Photo By Andrew Avitt | A tree carving of a ‘bear paw’ on an alligator juniper tree guides the migration...... read more read more
Long before the Grand Canyon got its English name and became a tourist destination, the Hopi Tribe referred to it as Öngtupqa, Salt Canyon their spiritual homeland—where their ancestors emerged into this world.
The Hopi people moved across the landscape. Life-giving water guided their migrations. For Hopi and many Tribes in the dry southwest, water is sacred and needs to be protected.
Near Williams, Arizona, on current day Kaibab National Forest there is an alligator juniper tree. A bear claw had been carved into the tree unknown generations ago. It was used as marker leading to a nearby source of water—a spring.
Members from the Hopi Tribe and Forest Service employees from the Kaibab National Forest came together to protect these cultural and natural resources during a cooperative effort that has been taking place for 30 years --- Hopi Waters for Life.
Hopi Waters for Life
“Bear Spring, in Hopi, is s one of the important sites for traditional Aboriginal boundaries for the Bear clan that would, have come through this area.” said Joel Nicholas, program manager for the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and archaeologist for the Hopi Tribe.
As an archaeologist Nicholas helps to manage 1.2 million acres of Hopi land. He also works beyond the reservation to monitor archaeological and cultural sites that are important to the Hopi people, to document these areas, to preserve them and better understand the different Hopi clans that have migrated through these areas.
During the four days the Tribe and Forest Service employees built fences around Bear Paw tree and around the sacred spring.
When the work party first arrived at the spring the area was overgrown, mud and brush laid thick over the area. Only a small pool of water was visible. But as they removed the mud one fistful at a time, they were able to find where the water emerged from below.
For Nicholas, this tradition of taking care of springs and showing respect for water has been passed down from generation to generation and continues to this day.
Restoring the spring is an important opportunity to continue these traditions to share cultural knowledge with Hopi youth.
“We tell the stories to them of why we should keep maintaining these areas so that when the youth grow up and start to have kids of their own, they can pass these stories on down to them,” said Nicholas, “So we can continue our way of life as being Hopi.”
And as Forest Service employees worked alongside members of the Hopi Tribe they too were learning.
Nanebah Lyndon has worked for the Forest Service as a Tribal Relations Specialist for 15 years, she monitors Forest Service activities and assists with issues that might be of concern to Indian tribes. This kind of collaborative work is important because Tribal heritage and cultural sites like the spring are not confined to Indian reservations, but these important places exist everywhere across the landscape, said Lyndon.
“The Hopi tribe they're amazing stewards of the land. They have maintenance schedules and cultural practices that are practiced on Hopi,” said Lyndon, “But that doesn't constitute the larger landscape that they know that they're from, the places that they still take care of and the places that they pray for.”
Working on projects like Hopi Waters for Life, with the direct decedents of indigenous people on the ancestorial lands can help build a common understanding between Tribes and a Land Management agencies like the Forest Service.
“There's a lot of coeducation that takes place and there's a lot of mutual respect building. And it's really good for the Forest Service to come out and work on these projects,” said Lyndon, “That helps to change our culture to make sure that we're better land stewards.”
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2025 15:05 |
| Story ID: | 546791 |
| Location: | WILLIAMS, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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