Description
Hualapai is pronounced "wah-lah-pie." The spelling Hualapai comes from Spanish, which has no letter "w," and the spelling Walapai comes from English. Both are used today, although the tribe officially uses the spelling Hualapai. This name means "people of the pines" in their own language. The Walapai origin myth places the creation of all the Yuman groups at a place on the west bank of the Colorado River, where the Great Spirit transformed the canes along the river's edge into humans.
Language
Havasupai–Hualapai belongs to the Pai branch of the Yuman–Cochimí language family
Culture
For centuries the plants, animals, and landscape of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River provided the Hualapai with food, medicine, and shelter. The Hualapai moved seasonally in small groups, following wild plants as they ripened and preserving some of them to use in the winter. They returned to their villages frequently to tend gardens, and also hunted antelope, mountain sheep, and smaller game. They built small rock diversion dams in creeks to irrigate their gardens. In winter they camped in familiar locations in larger groups.