Navajo Nation lawmakers vote on Grand Canyon Tram project

A project involving a tram that would take people to the bottom of the Grand Canyon has been a controversial project that that has been talked about for years.

On Tuesday, Navajo lawmakers voted on the idea, for the first time.

Some tribal members support the idea, believing it will help the tribes financially. Others, however, like Renae Yellowhorse, are passionately opposed.

"It's very disrespectful to my family, my relatives, my ancestors, for 10,000 people to go down to sacred space," said Yellowstone, in a phone interview.

Meanwhile, some people on the streets of Phoenix think the tram would take away from the beauty of the canyon.

"Part of the beauty is the work to get down to it, yeah, and you bring that many people in, you're going to have more money on preserving the land. That's way too much traffic at one time," said one person.

"I think it would be pretty cool to have a tram," said another person. "I think you need to keep up with modern technology, and the way things are."

Yellowhorse said the developer's promise of jobs and prosperity for the tribes made her even more suspicious of the project.

"You don't just go over there and tell people we're going to get out of poverty," said Yellowhorse. "That's colonialism. That's Columbus landing and saying, 'I'm going to save these people', and murdering millions."