HGA | Anasazi

On the high mesa above our canyon spring came early that year. The pinon trees shook off their coverings of snow in the month of the deer. Warm winds melted the snow and blue water gathered under the trees and ran through the meadows and down the steep barrancas. Far to the north, where the stone walls of the canyon stand so close together that you can touch them with your outstretched hands, the water met and flowed toward the south, past Spider Rock and Lost Sheep Mountain, at last in big loop past our village. The day the waters came was a wonderful day.

I hear the first sounds of their coming while I lay awake in the night. At first it was a whisper, like a wind among the dry stalks of our cornfield. After a while it was a sound like the feet of warriors dancing. Then it was a roar that shook the earth. I could hardly wait until the sun rose. (O'dell, Scott, Sing Down the Moon, p 1-2)Sing down the Moon page 1-2.

A few years ago,my students and I have read Scott O'Dell's, Sing Down the Moon. It tells about the tragic removal of the Navajo from their lands, and especially from Canyon de Chelly.

The story opens with Bright Morning taking her sheep up the "trail to the mesa" which is "steep and follows a wooded draw."

We looked at pictures of the Southwest and particularly at mesas, but I couldn¼t really "see" this place.

I wanted more than a tourist¼s visit to the Southwest. I was actually wanting an educational tour. Then, there it was in the Here ån There...Field Institute in the Southwest.

I spent 10 days with 25 teachers from across the nation and our institute leaders, Dr. Jim Goodman and his wife Mary.

First, I learned how much I didn¼t know.

But, I did learn some things.

Before going on this trip, I was never clear on the terms used in our curriculum on the Southwest Indians: Anasazi, Hopi and Navajo and Pueblo Indian.

Now, I have a better understanding, which I hope is accurate. I hope the activity you did this morning helped you gain a clearer understanding also.

This map shows the area we covered. There were many things we missed, like Mesa Verde and the actual 4 corners spot.

But what we saw and did was tremendous. Jim Goodman is a believer in field work, so we spent little time in the lectures and a lot of time in the field. We traveled in 3 vans with CB radios connecting us to Jim. He explained a lot and answered questions as we went along.

Our home base was St. Michael¼s School. It's a Catholic school for Navajo kids from K-12. So we lived on Indian Reservation land. Everyday I heard the term, BIA.

The Navajo Indian Reservation is the largest reservation. They own most of the land in that 4-corners area.

The Hopi have their reservation entirely within the Navajo reservation. There are on-going disputes about the land especially since the Hopi and Navajo are very different people.

The most dramatic and observable difference is in the way they live. The Navajo are sheep raising people who live in dispersed housing. As you drive along on Navajo land, you¼ll see a hogan, and several houses mobile homes types of shelters in the area of the hogan. The people who live around this hogan belong to the same clan. So your clan is of importance. You¼ll see some sheep and then you may not see anything else for several miles. Even the towns, are not very large. We stayed near Window Rock which is the capital of the Navajo Nation. It's a one street town with 2 stop lights.

We were lucky enough to meet a Navajo family. Mae and her family are friends of the Goodman's. When Mae introduced herself to us, she did so in the Navajo language and recited her ancestry, saying which clan she belonged to. Like Native Hawaiian, they are trying to preserve their culture, so they raise sheep not as their main livelihood, but mostly to carry on traditions. Our last day was spend at their sheep camp.

Raising sheep means that you can petition to the Navajo council for rights to sheep grazing land. So in addition to the land that they live on, they have grazing land. In this lifestyle you don't see many large settlements of people.

On our third day, we traveled to the Hopi reservation. Their communities are very different. The community we visited was on the Second Mesa. Before climbing the road to the top of the mesa, a large sign warned you against taking pictures. One teacher was even asked not to take notes as our guide was talking. The top of the mesa has very limited living space. Their homes are the adobe type dwellings which are close together...almost apartment like dwellings. We walked across a part of the mesa just a wide enough for a car to travel. There was a kiva, but we were not allowed to view it except from a distance.

On the flat lands, below the mesas, the we saw patches of Hopi corn. These are not large farms...more like backyard gardens. The corn grows green, with no irrigation. Dry land farming.

Before going to the top of the mesas, we listen to a Hopi Indian of the Snake Clan. So like the Navajo, clans are of importance. He owned a little shop which sold authentic kachina dolls made from cottonwood. The Hopi have several celebrations throughout the year, when men from the different clans dress as kachinas and perform important rituals.

Hopi and Navajo have on-going land disputes and we were instructed not to ask questions regarding Hopi/Navajo differences. These are sensitive issues. We saw references to the land issues in the local newspaper.

We spent 2 nights at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. Archaeologist are doing actual excavations of ancient Pueblo an sites. They are not using the term Anasazi, since its a Navajo name meaning "ancient enemy". We walked through a field that looked like someone's backyard. Most of it was covered with sagebrush. There, in the fields, they have little sites they are excavating. They dig one window down, archiving what they remove, then they put everything back. It takes $53 to store 1 small box of archived material. Since this is an educational facility, students can come to participant in the actual excavations.

I was fascinated by the land formations of the area. In Hawaii, we see land without vegetation in the volcano area when lava flows over the land. Then we have areas of very lush vegetation. In the southwest, you see land that has changed dramatically because of erosion. The layering of the rocks are distinct. I also learned about volcanic landforms. One prominent feature is called Shiprock. It is a volcanic landform that when forming did not break the surface. As erosion wore away the softer surrounding soil, harder formations become exposed.

This trip has cause me to take some action in my life. Upon returning, I felt that kids should have more knowledge than me about the land we live on. Through our local 4-H Federation, we formed a new GeoClub. We presently have about 15 youngsters from the ages of 16-9. In the short time that we have been in existence, we have explored the Kaumana Caves with a cave expert, visited the Onomea Bay where we found ceramic sherds in the river bed, and picnicked on the top of Mauna Kea as we watched the sun set below Hualalai. We have many more plans, but the most rewarding outcome has been having a part in youngsters developing leadership and geography skills.

Thanks goes to the Hawaii Geograhic Alliance for sponsoring this trip and to Mary Frances, who spent a lot of hours helping me with today's presentation.