The turquoise waters of the Little Colorado River. The Grand Canyon landscape contains some of the Southwests most unique ecosystems of rivers, springs and riparian zones. These areas are home to many plant and animal species, some found nowhere else in the world, or that represent the last viable populations holding on for existence. The …
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Upcoming Release: Becoming Hopi
“I know my story. But the only real, tangible evidence of the clans being here is the sites, the pottery, and the artifacts. These places make you ponder history”.~Riley Balenquah, Hopi, Rattlesnake Clan, Paaqavi Village. I wish my dad could have lived to see this book come to fruition. He passed away in October of …
Season 3 Teaser – SoundCloud
Be sure to check out the "Mesa Verde Voices" Podcast. Ill be sharing some insights about trade networks and relationships within the Ancestral Pueblo World. Listen to Season 3 Teaser by Mesa Verde Voices on #SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/mesaverdevoices/e0-season-3-teaser
Spirits Among the Sandstone
Sandstone Canyons. Toko'navi in the far distance. It’s 2 AM in the morning and I’m sitting on a steep, rocky hillside, deep inside a canyon in Southeastern Utah. I am not alone. An intimate group of friends and family have also made the long backpack to reach this location. We sit in a loose circle, …
Glen Canyon: A River Guide Remembers, A Museum Exhibit
Last spring (2018) I was asked if I was interested in providing content for a museum exhibit to be show-cased in the John Wesley Powell Museum in Green River, Utah. The exhibit titled, "Glen Canyon: A River Guide Remembers" is intended to present the landscapes of Glen Canyon before it was flooded by the waters …
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Book Review: Footprints of Hopi History: Hopihiniwtiput Kukveni’at
The origins of this book began as a session of the 2013 Society for American Archaeology conference held in honor of Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (HCPO) Director, Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma (retired). The papers resulting from that session serve as the basis for the 14 chapters of the book. The authors include HCPO staff, Southwestern anthropologists, …
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Hisat’sinom to Hopi: Establishing Cultural Affiliation in the Bears Ears Landscape
As part of a 3 day hiking tour of archaeological sites in the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM), I was asked to share a personal perspective based on my experiences as an archaeologist, outdoor guide and person of Hopi descent. When it comes to the Bears Ears, issues such as preservation archaeology, tourism and Indigenous …
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Heritage Voices Podcast: Hopivewat- Hopi Museum and Learning Center Development – Episode 10
In today’s episode, Lyle Balenquah interviews Susan Sekaquaptewa and Marissa Nuvayestewa about their efforts to build a Hopi museum and learning center by Hopi, for Hopi. They and their team are in the thick of working on turning this idea into a reality and they break down that process in this episode. They talk about …
A Hopi Perspective on Diversity in Anthropology & Grand Canyon. Presented by Heritage Voices Podcast & The Anthropology Podcast Network
This episode is part two of the Grand Canyon National Park miniseries. Today we interview Heritage Voices co-host Lyle Balenquah, Hopi archaeologist, ethnographer, educator, advocate, and river guide extraordinaire about his background, diversity in Anthropology, and Hopi connections to the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon topics include the proposed Greater Grand Canyon National Monument, the Desert …
Book Review: Mesa of Sorrows: A History of the Awat’ovi Massacre. By Author, James F. Brooks
Recently I was asked to submit a review of this book for the publication, Kiva: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, which is published by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. This is my unedited submission. Awat’ovi has experienced its fair share of research, both by the archaeologists’ trowel and the historians’ pen. Upon …
Hopi Tribe Voices Opposition to Escalade Development
PR Piece that was printed as a Full Page Ad in the Navajo Times.
Hopi Tribe Celebrates Bears Ears National Monument Proclamation
For Immediate Release December 29, 2016 Kykotsmovi, Ariz. – Today Hopi Tribal Chairman Herman G. Honanie applauds President Obama’s designation of the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) under the Antiquities Act of 1906. This is a landmark decision culminating a broad collaborative effort between conservation groups, federal and state governments and five tribal groups including Hopi, Zuni,Ute …
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Obama: Make The Greater Grand Canyon National Heritage Monument A Reality.
A recent op-ed I helped write in collaboration with the Hopi Tribes Office of the Chairman and Congressional Representative Grijalva. By Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Herman Honanie The Grand Canyon is recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site thanks in large part to its unsurpassed beauty, which encompasses extensive stretches …
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Spirit of Place: Preserving the Cultural Landscape of the Bears Ears
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 …
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When All The Trees Are Gone….
Recently I read an article in which an Indigenous man was asked why he opposed the continued logging of the pristine forests on tribal lands, despite the fact that this logging provided much needed jobs and income to his communities. He replied, "When all the trees are gone, we will be just like everybody else". …
Walking The Line at Nayavu’waltsa: Preservation of a Cultural Landscape (Intro)
In the Hopi language, Nayavu'waltsa is a place name, meaning "Clay Gap Place" and refers to the region known as Black Mesa, located in Northern Arizona. This mesa of the high desert is a geologic uplift of the much larger Colorado Plateau which covers a large area of the 4 Corners region; Southeastern Utah, Western Colorado, …
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They Are Still Here, Listening & Watching….
How did this phrase come about? Well, I must admit, it is not my phrase, but one that I have thought about for a very long time; my entire career as an archaeologist it seems, perhaps since childhood. How it came to be put onto paper involves the telling of a story. So here goes. In …
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