One of America’s most remote Native American tribes lies deep within the Grand Canyon, the Havasupai Tribe. The reservation’s remoteness creates obstacles for the residents living on the land, yet the land serves tribal members with nourishment and growth. For centuries, a hidden limestone aquifer located above the village runs bright blue waters that nourish the land with corn, squash and beans.
The Havasupai Elementary School serves around 70 children from the tribe and needed a new playset; their existing playground was small and outdated. The Tepa Companies was contracted to provide the school with new playground equipment, play structures, a canopy shade and ground cover to update the elementary grounds.
“From the beginning, the project presented obstacles; the reservation is only accessible by helicopter, horseback or an 8-mile hike by foot. The project also had an accelerated completion date of 14 days,” Scott Amhaus, Senior Project Manager for the Tepa Companies, said. “However, our team was eager to impact the Havasupai community positively.”
The project began with a celebration ceremony held by the Havasupai Tribe. Once the ceremony ended, the work started. Tepa workers removed the existing chain link fence and play structure while hauling material and equipment in and out of the canyon by helicopter throughout the project. The team also coordinated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and was supplied with four-wheelers to aid in completing the project.
The construction team finished the playground update in 14 days, allowing the children to play and enjoy their new playground as soon as possible.
“This project was special because it was about one tribe helping another tribe,” Scott said. “Seeing the children’s excitement when they saw their new playground energizes the team to continue doing projects like this.”
Havasupai Elementary School playground before the renovation.
New playground installed by the Tepa Companies construction team.
