These are exciting times in Southwest archaeology. Mysterious "roads" and alignments stretching over vast distances are bringing awareness of broad areas of ancient culture beyond individual pueblos. Yet for the people whose ancestors left their mark in the archaeological record, these are difficult times. Traditions going back to prehistory may be dying among the Hopi, a modern-day Pueblo people. |
Much of today's difference of opinion can be traced to outside interference. The Oraibi split arose from a dispute over adopting Bahanna ("white") ways. But at the same time a process of "Hopification" has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years. As described by Hartman Lomawaima, this entails the way "an idea or a thing became imbued with Hopi values ... a process by which Hopi view, test, analyze, and make decisions about the actions or impositions of alien cultures or elements." |