Opinion

Editorial: Hualapai Tribe's fight threatens all Indian businesses





"The Hualapai Tribe near the Grand Canyon is enmeshed in a controversy that many tribal leaders fear could impede all that progress toward real sovereign self-reliance.

Briefly, the Hualapais have been coming out on the losing end of a high-profile contract squabble: The tribe used eminent domain to take control of its popular Grand Canyon Skywalk attraction from Las Vegas-based developer David Jin. A federal judge ordered the tribe to give the project’s revenue back.

The Skywalk controversy has built into the very sort of ugly, trust-deflating debacle that economic-development-minded tribal leaders seek to avoid.

U.S. District Judge David Campbell on Feb. 11 upheld an earlier arbitration hearing that found the tribe owed Jin more than $28million in ticket revenue — an amount Jin’s lawyers believe could mushroom to 10 times that figure."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Hualapais not helping (The Arizona Republic 2/20)

Related Stories:
Hualapai Tribe weighs next step in battle with former partner (2/19)
Judge tells Hualapai Tribe to pay $28.5M in business dispute (2/12)
9th Circuit to hear case over Hualapai Tribe's Skywalk business (10/19)
Sherry Counts: Hualapai Tribe can manage business on its own (10/5)
Developer goes back to federal court in Hualapai Tribe feud (9/17)
Hualapai Tribe disputes $28M award in Grand Canyon Skywalk (08/27)

Join the Conversation