#MyGrandCanyonStory | Isabel Chavez
HECHO spoke with Isabel Chavez of Phoenix, Arizona to learn about her personal connection to the Grand Canyon, her favorite memories there, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.
HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?
Isabel Chavez (IC): As an Arizona native, my connection to the Grand Canyon is exactly that. It's one of the wonders of the world and it's here in my home state. I think a common thread that I used to share with a lot of native Arizonans is that they had never been there. It wasn't a preferred destination, maybe because of the social economics of my neighborhood, that wasn't an option. When I finally went to the Grand Canyon, I was already older. I was three months pregnant with my son and it was a trip we took by chance. My in-laws were in town and they were bored, so it was just like, let's go to the Grand Canyon, and so we did. What I remember about that trip is that a few of the people didn't want to go. They thought it was a waste of time, a big hole in the ground, I'm sure you've heard it before. The moment that they saw it, the look of wonder and expression, what they felt when they saw it. It was totally, I don't want to say worth all the nagging on the drive up there, but it sure did make up for it. Not in a "I told you" so kind of way, but in a "I'm really glad that you feel this way about it, because I feel this way about it too." That's my first connection to the Grand Canyon. We just did the tour along the walkways there. I have a couple of pictures of me standing and sitting on the edge and I'm three months pregnant. I'm thinking now, what was I doing?
HECHO: Why do you believe that the Grand Canyon should be protected?
IC: I believe the Grand Canyon should be protected. From this most recent trip I can attest firsthand the lack of protection, whether it be by the Park Rangers or whomever is in charge of protecting those areas and the people that reside in those areas. I witnessed it the last time I went. I went again, by chance, the kids and I drove up to Flagstaff on New Year's Day. This was the year before last and it was when the government was shut down. So, the parks were not being taken care of, but they were open. We went in and basically went to the same area that I visited the first time I went, but the noted difference was that the garbage cans were overfilled, the bathrooms were locked. They weren't just overfilled with trash, there were broken stroller, a broken ice chest, just all kinds of stuff. It was just piles. Also, there were people getting really close to the edge and, fortunately there were some Rangers that were there volunteering. I asked and she's like, no, we're here on a volunteer basis and that we're protecting the people that were visiting. I didn't witness anything, but people were defacing or taking things that maybe they shouldn't as part of the path that you're able to walk through there. That's one reason why I feel that it needs to be protected and another, it would be such a shame to see something so beautiful, like we've seen in so many different places with our coastal cities and these beautiful islands, they're just destroyed. Their ecological systems are destroyed because of the visitors that are there, the stuff that they bring. The air and the trees will eventually be taken out to accommodate our visiting to make sure that we are comfortable. That's another reason to make sure that restrictions are put in place so that we can continue to enjoy them and not take advantage of them, whether it be for tourism, mining, water, all of that stuff.
HECHO: Why do you advocate for the Grand Canyon?
IC: I advocate for the Grand Canyon I think for the same reason that anybody would advocate for the Grand Canyon or anybody that cared about their surroundings. The air that they breathe and what's going to be left here for their children. We all know that there's very valuable resources in the Grand Canyon that people are dying to explore and to get to for personal interests. But we also know the effects of that type of mining over time. Right now, that's not going to have any effect on us, but in the next 50 years, the water that's running through the Colorado River, what's going to happen to that water? What's going to happen to the water that is being delivered to my grandchildren, great grandchildren, so on and so forth. That's a reason I protect or advocate for the Grand Canyon. We need to respect our lands. Everything is not ours. We're here, just like they say, on borrowed time. We're borrowing these resources and wonders. Just as you would when you're borrowing a car from a friend or a piece of clothing, you would take care of it. You wouldn't use it and destroy it and then give it back. You would take care of it. So, that's how we need to see these resources and everything around us, we're borrowing it for right now and when we give it over to the next person, let's not give them trash.
HECHO: What are your plans for your next visit?
IC: I would like to go visit an area that I haven't visited before. I've always seen the southern part of the Grand Canyon. So, maybe make my way around, over to the north side, which is a bit of a longer trek. That would be fun. I say it now, cause I'm not there, but to be able to walk out on that walkway and maybe even do some rafting or visiting some of the other communities that are around the Grand Canyon. Just seeing how different their way of life is from ours.
HECHO: What tips would you share for people visiting?
IC: Tips that I would share for people that have never visited before is to definitely take, if you have children, some type of snack or picnic lunch. Once you get out of Flagstaff, you have hardly anywhere to stop and it's a good drive, so you want to make sure you're prepared. Take a good jacket and some good shoes. Don't go up there in flip flops. Be ready to explore, don't limit yourself by wearing clothing that doesn't allow for a comfortable walk through the ground or even just through the areas that are set up for walking. There are rocks, there's stickers. Same thing for kids. I wouldn't take little babies just because it's so scary. And then have an open mind, you're there to see and enjoy something that you don't see every day. You may see a clear, beautiful day or you may see nothing, if you go when the clouds are out. I had people tell me, we went to the Grand Canyon and couldn't see anything. But you got to think that's beautiful as well. You're walking in the clouds, practically. So, you know, just be ready to enjoy the beauty and take in the air.
HECHO: What are your thoughts about the administration’s policy aiming to open up the Grand Canyon watershed for uranium mining?
IC: Like I said at the beginning of the conversation, opening up the Grand Canyon for uranium mining would be a very selfish thing on any administration. Because, as we all know, years and years of mining have detrimental effects on its surroundings and one of our main water sources is the Colorado river. How are we going to allow, even the possibility that uranium is going to seep into our water, for the benefit of a few. I can't think of anything specifically that I would benefit from, from uranium mining now. I'm sure you can write a few formulas and eventually I'm going to have plastic, but honestly, I think we have plenty of other ways to source what it is that they're trying to out of our Canyon.
HECHO: Could you complete the following sentence: Protecting the Grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because...
IC: Protecting the Grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because, like I said earlier, we are here on borrowed time. We already are concerned for our resources for our generation and the next generation. It would be very selfish of anyone to do something that is so near a resource that essentially takes care of millions of people, and destroy it. Not knowing what's going to happen in the long run, what's going to be here for my grandchildren and my great grandchildren, and what's going to happen to our environment as a whole. Whatever is going to be released in toxins, released in the air from this mining and come down to the Valley and start affecting all of the citizen's breathing and health issues. I mean, we just don't know. So, that's why it's personal to me. It's going to affect everyone. Whether the uranium miners want to admit it or not, it's all for money. That's top of mind for those people.
Share your own Grand Canyon photo to our story bank project by tagging @hechoonline on Facebook and Instagram using the #MyGrandCanyonStory hashtag to be featured.