Talk to explore possible Grand Canyon river runs by Native Americans Durango, Colorado Currently Thu 3% chance of precipitation 1% chance of precipitation 1% chance of precipitation Thursday, April 1, 2021 5:20 AM Toggle font size Escuchar en Español: Loading the Español audio player... Colorado Native Plant Society, Southwest Chapter will host a talk, “Before Powell? A Descent of the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon on a Tule Reed Raft,” by Peter M. Brown and Tom Martin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom. The talk will cover how John Wesley Powell and his crew made the first documented descent of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and whether it was actually the first. Both the Navajo and Hopi have legends of people traveling through the canyon before Powell.