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HUALAPAI INDIAN RESERVATION, Ariz. - Buzz Aldrin - a retired astronaut who is used to taking historic first steps in desolate terrain - took the ceremonial walk to open Grand Canyon West's glass-bottomed Skywalk bridge Tuesday.
During his famed 1969 moon walk, he was the second man to descend from a state-of-the-art lunar lander onto a dusty landscape. This time around, Aldrin stepped across desert terrain onto another feat of engineering, a $30 million structure that juts 70 feet over the Grand Canyon's edge.
Aldrin, speaking on the bridge while standing next to other dignitaries, said the Skywalk offers "a future of hope" for the Hualapai people.
Unlike the moon, which hasn't seen a visitor in decades, the Hualapai Nation is betting thousands will follow in Aldrin's footsteps at Grand Canyon West.
John Herrington, the first American Indian astronaut to fly in space, took the ceremonial first steps from the other end of the U-shaped Skywalk.
"This represents the future of the children of the Hualapai Nation," said Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw tribe.
Tribal members have high hopes for the drawing power of the structure, which allows visitors to peer down 4,000 feet to the bottom of the Grand Canyon,
Robert Bravo, an official with Grand Canyon West, said this is a way for the 1,500-member Hualapai Tribe to free itself from government aid.
"For hundreds of years, we've had empty promises made" to us, Bravo said from the bridge. "This monument marks our effort to become self determined."
While most tribe members have voiced support for the venture, some of the older tribal members needed some persuading, said Elson Bender, a Hualapai.
Tourism and government provide most of the jobs for the tribe, so members hope this new attraction will bring even more tourists. The tribe is planning to add lodging at Grand Canyon West.
Grand Canyon West, about three hours southeast of Las Vegas, is a year-round destination that includes the Skywalk, an Indian village, a cowboy frontier town and several view points. A strut on the Skywalk will cost $25 a person, in addition to other visitation fees.
The million-pound, horseshoe-shaped bridge, which included steel from Utah's Mark Steel, has a glass bottom as well as glass walls. A beige-colored base structure supports the bridge. From a distance, it resembles a diving board perched over the seriously deep end.
The project is a joint venture between Las Vegas investor David Jin and the tribe. It is unclear how the business deal is structured, and Jin did not comment on the deal.
Steve Beattie, chief financial officer for the Grand Canyon Resort Corp., said, "David will profit from the Skywalk for the next 25 years."
After that point, it is unclear whether the bridge becomes the property of the tribe.
Jin, who brings Asian tour groups to Grand Canyon West, thought of the idea while on a helicopter ride over the canyon in 1996, he said.
More than a decade later, Jin and his family walked on the Skywalk. Most of the support system will eventually be hidden from public view, as a series of 96 piles are distributed among eight box beams that run 40 feet into the ground.
The bridge is designed to withstand earthquakes that may strike the area as well as winds up to 100 mph, said Bill Karren, the project's engineer.
The tribe has had to deal with questions of whether this is a defacement of the canyon or sacred ground.
Tribal leaders say the project has been handled in a responsible manner with minimum impact to the surrounding area.
"The [economic] benefits far outweigh the concerns I have for the environment," said Charlie Vaughn, tribal chairman.
Bender does not see Skywalk as being any more destructive than what the National Park Service has done over the years. The North and South rims of the Grand Canyon have structures near the edge too.
"It's no different with Skywalk," he said.
The tribe, which has about 1,500 members, controls about 1 million acres in northwest Arizona. Grand Canyon West, along with other parts of the million-acre reservation, must have water and other supplies trucked in.
Sharon Wakayuta, who performed a ceremonial dance as part of the opening festivities, said this is a place for tribal members to reconnect with their ancestors who once lived here.
"As a Hualapai, I felt the ancestors were watching us as we walked on the glass [platform]," Wakayuta said.
Sherie Yellowhawk, a Hualapai who is the chief executive officer of Grand Canyon Resort Corp., said "when you get on the Skywalk, you will see why we put it in this location."