Hopi
Initial text from DBPedia: The Hopi are a Native American tribe who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the United States and has government-to-government relations with the United States federal government. Particular villages retain autonomy under the Hopi Constitution and Bylaws. The Hopi language is one of 30 in the Uto-Aztecan language family. The majority of Hopi people are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona but some are enrolled in the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The Hopi Reservation covers a land area of 2,531.773 sq mi (6,557.26 km2). The Hopi encountered Spaniards in the 16th century, and are historically referred to as Pueblo people, because they lived in villages (pueblos in the Spanish language). The Hopi are thought to be descended from the Ancestral Puebloans (Hopi: Hisatsinom), who constructed large apartment-house complexes and had an advanced culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. The Ancient Pueblans lived along the Mogollon Rim, especially from the 12th–14th century, after which time their cultures seemed to have disappeared, but are thought to have contributed to modern Hopi and Pueblo communities. The primary meaning of the word "Hopi" is "behaving one, one who is mannered, civilized, peaceable, polite, who adheres to the Hopi Way." Some sources contrast this to other warring tribes that subsist on plunder. Hopi is a concept deeply rooted in the culture's religion, spirituality, and its view of morality and ethics. To be Hopi is to strive toward this concept, which involves a state of total reverence for all things, peace with these things, and life in accordance with the instructions of Maasaw, the Creator or Caretaker of Earth. The Hopi observe their traditional ceremonies for the benefit of the entire world. Traditionally, Hopi are organized into matrilineal clans. Children are born into the clan of their mother. Clans extend across all villages. Children are named by the women of the father's clan. After the child is introduced to the Sun, the women of the paternal clan gather, and name the child in honor of the father's clan. Children can be given over 40 names. The village members decide the common name. Current practice is to use a non-Hopi or English name or the parent's chosen Hopi name. A person may also change the name upon initiation to traditional religious societies, or a major life event. Prehistoric architecture dictates how social structures influence the creation of homes before European contact. Many Hopi homes were created with Pueblo influence as well. Archeological digs have uncovered various room structures reflecting social practices during this period. During the 1970s, a group of archeologists assembled a few basic types of rooms used in prehistoric Hopi life: living rooms, storage rooms, and religious/ ceremonial rooms (see kivas); each of these rooms allowed for the Hopi to hold ceremonies, cook, and even forge hunting equipment. The Hopi have always viewed their land as sacred, seeing themselves as caretakers of the land that they inherited from their ancestors. They did not conceive of bounding or dividing land. Agriculture is very important, and villages are now located atop mesas in northern Arizona. The Hopi originally settled near the foot of the mesas but in the course of the 17th century moved to the mesa tops for protection from the Utes, Apaches, and Spanish. On December 16, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur passed an executive order creating a reservation for the Hopi. It was smaller than the surrounding land that was annexed by the Navajo reservation, which is the largest in the country. On October 24, 1936, the Hopi people ratified a Constitution, creating a unicameral government where all powers are vested in a Tribal Council. The powers of the executive branch (chairman and vice chairman) and judicial branch, are limited. The traditional powers and authority of the Hopi Villages were preserved in the 1936 Constitution. As of 2005 the Hopi Reservation is entirely surrounded by the much larger Navajo Reservation. As the result of land disputes from 1940 to 1970 or earlier, the two nations used to share the government designated Navajo–Hopi Joint Use Area, but this continued to be a source of conflict. The partition of this area, commonly known as Big Mountain, by Acts of Congress in 1974 and 1996, but as of 2008 has also resulted in long-term controversy.
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