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Hotevilla (Tr)

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The text under discussion is a profound critique of not only the activities of the BIA and the neo-colonialist Hopi Tribal Council but, in its essence, stands as a moving and formidable critique of Western civilization - one that illuminates the processes of cultural genocide that has been carried out against indigenous populations in the wake of their military conquest and occupation by a foreign power - and the deep resistance of traditional indigenous peoples to the processes of cultural genocide.

The elders who speak through the auspices of this work embody a profound political, moral, cultural and spiritual sophistication
that upholds the values concentrated in the name of their publication - Techqua Ikachi - Land and Life - Tierra y Vida.
What is most striking is the awareness the text creates of the inseparability of morality, culture, spiritual practice and political depth, and their rootedness in the Land, in the Earth, and in the relationship of peoples to the Earth. The most fundamental premise that is expressed in the text is its call to "blend with the land," and the text as a whole illuminates the meaning of a culture devoted to this principle in practice.

In so doing it stands as a striking counterpoint to the disintegrative powers of the culture of the capitalist colonial settler state that now occupies the land, and offers a sharp and abiding critique of the alienation and atomization inherent in the world view and cultural practices of the now-dominant European conqueror. From this standpoint the text is a classic treatment of resistance to the imposition of colonial rule and of the impact of colonial rule on the cultures of occupied and oppressed peoples.

In effect, even if it is not explicitly stated, the criticism of the Traditional Elders aimed at the "Progressive" Tribal Council is similar to the critique of the Autonomous American Indian Movement and other similar groups - and a critique that presaged other, similar Indian critiques by twenty years.

The picture the traditionals paint of the Tribal Council is one of a neo-colonial puppet government which has acted at the behest of and in accommodation to the colonial power of the United States in stripping massive amounts of coal from sacred lands, destroying sacred sites, depleting the water table in a profoundly dangerous manner, and that has acted to disintegrate Hopi culture to accommodate the demands of the dominant culture. The Traditional Hopi have also resisted the forced relocation of thousands of Navajo / Dine people from Hopi land. The forced relocation constitutes the destruction of the single largest group of Native American living in a traditional manner in the US. It is, in effect, and act of genocide the Hopi Traditionals have resisted in concert with the Traditional Dine (Navajo) people, based on their own sacred agreements.

The Hopi Tribal Council was illegitimately constituted on the basis of a "majority vote" that represented, in practice, only a tiny fraction of the Hopi people from a minority of the autonomous villages. The Traditional Hopi never made a treaty of any kind with the US government, and maintain their right to the status of a sovereign nation.

The evolving, century long story of the struggle between the Traditionals and the "Progressives" (Or, Hostiles and Friendlies) is laid out in compelling detail from a Traditional perspective. The reader of this review should be aware, however, that the Traditional perspective does not reduce to the anti-colonial categories utilized thus far in this review.

The story is, rather, the story of the unfolding of Hopi prophecy, the tale of a People and their Mission to maintain the Earth in Balance together with all peoples, and of the prophetic charge laid on the Hopi by a central deity.

The tale of conflict that is told paints a picture of the unfolding of that life way as foretold in Hopi prophecy, and thus it paints a practical and illuminating picture of the kinds of practical and spiritual blending with the Earth that will be required of all of us if the planet and humanity are to survive.

The tale is told at all the levels outlined above - the spiritual, cultural, moral and political levels - each element interwoven into a seed - a gestalt of information that together constitute the Hopi prophecy and Mission as articulated by its most traditional elders. The subtitle of the text, which asserts that Hotevilla ( the village founded by the Tradtionals to maintain the Traditional Balance and prophetic charge of the Hopi People) is a "microcosm of the world" should serve the reader as a guide in understanding why the tale is told in the form it adopts.

The prophetic instructions insist that the Earth and its Peoples have entered a period known as the time of Purification, and urge each of us to abandon the two hearted path of modern "civilization" and return to the path of one-heartedness that the Hopi Traditionals have sought, so valiantly, to maintain.

I have deliberately avoided much emphasis on the content of the Hopi prophecy or their spiritual and cultural practices as rooted in the Land. It is up to the reader to determine for her or him self whether the sharing of this prophecy matters to them and to the world. I believe it is of central and unequivocal importance. Your choice is your own. Choose well.

I was disappointed with this book. I had read the Thomas Mails book on the Apache and was impressed with it. However, that was years ago! It appears that Mails has found a more lucrative market. In this book he panders to people who see Western Culture as the Great Destroyer. He is suppose to be talking about Hopi prophesies. In the book he says that any reasonable person will recognize that the Hopi are right and he encourages people to INVENT ceremonies! That is NOT the Hopi way! Hopi are traditional people and it is important to perform ceremonies in the right way and with the right attitude. Hopi go through extensive training starting at about the age of eight. I asked an elder one time how he felt about people trying to copy Hopi ceremonies & he said since they do not know the correct way to perform the traditional ceremonies, they do not accomplish anything positive. They do, however, drain away some of the power associated with the ceremony, making less available to Hopi elders. This is a dangerous situation as the Hopi are no longer able to keep the world in balance. Koyaniskatsi- World in Chaos!

The Tribal Council is not the traditional form of Hopi government, which is based on the matrilineal clan system. Each village is independent and within each village, each clan is independent. This worked well in pre-Spanish contact days. In the modern world it would make it difficult for the Hopi to have any control of their destiny. Therefore, although some villages still abstain from participating in the Tribal Council (they are not forced into it!), the Council has provided an interface between the Hopi and the Federal Government and have provided a voice to speak to the non-Hopi cultures for the Hopi people.

The Hopi have mixed emotions about the book. Some say it at least warns the Bahanas of the dangers to this world. Others are shocked by the way Mails presents their culture and beliefs and to NOT approve of this book.