The Havasupai Indians have lived for centuries in Cataract Canyon, and even came to be confined there by treaty. When anthopologist Alfred F. Whiting set out to study the Havasupai in the early 1940s, he found a culture that in many aspect remained unchanged. In Havasupai Habitat editors Weber and Seaman have distilled Whiting's ethnographic research. Part I comprises ten thematic chapters dealing with various aspects of culture, such as hunting and gathering, child care, housing, and religion. Part II offers a systematic presentation of Havasupai knowledge of weather and astronomy, minerals, animals, and plants; and for each item listed, Whiting has provided scientific and common English terminology, phonetic spelling, and a description of usage.

Published in 1985, Havasupai Habitat offers a rich ethnography on lifeways of the Havasupai people.

For almost seven hundred years, the Havasupai Indians, who call themselves People of the Blue Water, have lived in an area that includes the depths of the western Grand Canyon and the heights of the San Francisco Peaks. Here they inhabited the greatest altitude variation of any Indians in Southwestern America.

Written in consultation with some of the last Havasupai shamans, this book details their religious beliefs, customs, and healing practices. A second section presents legends of the Havasupai origin, the first people, and tales of Coyote, Gila Monster, Bear, and others.