Hopi Iconography Project 
For several years,  MNA researchers and associates                
 have been studying the mural and pottery paintings
of Hopi and other Pueblos, with an eye toward                           
developing a traveling exhibit. The project, formerly                    
known as the  Southwest Mural Project,was put on
hold in 2003 while the MNA board reviewed the                    
project’s progress and worked to obtain a
memorandum of  understanding with the Hopi Tribe.
Last year, the Rockefeller Foundation granted MNA
the opportunity to reconfigure these projects and
under the guidance of Dr. Kelley Hays-Gilpin, they
have been moving ahead at a rapid pace.

MNA and the Hopi Tribe signed the MOU in March of
2005 which, in part, allowed the project to move
forward. At the suggestion of the director  of the Hopi
Cultural Preservation Office, Leigh Kuwanwisiwma,
the  redesigned project was named the Hopi Iconography Project, with a clearly defined
purpose to develop an exhibit, publications, and  educational resources in consultation with
Hopi elders, artists, linguists, and other tribal advisors.
The final name of the actual exhibit will soon be determined. The new exhibit will open in
MNA's own galleries by 2008 and possibly travel to other venues.
The exhibit will explain key aspects  of the Hopi World to Euroamerican and Native American
visitors. Topics  may include farming, ecology, history, cosmology, and the relationship  of
traditional arts and crafts to Hopi identity and individual lives.  It will also help visitors
understand why certain aspects of landscape are sacred to the Hopi by explaining how
the Hopi world is organized and what the Hopi people value.
Dr. Kelley Hays-Gilpin, an associate professor of anthropology at NAU, was hired at the
request of the Hopi Tribe to serve as guest curator. She is an expert in prehistoric  Puebloan
pottery and specializes in cross-media comparison, including  murals, textiles, basketry, and
rock art. She is joined by Stewart Koyiyumptewa, an archivist and specialist in oral history at
the Hopi  Cultural Preservation Office, Dr. Lea S. McChesney, a socio-cultural  anthropologist
specializing in Hopi material culture, and Gloria  Lomahaftewa, a new MNA staff member who
will consult on all phases of the exhibit and ultimately serve as co-curator in the later phases.

In consultation with the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, 15 men and women from most of
the 12 Hopi villages and a variety of different clans have been selected to serve as a Hopi
advisory team.

Work continues with some of the original academic team of researchers, including: Emory
Sekaquaptewa (Hopi linguist), Dorothy Washburn (archaeologist), Steven LeBlanc
(archaeologist and collections director, Harvard Peabody Museum), Michael Kabotie (Hopi
artist), Delbridge Honanie (Hopi artist), Karl Taube (archaeologist, iconographer, UC
Riverside), Polly Schaasfma (rock art specialist), Elizabeth Newsome (art historian, UC San
Diego), Larry Loendorf (archaeologist and rock art specialist, New Mexico State University),
and Eric Polingyouma (Hopi cultural historian), and Carolyn O'Bagy Davis (independent scholar).

 

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Museum of Northern Arizona:  Hopi Iconography Project
Hopi Iconography Project
For several years, MNA researchers and associates have been studying the mural and pottery paintings of Hopi and other Pueblos, with an eye toward developing a traveling exhibit. The project, formerly known as the Southwest Mural Project, was put on hold in 2003 while the MNA board reviewed the project's progress and worked to obtain a memorandum of understanding with the Hopi Tribe. Last year, the Rockefeller Foundation granted MNA the opportunity to reconfigure these projects and under the guidance of Dr. Kelley Hays-Gilpin, they have been moving ahead at a rapid pace.

MNA and the Hopi Tribe signed the MOU in March of 2005 which, in part, allowed the project to move forward. At the suggestion of the director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, the redesigned project was named the Hopi Iconography Project, with a clearly defined purpose to develop an exhibit, publications, and educational resources in consultation with Hopi elders, artists, linguists, and other tribal advisors.

The final name of the actual exhibit will soon be determined. The new exhibit will open in MNA's own galleries by 2008 and possibly travel to other venues.

The exhibit will explain key aspects of the Hopi World to Euroamerican and Native American visitors. Topics may include farming, ecology, history, cosmology, and the relationship of traditional arts and crafts to Hopi identity and individual lives. It will also help visitors understand why certain aspects of landscape are sacred to the Hopi by explaining how the Hopi world is organized and what the Hopi people value.

Dr. Kelley Hays-Gilpin, an associate professor of anthropology at NAU, was hired at the request of the Hopi Tribe to serve as guest curator. She is an expert in prehistoric Puebloan pottery and specializes in cross-media comparison, including murals, textiles, basketry, and rock art. She is joined by Stewart Koyiyumptewa, an archivist and specialist in oral history at the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, Dr. Lea S. McChesney, a socio-cultural anthropologist specializing in Hopi material culture, and Gloria Lomahaftewa, a new MNA staff member who will consult on all phases of the exhibit and ultimately serve as co-curator in the later phases.

In consultation with the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, 15 men and women from most of the 12 Hopi villages and a variety of different clans have been selected to serve as a Hopi advisory team.

Work continues with some of the original academic team of researchers, including: Emory Sekaquaptewa (Hopi linguist), Dorothy Washburn (archaeologist), Steven LeBlanc (archaeologist and collections director, Harvard Peabody Museum), Michael Kabotie (Hopi artist), Delbridge Honanie (Hopi artist), Karl Taube (archaeologist, iconographer, UC Riverside), Polly Schaasfma (rock art specialist), Elizabeth Newsome (art historian, UC San Diego), Larry Loendorf (archaeologist and rock art specialist, New Mexico State University), and Eric Polingyouma (Hopi cultural historian), and Carolyn O'Bagy Davis (independent scholar).

Home   Contact MNA     Contact WebMaster

© Museum of Northern Arizona. All Rights Reserved.