Location : After occupying almost all of northern Arizona, from California to parts of Southern Nevada, the Hopis are now living on the Hopi reservation in Black Mesa, Arizona near the Painted Desert.
Language : Hopi is a Shoshonean language, which is part of the Uto-Aztecan languages.
History
: The Hopis are thought to have migrated north out of Mexico
around 500 B.C. They were a hunting and gathering group that lived in small
bands in pit houses. Almost 1200 years later, the main staple of the Hopi diet
switched to the small, blue ears of corn they were able to grow, using runoff
from the mesas. Many of the small bands began to come together, and large
villages started to grow on top of these mesas. As the population grew
agriculture became more and more important. Clans formed within the villages,
and each clan had its own field that it was responsible for. Hopi society was
matrilineal, which meant that the mother determined field inheritance and
social status. Women owned the field, but only the men of their clan worked in
them. Each clan was also in charge of certain religious ceremonies throughout
the year. A society within each clan would perform the ceremonies, with
societies of women taking charge of certain ceremonies as well. The Hopis
enjoyed this peaceful way of life, until around 1540, when a group of Spanish
explorers led by Coronado first came to this region. Spanish missionaries tried
to convert the natives, while the soldiers and explorers looked for any way to
exploit them. During this time, the neighboring Navajo tribe began to come
under pressure from the Spanish as well, and they began attacking the Spanish
as well as the Hopi and other neighboring tribes. The Hopi people were forced
to fight for their survival. This long period of fighting lasted until 1824
when Spain recognized Mexico and the Hopi lands were given to the new Mexican
government. Although Spain now left them in peace, the Navajo continued
to attack and take lands away from the Hopi. In 1870, the U.S.
government laid claim to the lands of the Hopi, and they were forced to fight,
until finally being forced onto the reservation in Black Mesa, where they live
today.
Daily Life : Today, the Hopi continue their struggle to maintain their own unique way of life. They battle the U.S. government as well as the Navajo tribe for the return of their native lands. The Hopi people are trying to teach their children to maintain their traditional way of life as well getting an education.
Best Known Feature : The Hopi are best known for their skill in agriculture. They are known to have used terracing, several methods of irrigation, and have grown corn, cotton, beans, squash, and tobacco all in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Hopi Kachine image courtesy of http://www.canyonart.com/
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Hopi.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are Hopi, your feedback is much appreciated.
Hopi Cultural Preservation Office: http://www.nau.edu/~hcpo-p/
Navajo Hopi Observer: http://navajohopiobserver.com/index.asp
Supawlavi Village: http://www.indigenousgeography.si.edu/community.asp?commID=1&lang=eng
References :
Clemmer, Richard O., Roads in the Sky., Boulder, Westview Press., 1995.
James, Harry C., Pages from Hopi History., Tucson, The University of Arizona Press., 1979.
Levy, Jerrold E., Orayvi Revisited., Santa Fe, School of American Research Press., 1992.
Author : Adam McNair