With the historic visit by Indigenous Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to southeast Utah this week, I think it's worth re-posting a previous blog writing from 4 years ago describing, in part, some of the Hopi questions and answers we find in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante landscapes. While the increased attention of …
Continue reading Hisat’sinom to Hopi: Establishing Cultural Affiliation in the Bears Ears Landscape
With the historic visit by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to southeast Utah this week, I think it's worth re-posting a previous blog writing from 4 years ago describing, in part, some of the Hopi questions and answers we find in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante landscapes. While the increased attention of the …
Continue reading Hisat’sinom to Hopi: Establishing Cultural Affiliation in the Bears Ears Landscape
1200 A.D. Dawn breaks over a secluded canyon, spreading a sliver of orange light along the rim as a lone canyon wren welcomes the morning, singing another day into existence. As the light increases in intensity, it illuminates a sheer cliff face, revealing layers of geologic time; ancient cross-bedded sand dunes and million-year old ocean …
Continue reading Spirit of Place: Preserving the Cultural Landscape of the Bears Ears
“Buildings too, are children of Earth and Sun” ~Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect Throughout the American Southwest are thousands of prehistoric architectural remains that were once the homes, ceremonial centers and gathering places for the Indigenous peoples who occupied this vast geographic area. Ranging in size from pit-houses to large village and cliff-dwelling complexes, and …
It’s 2013 and I’m leading a tour group through Monument Valley; what many consider a “must-stop” for any exploration of the Southwest. As I’m explaining the history of the area, another tour group listens in. When I’m finished, one of them approaches me and asks, “Are you a real Indian?” I reply “Yes, I’m Hopi”. …
