A Southwestern Indian Culture Among Us Today: The Hopi Indians

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A Southwestern Indian Culture Among Us Today: The Hopi Indians

Did you know that the Ancient Indian people of the Southwestern United States have dated back to the year 10,000 BC? First appearing toward the end of the last Ice Age, they were the first “Americans.” (Noble, 1998) When Christopher Columbus arrived in the America’s in 1492 and seeing the people of this land for the first time, he thought that he had landed in India, thus giving them the name “Indians.” (Noble, 1998) However, he was nowhere near India, or that region of the world. Because the Ancient Indians were nomadic people, (people who wondered the lands with no permanent home) through the years they developed, separated, and re-located their clans, developing into what we know today as the American Indian. One group or tribe, are the Hopi Indians. Although the Hopi are still a tribe today, mostly living in Arizona, their population, traditions, skills, and crafts have dwindled throughout the years. Let us sit back, relax, and explore the ancestor’s of the Hopi tribe and learn about their traditions, skill, and crafts.

Although Arizona is the primary location of the Hopi Indian tribe today, this was not always the case. The Anasazi Indians are the ancestors of what are today’s Hopi, Navajo, and Pueblo Indians, who lived in parts of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.

(This map shows the four corners region of the United States, where the Anasazi Indians, ancestors to the Hopi once lived.) (Wikipedia, 2/23/05)

Although the ancestors of the Anasazi’s were nomadic people, the Anasazi began to settle and live in one place. Making it harder for them to roam and tend to their gardens and crops at the same time, farming became a staple of their ...

... middle of paper ...

...Gaffney, Jeannette. Between Aztlan and Quivira: Europeans and Indians in the Southwestern United States. (1991) Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. www.yale.edu

Jacka, Lois Essary. Hopi art—modern symbols of an ancient people: tradition, heritage, and cultures blend in the art of the Hopi. International Journal of Humanities and Peace 17.1 (Annual 2001): 62(2). General OneFile. Gale. University of Phoenix – main account. 26 Jan. 2008

Noble, David Grant. 101 Questions About: Ancient Indians of the Southwest. (1998) Western National Parks Association.

Whiteley, Peter M. Ties that bind: Hopi gift culture and its first encounter with the United States. Natural History 113.9 (Nov. 2004): 26(6). General OneFile. Gale. University of Phoenix – main account. 26 Jan. 2008

Wikipedia. Map of the four corners region of the United States. (2/23/2005) www.wikipedia.com

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