The Hopi:

The Hopi are Native American people who primarily live on the (2,531.773 sq mi) Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi Reservation is entirely surrounded by the much larger Navajo Reservation. Until recently, the two nations shared the Navajo-Hopi Joint Use Area. The partition of this area, commonly known as Big Mountain, Its largest community is First Mesa, Arizona. The Hopi’s are about 40 miles from Gallop and many live there.

The Hopi are a unique group of indigenous people whose reservation is located in the Northeastern portion of Arizona, approximately 60 miles north of Winslow, Arizona. The Hopi villages are located on a group of mesas respectively known as First, Second and Third Mesas.

The village of Kykotsmovi, located at the base of Third Mesa, is the tribal government seat. Oraibi, located just above Kykotsmovi, is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States. Other villages include Hotevilla on Third Mesa; Mishongnovi, Shipaulovi, and Shungopavi, found on Second Mesa; and Walpi, Hano, and Sichomovi, all located on First Mesa.

Farming and gardening are essential elements of Hopi culture. The archaeological record shows that agriculture was introduced to the northern Southwest from Mesoamerica as early as 1500 B.C. The Hopi view of agriculture, specifically corn, differs from academic interpretations. Since the emergence, this life is referred to as the fourth way of life for Hopis. As the Hopi moved from the third to the fourth way of life, they were offered corn by Ma'saw. The other peoples took the largest ears of corn and Hopis were left with the short blue ear. Each clan history explains how the Hopi received the short blue ear. The Hopis knew that their fourth way of life would be difficult and that they must submit to the corn as a way of life. The themes of humility, cooperation, respect, and universal earth stewardship became the lifeway of all Hopis. In this way, the Hopi have always had corn and agriculture.

The Hopi have been able to adapt to their arid desert climate by using different agricultural methods. These methods include dry farming in the washes or valleys between the mesas as well as gardening on irrigated terraces along the mesa walls below each village. Some of the garden terraces at Paaqavi Bacavi have been in use since, approximately, A.D. 1200.

Hopi traditional knowledge begins with the emergence story. The world we live in now is the fourth way of life that the Hopi have lived. Different Hopi clansHopi and animals emerged from the third into this fourth way of life. Hopis tell how the people of the world were offered ears of corn by Ma'saw. Many jumped in ahead of the Hopi and picked large ears of corn and left Hopis the smallest ear. This symbolizes the difficult but enduring life the Hopi live in the arid Southwest. Along with each ear of corn, the various peoples of the world inherited homelands, cultures, and responsibilities from the rest of creation. The Hopi fulfill their responsibilities through their daily life and ceremonies. Hopi life revolves around agriculture in particular, corn. The Hopi way of life is the corn -- humility, cooperation, respect, and universal earth stewardship.

Because each story contains information meant specifically for one group of Hopi people, the Hopi learn only the story of their clan. The oral tradition entrusted to each Hopi is more than enough to consider and meditate upon during a lifetime. By pursuing their own understanding, it is natural that the Hopi respect the privacy and sacred nature of the traditions entrusted to other Hopi, as well as other cultures.

Although the Navajo tribe is most remembered for its contributions to the World War II communications code units, the Hopi tribe also helped in the communications coding efforts. Eleven Hopi men developed a code language which they used to assist US Army intelligence in the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia and the Philippines during the Second World War.

The Hopi Indians live on three distinct mesas in northeastern Arizona. These mesas are actually one finger-like geologic formation with three southward-projecting points. The mesa structures are designated as First, Second, and Third Mesas, with several different villages located at each individual mesa.

The Hopi Mesas represent a very special place of the past and present. Because of the unique nature of this place, read reulations there before your visit, many are private. Please note that certain Hopi villages may be off limits to visitors on certain days and at certain times.

Most of the mesa is distinguished by colorful layered sandstone with numerous formations laid down over millions of years. Sizable seams of low-sulphur coal lie within the Wepo formation at depths ranging from 35 to 250 feet. Since World War II, rapid development in the western United States has resulted in a dramatic population increase of approximately 350%. This makes coal deposits located on the adjoining Hopi and Navajo Reservations extremely valuable to this energy hungry region. In the mid 1960's, the Hopi and Navajo, joint owners of the coal, at the urging of the United States and various energy companies, signed coal leases establishing the largest surface coal mining operation in the nation. (source: Hopi Cultural Preservation Office.)

Hopi ways are distinctly different from those of the Navajo and New Mexico pueblo people, and some of their ceremonies, such as the famous Snake Dance, is strictly closed to the public.

Hopi pottery is characterized by its slip, which is white graduating to pale orange-yellow. Their pottery tends to be very intricate and abstract or representational designs in a limited range of colors form brown to white and deep orange.

The carved kachina dolls originated as a religious symbol. The carving, pose and color of a kachina doll are spiritually significant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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