The Hopi Tribe: The Pueblo Indian Tribe

Cherokee Indians have been around for many years, but when the topic of Native Americans is discussed it is only about the struggles and hardships they went through but never their actual culture of how and where they originated or how they came to be. There are many interesting things to learn about Cherokee Indians such as their heritage, religion, language, and their traditional songs, dances, and food.

The Sioux and Chippewa Indian tribes’ have a drastically different way of living compared to what other people are accustomed to in terms of their history, clothing, tools, and weapons needed for survival. The Sioux Indians were originally from Asia, but migrated to America about 30,000 years ago. Their long, straight jet-black hair resembles that of the Asian descendants. The Sioux tribes were located in The Great Plains, which consists of 7 different states Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota; however, they were also known to live in parts of Nebraska, Illinois, and Montana. “The name Sioux is an abbreviation of Nadouessioux. (Britannica) The name was given to them by the Ojibwa (Chippewa). Sioux means, “Little snake”. The Sioux tended to follow the pattern of the buffalo, which is why they are found in multiple locations.

The Hopi Indians are Native Americans who lived on 1.5 million acres of reservation in Northeastern Arizona. In the beginning, the Hopi Indians were a hunting and gathering group divided into small groups that lived in pit houses. (A pit-house is a building that is partly dug into the ground and covered by a roof.) Around 700 A.D. the Hopi Indians became an agricultural tribe by growing blue ears of corn by using runoff from the mesas.(A mesa is an isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides.). In the late 1200’s a ginormous drought forced 36 of the 47 villages on the Hopi mesas to be abandoned. Following the massive drought, the 11 remaining villages increased in size where then three new villages were established in Northeastern Arizona.

The Hopi tribe is located in northeastern, Arizona. The Hopi tribe encompasses more than 1.5 million acres. It is made up of 12 villages on three mesas. The Hopi people have lived as peaceful and humble farmers respectful of the land. Hopi means peaceful person or hopeful.

The Cheyenne was one of the most famous tribes of the Native American Indians. They lived on the Great Plains in what is now South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas. During the 1800’s, the U.S. government forced the Cheyennes to move to Oklahoma. Today, there are two Cheyenne tribes. The Southern Cheyenne live in Oklahoma while the Northern Cheyenne settle in Montana.

The Cheyenne tribe are a Native American nation from the Great Plains. Their cultural was very basic. The Cheyenne tribe was one of the more popular and well known tribe. The first Cheyenne territory was originated in Northern Colorado in 1851.The farmers in the Cheyenne tribe live in earth lodges. The french forced their tribe west to the Great Plains. Around this time the cheyennes changed to become buffalo hunter who lived in tepees. In 1832, the Cheyenne tribe separated into two groups, the Northern Cheyenne. The

Who were the Mohawk Indian tribe? They were members if the ‘Iroquois Confederacy’. They originated in present day New York. The name Mohawk means ‘man eaters’ but there is no proof that the tribe were cannibals. The early Dutch and English settlers used the word Mohawk to describe most of the New England tribes. Some people in the Mohawk tribe referred themselves as Kanienkhaka, which means ‘people of the people of flint’. The Mohawks lived in the great lakes and parts of what is now Canada and the state of New York. They were known as the keepers of the Eastern door, or boarders, Protectors of the Iroquois’ nation from invaders. The Mohawk tribe were the protectors of a bigger tribe.

Vanessa Atine is a Navajo Indian that was born in the United States. Her family resides mainly in Arizona and southern Utah on the Navajo reservation. She was born and raised as a Navajo, but did not participate in her culture until she moved back onto the reservation two years ago. The Atine family moved around frequently, they have lived all over Utah and Arizona. When Vanessa was in third grade they moved into the Kearns area and stayed until she was in tenth grade. The constant moving was mainly due to financial instability and job searching. Native Americans do not have all of the opportunities other Americans do when it comes to finding jobs. There is a lot of prejudice and discrimination towards Native Americans dating back to

On Dec. 19, 1936 the Hopi Tribal Council was established by the Hopi people, with the adoption of the Hopi Constitution and By-Laws. According to the constitution, the Hopi Tribal Council has the power and authority to represent and speak for the Hopi Tribe in all matters for the welfare of the Tribe, and to negotiate with federal, state and local governments, and with the councils or governments of other tribes. The current council now consists of 14 representatives from each Hopi village Moenkopi, Bacavi, Kykotsmovi and Mishongnovi. The selection of representatives in the Council in some villges like the villages of Sipaulovi, Shungopavi, Oraibi, Hotevilla, Lower Moenkopi and First Mesa is done through community elections or by appointment

The Hopi Indians years ago used to have had a theocratic government, which means that the leader or kikmongwi of each village was also the town chief, until now each Hopi village still has its own kikmongwi, but he is primarily a religious leader. Now an elected tribal council led The Hopi nation. The Hopi have their own laws, government, police and service, because they live on a reservation, that means they have the control of their land just as a small country. However, the Hopis have the US citizens and they must follow American

way of life revolves around agriculture, especially their native corn. The Hopi learned the stories of

The Hopi peoples continue to thrive and preserve their culture for as long as humans have been known to inhabit this Earth. As Jake and Susanne Page maintain, “they are not only the oldest dwellers in this land but are considered by most other Native Americans to have a wisdom, a knowledge of things, beyond average comprehension” (1994:19). This wisdom comes from a deep connection to all things natural and of this Earth. The Hopis have always relied on nature to guide them spiritually, philosophically, as well as physically. They rely on word of mouth to pass down beliefs and teach values to each new generation so that the Hopivotskwani -the Hopi path of life- may continue on. (Parezo 1996:237) Through the examination of ethnographic

The Earth existed for at least 4.5 billion years before modern humans came into being. The different cultures of the world have different ideas or stories of how humans came to be. The Hopi and Zuni tribes have creation stories that were passed from generation to generation. These stories claim that the world, despite being made before man, is meant to be ruled by and sustain mankind. Daniel Quinn’s novel, Ishmael, imagines its own creation myths to showcase how these stories work and the messages that they send. The Native American myths referenced in this paper and in Ishmael rank mankind as more important than the Earth through the timeframe of the creation stories, the way Earth is described, and how mankind interacts with the Earth.

The Lakota Sioux primarily located in North and South Dakota “are one of three main subdivisions of the Great Sioux Nation” (“Lakota”, n.d). Prior to the 1900’s, “The Lakota tribe consist of seven bands that lived throughout the Great Plains, the largest and most famous of being the Oglala Sioux Tribe” (“Lakota”, n.d.). In the late 1800’s the Lakota were relocated to several reservations, with the majority of the tribe living on the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Rosebud Reservation. In addition, to an abundant amount of Lakota located in Montana and Canada (“Lakota Indians”, n.d.). Initially, their dialect was the Lakota language which was once spoken by the entire Lakota tribe, now reduced to less than half of the Lakota Indians, with the primary dialect of English now. Some important phrases listed on the Omniglot website are listed in the chart below.

The Cheyenne Indian tribe lived in the central portion of the High Plains and they were divided into northern and southern groups. Originally an agricultural people, they migrated to the Plains and they became hunters. The name “Cheyenne means “red speakers” or Indians of alien speech” but they called themselves Tsistsistas meaning “people from this group”. The climate in the Plains was cold in the winters and hot in the summers with little rain. The rivers provided resources for the people. They spoke the Algonquian language which is related to the Blackfoot, Arapaho and a number of other groups in eastern North America. Both northern and southern Cheyenne Indians speak distinct dialects but they are mutually understandable.