Historic Voyage
Separated By Time, Space and Other Surmountable Boundaries, Pai People Still Find Much In Common

Text and photos by Michael Wilken

June, 2001 - Seeking to retrace their ancestors’ steps, eight native Baja Californians set out on an amazing journey that would take them from their high desert home in the mountains of Mexico to a remote village deep in the Grand Canyon. Their destination: the village oasis of Supai where members of the Havasupai, Hualapai, Yavapai and Paipai tribes would all come together for the Gathering of the Pai People.

As the Paipai and Tipai travelers descended from Baja California’s Sierra Juarez to the Laguna Salada desert, they watched for the distant mountain passes and rock formations marking the ancient trails trod by their ancestors on their way to the great desert plain where the Colorado River meets the Gulf of California. Paipai artisan Teresa Castro remembered making the trek as a child with her family to work in the cotton harvest on the Mexicali Plain. Erlinda Ramirez, wife of Paipai Chief Margarito Castro, waved at the old house where she had grown up and the cotton fields where she had met her future husband. In those days the Paipai often camped near the Cucapá Indian town of El Mayor, strengthening bonds with this community where many friends and relatives still live.

On this summer solstice, the longest day of the year, their journey followed the course of the Colorado River, across endless blazing deserts that continued to sizzle long after night fell. As the van sped onward, Paipai artisan Raul Sandoval remembered that not long ago, their ancestors must have made the trip on foot. Reflecting on the difficulties of such an arduous journey, Paipai potters Celia and Tirsa Flores agreed that in the past people were much stronger and more accustomed to enduring physical challenges. How long ago the ancestors first traveled across this land to the peninsula no one yet knows, but the commonalities of language, culture and even physical characteristics leave little doubt that the Paipai share ancient ties of culture with the Arizona Pai groups. Perhaps this trip would shed more light on the unfolding mystery.  

After midnight the group finally reached the Hualapai community of Peach Springs, where they would rest at the elegant new Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs on old Route 66. Early the next day the travelers drove to Hualapai Hilltop, following the  road to its end on the edge of the Grand Canyon. From this point, where the deep gorge of Havasu Canyon drops down from the high desert mesa, visitors either walk, ride horseback or take a helicopter ten miles to the village of Supai. Courtesy of the Arizona Pai groups, the Baja California Pais experienced a thrilling helicopter ride for the first time in their lives. Paipai elder Josefina Ochurte was one of the first to fly and fearlessly enjoyed the spectacular scenery as the helicopter maneuvered its way between massive canyon walls to the Supai community. "I wasn’t scared, not me!" she assured the rest of the group.

The usually quiet town was bustling with activity as people continued to arrive all day long  by helicopter, horse and on foot. Old friends from previous gatherings and many new friends greeted the native Baja Californians, anxious to see them and hear them speak. Others were busy in the ceremonial center, a clearing in the middle of the village at the base of a towering red rock wall where  shade ramadas, a pit for firing agave, a traditional round house, an outdoor kitchen and bonfire circles had been prepared. Before long meals were being served up to hungry guests, singers and dancers from every direction (including Tipai Juan Bernardo Madrid of La Huerta) were filling the air with traditional gourd songs and colorful dances. At sunset, the Havasupai Guardians of the Canyon blessed the grounds with a ceremonial dance evoking the spirit of the bighorn sheep.

The following day the festivities continued with more singing, dancing, food, traditional games, a ceremony honoring Pai women and much cultural exchange. The Baja Californians displayed their traditional pottery, basketry, bows and arrows, fiber cordage, dolls and other handcrafts. Participants enjoyed sweet and juicy agave prepared by members of the Hualapai tribe and comparednotes on roasting techniques. Throughout it all, the various Pai languages were shared and compared, reaffirming the common heritage of the Pai peoples in spite of the great distances and hundreds of years of separation that had come between them.

"This gathering was a long time in coming," affirmed Havasupai medicine man Jimmy Uqualla, "the ancient ones knew this time would come and it is a great blessing that all the Pai people are once again coming together."

All too soon it was time to leave Supai, so the three Pai cowboys decided to ride horses back up to Hualapai Hilltop while the rest of the groupreturned by helicopter. On the long drive back to Baja California, the group had time to reflect on the many unforgettable moments they had experienced in what seemed like a dream. "I could understand much of the language of the other Pai Peoples," commented Teresa Castro, "and I could tell that they are Indians like us, but I wonder if we’ll ever know how we ended up so far apart." That mystery continues to unfold, and in the meantime the ancient ties between the Paipai and their northern Pai relatives has been strengthened thanks to all who helped organize and carry out this extraordinary gathering.