Arizona's Southern Paiute tribal members are using computer data entry programs to preserve their heritage and the sacred land of the Grand Canyon.

The University of Arizona Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology is comprised of contracted consultants who are helping the Paiutes develop computer data bases and multimedia programs about the significance of the canyon.

"According to tradition, they were created in this land, so there is a special interest in protecting the land and its resources," said Daine Austin, research associate in the Bureau of Applied Research. "They are the cultural experts and we help translate their information in a format that can be used by decision makers."

"Our ancestors say we were created in the Grand Canyon," said Glenn Rogers of the Southern Paiute Shivwittes tribe and monitor in the program. "There are lots of stories in our culture about the animals and plants of the Grand Canyon that are still in our culture today."

The primary reason for monitoring trips to the Grand Canyon was to collect data on the impact of visitors and the Glenn Canyon Dam on traditional cultural sights, said Cynthia Osife, of the Kaibab Paiute tribe and natural resource director.

"Collecting data is more than working in the field; it brings out spiritual feelings," said Tricia Drye, of the Kaibab Paiute tribe and monitor.

"They say the rivers of the Grand Canyon are our veins. When I am there, I know where I come from," Drye said. "When I leave, it feels like I'm leaving my home."

The National Environment Policy Act states that before environmental actions occur, the social and environmental impact on an area must be considered.

When water flow from Glenn Canyon Dam was to increase, the Southern Paiutes were asked to state concerns about the effect the flow would have on their region, Austin said.

Over the past five years, the project has changed. Initially BARA gave the Paiutes the skills to do their own research, but now the Paiutes are running the program while BARA assists them, Austin said.

"Students who enter the data, gathered in field monitory trips, learn about the land even though they are not on the monitory trips," Drye said.

The monitoring project is expected to continue as long as the the dam exists, Austin said.