think that was one good thing is that they were welcoming and that made me understand like I need to learn my culture more so with that I've been asking those questions and also just learning about all the other cultures and tribes that have a connection to the canyon and understanding also through our presentations or performers or like what we have today just seeing how they celebrate and share this land.

Another is like the importance of the Havasupai because they're the main ones here that have the canyon as their home like they're the ones who are here and learning about how they're doing dealing with a lot of different stuff like that.

So just really learning about how the tribes connect to the canyon and also me connecting back to my culture.

[Ranger Brian]

Thanks Meranden and thanks Lakin and yeah you guys have gotten the chance to connect on so many different levels with this place and with the river and with youth and with all those different cultural demonstrators and learn so much from all of them. I'm curious if there's something that that you're thinking about from this internship that it taught you about yourself?

[Lakin Epaloose]

I feel like it taught me that we can manage money yeah and that we that we're able to utilize the resources of the National Park Service in a way that benefits not only us as a team but also the communities of those tribal nations.

When I say that I mean like we can bring out artists youth artists like the youth demonstrators we have outside or inside the visitor center we can bring out performers and connect with people not only in our communities but outside of our communities.

Like I was saying connecting with the other cultures and learning more about them and one thing it taught me was just to be just to keep an open mind when it comes to co-managing all of the resources that we share kind of like what I said earlier yeah.

[Meranden Numkena]

Growing up I like I mentioned I'm the oldest so I've always been the one that needs to take control of everything like I need to make sure my siblings are okay they're fed they're paid for like all this stuff and I kind of brought that to here and I've always felt like I need to be in charge or like I need to it has to go my way and that's a like a hard thing to admit but a hard and also a hard thing to understand and like put it through my mind like you're not the one in charge all the time.

There's a whole team that's working here so I think that's one of the biggest ones because I remember talking to Dan about it and he's like I don't know we just talked about it I was like oh yeah that's not good and like we worked through it though like okay you need to make sure you're passing on those certain things to do I guess to other people not just me myself so I think that was a hard thing I had to learn but it's also learning like there's a whole team you need to work together it's not just you and things like that I think it's a hard thing to admit but it was one thing that I really had to work on is like making sure everyone has a piece because that's it's not just me so I think that's probably one of the biggest things I learned.

[Ranger Brian]

Yeah I guess like when you care about something a lot right and you know you've been really invested with the work and when you care about something that much it can be hard to like hand it off to someone else because you feel that responsibility but then I guess when we bring other people in we can do more and so yeah that's awesome lesson.

[Ranger Dan]

So yeah there's a lot of learning going on a lot of perspectives have changed is what you're talking about already but this internship is focused on working with the public working with communities it's very public facing and this right now is actually your last biggest event that is public facing as well which is really cool and so I have a question here of how is your view of working in public service changed or working with the NPS changed throughout your internship if so like how is it how has it changed?

[Lakin Epaloose]

I realize that you'll get a lot of the same questions they'll ask you where the restroom's at but besides that we have an opportunity here to share our voice and our authentic perspective and I think that through that we can provide an authentic representation of our people.

When I thought of the NPS I thought of everyone having like kind of like telling you not to do things when they say that I mean like you have the NPS people here and the tribal people here and like tribal people tribal nations and people of those nations want to practice their culture on government land and then they'll be like no don't do that no you can't do that no that's illegal but actually it's the opposite.

Like the people of not just the Grand Canyon but also other parks are working to provide those ways to practice their culture on government land because of course like the land is that of the ancestors of all our people.

[Meranden Numkena]

I think it helped me fulfill the dream of being a park ranger like when I knew I want to come here I can I can easily say I accomplished the goal I had the moment I saw the canyon for the first time of being able to be that person in green and gray and talk to people and answer questions and a lot of them are repetitive but one thing that I learned too is that like a lot of questions are crazy to hear especially about us.

Like they're like it's just like movies where's the teepees where's the indians where's this and that and it's like it's funny I kind of laugh at it because I'm just like what's going on like why are we saying this but I mean that's just how people are seeing us without like us actually saying things they see the stereotypical stuff and that's really what drives me to keep doing this kind of stuff so people know how we actually live.

Like some people think we live outside still or we don't have cars or anything and I'm like I'm right here like I have a car I have a place to live and stuff like that and like we go to school so that's one thing I learned is how important our interpretation is whether it's about us or even just taking care of the canyon itself.

It's really really important and yeah that's one thing I really thought about is how other people think about us or talk about us and how important our presence is here behind the desk talking to people and saying like hey you're saying the wrong things let's correct it or let me show you this kind of information and teach you what's the correct way I guess.

[Ranger Brian]

Thanks Meranden. I think you guys both like I think you both really touched on a lot of the core of the work at Desert View which is bringing that authenticity and bringing those actual first voices directly to the visitor to give them the opportunity to learn to learn about things that they don't know and cultures that they don't know you know that's really the heart of the work that we do at Desert View and I feel like you've already kind of spoken to this question in this last answer but I'll give you the opportunity to kind of add to it is just you know.

What are some of the ways that you were able to bring your culture into the workplace into the agency or to the visitors?

[Lakin Epaloose]

I was able to do that through a lot of the programming that we did during the summer and I think that was of my one of the things I enjoyed the most was sharing that information and a lot of what I talked about was the elements of nature and how we connect to them through our Zuni culture how we identify them and why that's important for sustaining the values that create the foundation for our families back home.

And one example is like I would talk about the migration story of Zuni and how it originates in the Grand Canyon at Ribbon Falls and how that's connected to a lot of the ancestral sites throughout the southwest particularly the Four Corners states and how we carry that in our in our everyday lives whether it's through our art our agriculture our ceremonies like our dances all that is still carried on as it was a long time ago.

Programming like that I feel like that was one way I was able to educate people from my Zuni perspective and I think one cool program that I had was I'm talking about different birds and hunting because hunting is like a huge tradition for Zuni and so when we hunt we can hunt birds and a lot of the birds have different meanings some being like a moisture and water others being for like directions or strength.

And I'll like make bird calls like I can do a flicker.

Like so you hear flickers like that out in the forest but yeah it was cool like providing programs like that and getting reactions like that from people and just showing like that we still carry these traditions yeah.

[Meranden Numkena]

I would say a lot of it is just also I forgot to touch on this one is also what the culture demonstrators they taught me a lot of stuff about the canyon that I wasn't sure about or I yeah like I had questions about it but like one important thing is that I like to tell people although I live here at the canyon I can't actually go in it on my Hopi side because it can affect certain things for me.

So that was like a really important thing for me to learn and I feel like just telling them all these different things of how we need to respect each other and like sometimes there's been questions where it's a little too touchy so I make sure like hey you can ask certain things but not too far also like that's a big thing is just showing that respect if you're going to talk to us like be respectful of what you're asking because sometimes it can go a little further and I have people who like try to go deeper.

I'm like okay just hold on but yeah just making sure that respect is there and then also like I said like interpreting our culture into our programs so like sometimes I only did one pop-up and that was about like the snow we got.

So I would tell them like certain words in Hopi of what things were so that was cool to share with them and have them pronounce it so they know what it means and it was cool to have like different questions they ask me and they're actually interested in learning about who I am as a person..

[Ranger Dan]

What I'm hearing is there's a lot of education with the public but a lot of education for yourselves as well that you've gained in your time frame here and a lot of pride as well that I think both of you have started with but then also really expanded upon on with your work and we can see it especially towards the end here of what this means to you and I would like to like to ask about this internship it's a focus on indigenous voices and raising those voices inside the park.

Do you feel you have made an impact for indigenous voices here at the canyon?

[Lakin Epaloose]

Yeah I feel like we definitely have and one specific group that I would like to focus on is the youth because of course they’re the future of our communities and our indigenous community as a whole.

Doing youth-based programming like not just this year but last year we had a youth art gallery that was one way we were able to amplify the voices of the youth through their art. Other ways were of course like the Grand Canyon Speaks we were able to highlight athletes in our native communities and the reason why we did that is athletes and athletics has a huge influence on the children of our nations.

[Meranden Numkena]

I'd say yes as well that we've made a big impact the podcast that one's been really cool to highlight indigenous voices and then they can share it on social media and everyone else hears it that way as well.

Another really cool one was what that trip I went on to Grand Canyon was with Talent Search and then that was like 2016 I think and it was really cool because this year that same trip happened again so I got to talk to the kids who went on the trip I went on and I was able to talk to them about like how I got here my kind of like my story of how I worked my way from that dream to being here now and after that I talked to them.

I told them about who I was and where I'm from and making sure I told them a lot of like like certain places because they were Hopi primarily Hopi and Navajo students so I was able to talk to them about certain words or they had questions about where I was from and after I was done talking with them they had the chance to look around at the Desert View Watchtower.

So we had them look around and then one Hopi girl came up to me and she was just saying like it's really cool that you work here and like I think one of my you might know one of my uncles he's a demonstrator and I was like oh yeah they've been here at the bottom of the tower and I've been able to talk to them and she's like yeah that's really cool.

Athen she looked at me and then all of a sudden she started crying and then she hugged me and she's like thank you so much for like doing what you're doing and that was a really big thing I was like wow like that's what I'm doing is really impacting and that youth is very much important to highlight and make sure we're educating them and letting them know how much our culture means to not only us but everybody because they we want people to know we're here and that we're doing stuff to amplify our voices so that was a really big thing of like knowing okay they're listening to me and the work I'm doing is important yeah.

[Ranger Brian]

The work that you both have done has been really impactful and you know you've taken on big projects and lots of responsibilities like you know Lakin and you mentioned managing money right you know for I think you guys managed about twenty thousand dollars for us thirty thousand dollars for a whole bunch of different events like that's a lot of responsibility in addition to all the logistics and things like that you know as you took on all these projects and accomplished all these things.

What's one of what's one of the skills that you developed in the internship that you'll be taking away with you?

[Lakin Epaloose]

Working under on dance supervision has helped me kind of learn how to work with a team more effectively because kind of similar to Meranden’s experience I was used to working by myself on a lot of projects whether it was like my art or things that I did in school and just to give people context I kind of came out of high school before I came into this internship even though the preferred qualifications was like a four-year degree but I was very passionate about the work I was doing and so that kind of led me into this position when I was like 19-20 and when I first came here I couldn't really drive a car because I wasn't old enough yet to be on the insurance.

But anyway working with a team and being able to put up events like this not just the interview we're having today but the entire festival and learning to work with Meranden and because me and Meranden were able to share ideas and develop those ideas as time went on and that happened right when we got here.

And right when we had our conversation with our supervisor at the time her name is Melissa Panter she was here a couple months before she left but yeah I think working with Meranden taught me a lot of how you can collaborate on big projects and have a greater outcome than you thought was possible and I feel like I can take that into the future when it comes to like projects as an artist so like fashion shows fashion design and collections things like that I feel like that's one way I can utilize that skill in a different field.

[Meranden Numkena]

I think the big thing is like working with us a team but another thing is just communication overall especially working with other tribes because I know even though we have 11 sometimes it's hard to get communicate to communicate to other ones and it's good if we have a good relationship with them.

So over the years we've been able to work with a lot of different I think I would say like at least five or six different tribes that call the canyon home but we are still trying to work with a bunch of others and just learning how to connect with them I know one big thing that kind of stopped us from doing that is outreach.

We couldn't travel so I feel like being able to connect with those tribes and also as a tribal member myself I would really like to see like the parks go to the to the reservations or wherever they're at to do a face-to-face kind of conversation so they know that we really want to work with them so I think that communication is really important.

And also like back what I said about working as a team it was really hard to work independent or really hard not to work independently and give things to other people to work on but being able to just talk it out and understand like we have a whole team.

You're not going to have to stress out over everything yourself like there's other people who want to help you and will make it easier so communication and working as a team are probably the biggest skills I'll take with me.

[Ranger Dan]

Those are very valuable skills that both of you have come across and yeah handling money is a big one too and like you've learned so much about this internship and what goes along with it you were you've been exposed to things that you never thought you would be learning about or be experiencing in this internship because we've had so much time we could do so many things and hopefully there's someone listening to this podcast who is in your shoes but over a year ago and they're trying to look for something to do.

And maybe they will apply for an Ancestral Lands internship with the park and if they do what kind of advice do you have for those future interns here at Grand Canyon?

[Lakin Epaloose]

Be prepared for no phone signal. We have bad cell service at Desert View and sometimes I try to like call people like or I'll try to call like Meranden and I can't the phone just goes dead.

So be prepared to kind of live a secluded life but also to be mindful. It gives you time to reflect. That seclusion gives you time to be by yourself and to reflect on your life where it's going and if you're stepping into an internship similar to ours understand that this is just like a big step to whatever's coming next so whether it's like becoming a ranger here at Grand Canyon or a different park or if it's like taking a step into a different aspiration you'll learn a lot and pick up a lot here at the park.

If you're going to be working here and also don't forget to go outside and like go for runs or hikes because I feel like that's one of the most special parts of living here is being outside.

[Meranden Numkena]

I think mine's pretty similar but if you're going to work with this exact team, Dan eats a lot of carrots so be ready for a lot of chewing of carrots also hot cheetos if you like hot cheetos we have a lot of snacks there so have a good have one good snack you're going to choose because we get that.

Yeah I think mine is also making sure you go outside because that's what me and Lakin ended up doing. We did a, me Lakin and Brian did a half marathon a couple weeks ago here at Grand Canyon so that was a really big accomplishment and we ran that so that was a cool thing to learn how to run in this higher elevation.

Also being careful of like your footing because those trails are really not like they're uneven so just learning that is really cool.

Also being on the watch for a lot of elk I've seen a lot of crazy things this is also to all of you guys, do not approach the elk so closely.

I’ve literally have seen someone like pet one and I was like that's really scary so yeah I think it's just also the animals don't touch them.

[Ranger Brian]

So our last question is kind of a good follow-up to what you're talking about with getting out and experiencing nature but before I ask you that question I want to just sort of like wrap this up about the internship and all the work you've done and I just want to take the opportunity that we have here in front of a group to really say thank you to both of you and to acknowledge all the work that you've done.

You've been here for over a year and the amount of work that you've accomplished the amount of good that you've done for the traditionally associated tribes as well as the park and the visitors is really an impressive list of things and accomplishments.

It's something that I hope you're both really proud of something that I'm really grateful to both of you for so I just want to say thank you.

So the last question that I have for you is about that idea of getting out connecting with nature experiencing the place using all of your senses to connect.

And so my question for you is what is a sound that you experience that you won't forget

[Lakin Epaloose]

I would say there's two I don't want to take one from Meranden and so I think I know which one you're going to talk about.

But my first one is when we went on a bird count for the Christmas bird count last year. We got to this point between Desert View and the village and we're kind of looking down into the canyon and I heard these birds and I was surprised to hear them but they're the Clark's nutcracker and in Zuni they're called Lohaya Bo’ya.

I was really surprised to hear those nutcrackers and they're if you can imagine them they're gray and they have a black wing and they're flying into the canyon and I've never seen that before.

I only see them like in high elevation forests so hearing them was my favorite noise.

I'm just going to take the other one.

When we went on the hike last month or I think it was last month or two months ago with the Desert View team we hiked into this canyon and we were hiking back out after like five miles and me and Dan were kind of.

No all of us were taking a rest under this little shade shaded area and then we heard this weird noise and then we got quiet and that was like meowing and then hissing and then a loud growl and all that at the same time and we looked kind of or we kind of waited and then we knew that it was a mountain lion and it was about a mile away and we're all like very excited and then well we were walking closer to the mountain lion because it was between us and our right and we're getting closer and it wouldn't stop.

And then I was like joking with the Meranden and I was like don't move and then I stepped and I stepped on this branch and it cracked and it made a loud crack and then we were laughing really hard but yeah I feel like that those two noises were pretty cool.

[Meranden Numkena]

He said we were excited to see it.

Me and Kelli were so scared because I'd never heard anything like that that was really cool but it was scary because we did it it was a long hike and pretty cool.

One time so with our ALCC we have or Ancestral Lands we have to have a monthly meeting with our site supervisor with ALCC so we were about to get ready for it and we usually I usually do mine on my computer and we share a webcam and one day we were going to I was going to I think we were going to do it together actually we were going go on a call and her name's Teiyanknei.

We're going to call Teiyanknei and I had it up on my computer and somehow the cord got like stuck on his big like computer thing and like it fell and it was really loud and like the whole like computer the computer itself I guess it like it really made it made a really loud sound and like we had to be on the call with Teiyanknei and I was trying to be serious.

And yeah it was a really loud sound and I was trying so hard not to laugh but like and I was trying to pick it up and thankfully the computer was okay but like we were worried about it and I was trying so hard not to laugh but that's probably one I thought of that's really funny

[Ranger Dan]

Thanks for sharing and that.

I got to say that mountain lion day that was that was a lot of fun yeah because we all heard it and then a bunch of us look at each other and we go “let's go find it let's go see this cat”.”

We did not see the cat but I think it really kind of encompasses memories in that last part and you have two months left here and we got a lot to do and it's hard to think about that the time is coming to an end and we've done so much in this time frame and so to kind of reiterate Brian it's been amazing having you both here and as you know I didn't really want to supervise anybody at any point in this part of my career but working with both of you for the few months before Melissa left I was like yeah I can I can supervise Lakin and Meranden.

Because you're doing so well and so much that you just needed a little bit of guidance honestly but you also helped me to learn how to supervise people and build new qualities that I can bring into the future with more people that work at Desert View as well so there's been a lot of teaching like for both of you to learn the NPS because it's a hard system to learn but that teaching has also come back to us especially me in the office as well so it's been amazing and we're really happy to do this Grand Canyon Speaks with you who knows if we need another part two Grand Canyon Speaks to continue conversation because I feel we could talk for an hour and a half so I want to thank you for this day this whole internship as well so thank you very much.

[Ranger Jonah]

Grand Canyon Speaks is a program hosted by Grand Canyon National Park and the Grand Canyon Conservancy. A special thanks to Aaron White for the theme music. This recording reflects the personal lived experiences of tribal members and do not encompass the views of their tribal nation or that of the National Park.

To learn more about Grand Canyon First Voices visit www.nps.gov/grca. Here at Grand Canyon National Park we are on the ancestral homelands of the 11 associated tribes of the Grand Canyon. These being the Havasupai tribe, the Hualapai tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Hopi tribe, the Pueblo of Zuni, the Yavapai Apache Nation, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Las Vegas Paiute tribe, the Moapa Band of Paiutes, the Paiute Indian tribe of Utah, and the San Juan Southern Paiute tribe.