In a secluded forest clearing this week, Hualapai Nation Councilman Pete Imus rubbed his foot against the ground beneath him, making his presence known to the spirit of the earth. A gathering of tribal representatives and state officials repeated the gesture, before taking handfuls of the Earth and imparting their respect to the land, as a 23-foot-tall pinyon pine loomed before them.

As wind gusted through the clearing, Arizona Forestry workers scattered offerings of mountain tobacco around the 1,250-pound tree, before tribal elder Cheryl Beecher repeated a prayer in her native tongue to each of the four cardinal directions. To the Hualapai, something so generous could not be taken from the earth without a token in exchange - and even before the tree was felled, it was blessed before its

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