 79th
Annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture
Member Preview
June 29, 2012
Public Festival June 30–July
1, 2012
Festival Schedule
Promotional Video
HOPI LIFE AND
PAGEANTRY
Once again the big tent in the cool pines is going up at the Museum of
Northern Arizona and Hopi people are making plans to travel to
Flagstaff for the 79th Annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture,
the oldest Hopi show in the world. Starting the Fourth of July
celebration early on Saturday and Sunday, June 30 and July 1, there
will be music, dances, insight programs, and food, bringing visitors
together with Hopi artists and presenters.
“In addition to the 80 booth artists, Museum staffers have made
several trips to collect one-of-a-kind consigned works from individual
artists across the Hopi Mesas,” said Heritage Program Manager Anne
Doyle. “Collecting trips have always been an important part of the
Hopi festivals, allowing artists who produce only a few items per year
a chance to sell their work. Hundreds of distinctive art pieces
including quilts, rattles, pottery, katsina dolls, paintings, and
baskets will be on display and for sale in the consignment area.”
“I am also thrilled to announce, that with special funding, we have
been able to increase our awards and award categories for katsina doll
carvers this year,” adds Doyle. “There will be a new Best of Class
award for $1500 and awards for traditional, contemporary, and
sculptural katsina doll carving.”
Museum Director Dr. Robert Breunig said, “I’m excited that along with
the festival we will be presenting an exhibit of the work of two
historic photographers, Kate Cory and Emry Kopta, from the MNA
Archives. These photographs provide compelling images of everyday life
at Hopi in the “centennial era,” approximately one hundred years ago.
Kate Cory lived on the Hopi Mesas from 1905 to 1912 and documented
through photography many aspects of daily life. Emry Kopta, a
sculptor, came to Hopi soon after Cory, staying at First Mesa between
1912 and 1925. He, too, took many fascinating pictures of life at
Hopi. Selections from the works of both of these photographers will be
displayed at the festival in honor of the Arizona Centennial.”
Heritage Insight
Presentations
Hopi Lands, Snow Capped Peaks and Red Hill: Understanding the Hopi
Legacy of Stewardship and Experience in the San Francisco Peaks Region
by Micah Loma'omvaya
A Hopi tribal member of the Bear Clan from Songoopavi Village on
Second Mesa, Loma’omvaya earned a B.A. degree in anthropology from the
University of Arizona in 1997 and has worked in the field of
anthropology since the age of 17. He currently works as a consulting
anthropologist based on the Hopi reservation, specializing in cultural
and natural resources management projects. One of his long-term goals
is to establish a community-based Hopi natural and cultural resource
center, to promote the preservation and teaching of Hopi land
stewardship and resource use through traditional knowledge, language,
and practices for Hopi and Tewa youth.
The Hopi Way of Life
by Hopi preservationist Donald Dawahongnewa
Dawahongnewa has dedicated himself to preserving the Hopi culture. He
works in the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and is a member of
important religious societies. He says it is not always easy to follow
the traditions and he insists on using the Hopi language in
ceremonies. He also says that Hopi should always be balanced and that
everyone should be living in harmony. That is the Hopi way.
Preservation of the Hopi Language
by Hopi language educator Anita Poleahla and Mesa Media
Mesa Media’s mission is to revitalize the Hopi language, which
encompasses the philosophy of personal and collective relationships to
food, land, and water which have been maintained by Hopi people for
centuries. Poleahla says, “The Hopi language is more than just a
method of communicating on a day-to-day basis. Although Hopi ancestors
left their clan markings and other symbols all over the ancient
homelands during their migrations, the Hopi legends, prophecies, and
the language itself have been passed down from generation to
generation orally. Our language is everything. It connects us to our
ancestors.”
Hopi Summer
by author Carolyn O’Bagy Davis
Davis will talk about Hopi lives during the 1920s and 30s, prior to
the tremendous changes to the Hopi villages, brought about by the U.S.
government, anthropologists, and tourists. These changes are viewed
through years of correspondence between Wilfred and Ethel Muchvo, a
Hopi family on First Mesa and visitors to the Hopi Reservation, Maud
and Carey Melville from Worcester, MA. Ethel Muchvo wrote of
starvation, daily life, illness and death, and the constant pressure
from missionaries and government to abandon traditional Hopi ways.
This is a poignant and memorable story.
Under the Big
Tent
Saturday and Sunday, Casper and the 602 Band will perform their high
energy, Jamaican-inspired reggae combined with Native roots. Casper
Loma-da-wa’s lyrics are filled with hope and power, telling stories of
contemporary reservation life. He says, “Reggae is the music of a
struggling people―that’s what Jamaican music is. We, as Native people,
have been struggling all these years.” The band has opened for reggae
greats such as the Wailers, Culture, and Burning Spear.
 The
Nuvatukya’ovi Sinom Dance Group will perform the Buffalo Dance, which
serves as a reminder that buffalo, antelope, and deer used to roam in
northern Arizona. Usually performed in the winter, this dance
encourages snow, good hunting, abundance of wildlife, and survival.
The dancers will also perform the Koonina or Supai Dance,
celebrating the Havasupai people, the Palhikwmana or Water
Maiden Dance, and the Koshari or clown dance to unite people
and make them happy. All of the dance troup’s regalia—clothing,
weaving, jewelry, and tabletas or headdresses–is
designed and handmade by the dancers.
In 2010, KUYI’s Listener’s Choice Best Male Artist Award went to Ed
Kabotie. His music is trilingual (Hopi, English, and Tewa), and
incorporates acoustic guitar, Native flute, and vocals. Kabotie is
currently an artist-in-residence at MNA. He has performed at the Heard
Museum in Phoenix; the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA)
in Santa Fe; and the Autrey National Center of the American West in
L.A.
Hopi educator Jennifer Joseph will serve as emcee and cultural
interpreter for the Heritage Insights Tent, sharing her knowledge,
answering questions, and introducing performers. Located next to the
Museum’s Exhibit Building and able to seat over 200 people, the
Heritage Insights Tent will be the festival’s performance center all
day long.
KUYI, 88.1FM Hopi Radio from Hotvela ( Hotevilla) on the mesa tops of
northeastern Arizona will partner with the Museum at the festival,
talking to visitors, interviewing festival personalities, and adding
their own fun to the event with their live broadcast.
Artists and
Demonstrators
While enjoying entertainment under the big tent, take a taste of
ages-old traditional Hopi foods—yeasted bread baked in an outside
wood-fired bread oven, and piki, a ceremonial food made from blue
corn. Alice Dashee, a potter and educator, will talk to visitors about
the role of corn in Hopi culture. Jessica Lomatewama and Alberta
Selina will demonstrate the different styles and nuances of Hopi
basket making. They gather and dye their own materials and will show
how they use them to create plaques. Potters Dorothy and Emerson Ami
create pottery in the traditional Hopi way, from gathering the clay,
to using all natural pigments to paint them and sheep dung to fire
them. And all types of Hopi weaving are done by men; Louis Josytewa
and Austin Coochyamptewa will demonstrate sash weaving. The long,
colorful sashes are used as part of ceremonial clothing.
Creative Corner
Outside in the Museum’s courtyard, kids and creative individuals will
be able to make Hopi inspired take-home crafts. This year, visitors
will learn how to make Corn Flowers from real corn husks and corn
cobs, Basket Plaques from colored paper plates, and Bookmarks.
Hopi Dancers In
Flagstaff's Fourth of July Parade
As a special celebration of this 79th year, the Nuvatukya’ovi Sinom
Dance Group will perform in Flagstaff’s Fourth of July Parade on
Wednesday, July 4.
About the Hopi
People
The Hopi village of Orayvi is considered the oldest continuously
inhabited settlement in the United States, dating back more than a
millennium. The Hopi have survived in their mesa homeland for
centuries and although their culture is changing, their core values
remain intact and central to their culture.
About the Museum of
Northern Arizona
A modern Hopi kiva mural entitled Journey of the Human Spirit
is permanently installed in MNA’s Kiva Gallery. The mural is inspired
by a brilliant mural painting tradition that flourished in the
Southwest between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Artists
Michael Kabotie and Delbridge Honanie depicted the emergence of the
Hopi people; ancient migrations; the coming of the Spanish and Anglos;
strip mining in Black Mesa; the abuse of fast food, drugs, and drink
by Native people; and finally, the rebirth of Hopi beliefs and
traditions from the Hopi point of view.
Festival and regular Museum admission
is $10 adults, $9 seniors (65+), $7 students with student ID, $6
American Indians (10+), and $6 youths (10–17).
Become a member today in
time to attend the Hopi Festival Members’ Preview, Arts Award
Ceremony, and Silent Auction on the Friday evening before the festival. For more information, go to
musnaz.org/support/membership
or call 928/774-5213.
Program Sponsors
Upcoming Heritage
Program Festivals
63rd Annual Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture, August 4–5, 2012
8th Annual Celebraciones de la Gente, October 27-28, 2012
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