Construction began in April 2005.David Jin, a Las Vegas developer, came up with the idea for the Skywalk a decade ago. He approached the Hualapai in 1996 with a plan to build it using his own money.
The tribe agreed on the condition that it will own the walkway. Jin will get a cut of the profits.
As it was being built this year, some Hualapai elders said they began to question the wisdom of the project. The tribe considers the canyon sacred ground, and the construction cut into land scattered with Hualapai burial sites.
"You have to be real gentle with the land," said Hualapai spiritual leader Frank Mapatis. "It's a living being, and it can feel those things."
Environmentalists also have criticized the project for diminishing the canyon's majesty.
Kieran Suckling, a policy analyst for the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz., called the Skywalk a "tacky tourist attraction."
If the Hualapais need to boost their economy, they should follow the national park's example and build their attractions away from the rim.
"The tribal leadership is turning the Grand Canyon into a zoo," Suckling said. "It's unbelievable."
