Hopi Indian Nation

Hopi Indians [Native Americans]

The Hopi village at Orabi, AZ. Is the oldest continually occupied Indian Settlement in the United States. Today, the Hopi Tribe invites all to take a step back in time through a visit to the beautiful plateau country of Northeastern Arizona.

Visitors to the Hopi Reservation have the opportunity to experience an ancient culture, tradition and history as it has continuously existed for a thousand years. Hopi civilization is one of the oldest cultures in North America.

From 1250 to 1400 A.D. a 250 room Indian village flourished at what is now known as the Homolovi 1 ruin. The three story pueblo and rectangular plaza were occupied by farmers, artisans and traders who were probably ancestors of then modern Hopi Indians. Homolovi meaning "located in a high place" in Hopi.

Discovered by J.W. Fewkes in the 1890s, illegal digging in the ruin to steal artifacts has destroyed irreplaceable scientific information. Homolovi Ruins State Park [opened and dedicated on May 22, 1993] was established in response to public concern about the devastation of the Homolovi sites by illegal collectors of prehistoric artifacts. The damage to the sites peaked in the 1960s when a backhoe was being used at Homolovi II to dig through burials and kivas.

The primary Homolovi interpretive resources consists of archaeological sites including four major pueblos, numerous smaller structures, and site features ranging in size from one room pit houses or simple artifact scatters to a 1200 room pueblo, and panels of petroglyphs with depictions of kachina and clan symbols.

The sites date from three main periods: AD 620-850, AD 1050-1225, and AD 1260-1400. During each of these periods there was a concentrated population of people living near the little Colorado River. Members of the Hopi Nation consider this area an important ancestral site and return to Homolovi for religious purposes.

Source: Northeastern Arizona Daytrip Guide [NEADG]

Charles R. Eatherly, NEADG

Kenneth Briggs