![]() The federal government disbanded the council in 1943 because it was not enforcing a mandate for livestock reduction to deal with the problem of overgrazing. The Hopis adopted a constitution and created a tribal council in 1936. The companies offered a variety of excursions that took tourists over the Navahopi Road (built in 1924) to the Hopi Reservation, where they could mingle amongst tribal members, shop for souvenirs, and witness cultural events. The company brought Hopis to the tourist facilities it built at the South Rim’s Grand Canyon Village, employing people from the reservation to work at Hopi House and perform dances for visitors, but they also took visitors to the Hopi villages. Euro Americans had long admired the Hopis for their peaceful attitudes and for their arts and crafts. The Railway and the Fred Harvey Company realized the lucrative tourism potential of the Hopi Reservation, especially since it was so near to the Grand Canyon. The arrival of the Santa Fe Railway in northern Arizona the early 1880s had a profound impact on the Hopi. Today, the Hopi Reservation occupies only 1.5 million acres. When the Navajos returned to the area in 1868 after their forced exile to Bosque Redondo, a treaty with the federal government granted them 3.5 million acres that included their homeland of Canyon de Chelly, about 90 miles east of the Hopi mesas.įrom 1868 to 1934, as the Navajo Reservation grew from 3.5 million to 16 million acres, it encircled and diminished the Hopi Reservation. government with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848. Hopi lands came under control of the U.S. Over the centuries, Hopis and Navajos have had a complex relationship, intermingling yet retaining separate identities. However, today there is still a distinction among the villages, and some Tewas still speak their own native language.Īmong the migrating newcomers were the Navajos, semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers who probably traveled south from Canada over many generations along the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. The Tewas helped the Hopis drive out the Spanish missionaries during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and eventually became part of the Hopi Tribe. When migrating tribes entered Hopi territory on the Colorado Plateau, the Hopis retreated to the tops of the mesas and enlisted the help of Tewa Indians from the Rio Grande for protection. Hopi arts and crafts are often influenced by their mesa of origin, with First Mesa famous for pottery, Second Mesa for coiled basketry, and Third Mesa for wicker basketry, weaving, kachina doll carvings and silversmithing. Each village also has a plaza where Hopis perform ceremonial dances passed down through the centuries. The village of Old Oraibi on Third Mesa, settled in the 11th Century, is considered the oldest continuously inhabited village in North America. ![]() The Hopis also make extensive use of natural resources on their Reservation for instance, they utilize 134 local plant species for food, grooming, basketry, and housekeeping.Įach of the twelve Hopi villages has an autonomous government, though a tribal council makes laws and oversees business policies for the entire tribe. The Hopis began raising livestock introduced by the Spanish who came to the area in the 16th century, especially sheep and cattle, though the size of their herds is limited by the amount of browse and water available.
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