Hopi Oral History Project

Kykotsmovi, Arizona-- The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office is working to extend its services to all Hopi individuals interested in participating in the Hopi Oral History Project.  This project aims to record stories of continuity and change among the Hopi community during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  The project will benefit the Hopi people by recording their history and cultural traditions according to their perspective. In addition, the project also aims to preserve the Hopi language by conducting and recording all interviews in Hopi.

The following are a list of historical topics in which we are interested:

• Hopi Tribal Council (first council, etc.)
• Life Histories
• Events at the turn of the century  (1880-1920)
• The Depression Years
• Livestock Reduction in the 1940's
• Impact of all wars on Hopi
• Boarding school experiences
• Churches on the Hopi reservation, especially the Mennonite and Baptist Churches
• Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute
• Construction of State Route 264 in the 1960's
• The Hopi High School at Kykotsmovi or Day School experiences
• Village Histories
• Hopi Employment with the United States Forest Service, Santa Fe Raliroad, and Fred Harvey Company
• The Hopi Tribal Band
• Hopi enrollment into the Four Indian River Tribes
• Sheep Herding and Animal Husbandry
• BIA Urban Relocation Programs in the 1950's and 1960's
• Trading Posts (McGee's, Hubbell's, etc.)
• The Great Society/War on Poverty Programs in the 1960's (Hopi Neighbourhood youth Programs, Hopi Action Program, etc)

The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office continues to be concerned about sensitive information held in the public domain. Therefore, we will continue to take every measure to ensure privileged knowledge and information is not disseminated to the public without prior consent from the interviewee. Although tapes and transcripts will be in the possession of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office Archive, participants will still retain copyright and a deed of gift will outline the interviewees' rights to the material generated.

If there are Hopi individuals interested in participating, please contact the Project Coordinator and Archivist, Stewart Koyiyumptewa, at (928) 734-3756.

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