I saw on CNN this morning that the Hualapai Indian tribe(wiki) is getting ready to open what they hope will be their ticket out of reservation poverty. The Skywalk is a massive steel and glass horizontal arch that lets people walk out over the edge of the Grand Canyon and look down some 4,000 feet to the canyon floor. The tribe has bet the proverbial farm on this in hopes that the tourist draw from near by Las Vegas will give them a much needed boost to their economy. The fees from the Skywalk(wiki) attraction ($25US) and a tribal heritage center ($50US) will give the 2,200 members of the tribe a better standard of living.
However, this have been met with criticism from some environmentalists stating that the increased traffic will put an undo burden on the local environment. Also some members of the tribe have voiced concerns that near by burial sites will be damaged.
One mans cultural awareness center is another mans tourist trap. It all depends on what side of the dollar you’re on. I wish them the best of luck with this endeavor and I hope that the entire tribe and the other people involved will not over develop the land around Skywalk and degrade the attraction to the point that no one wants to see it any more.