Indians!!!

Have we had an incredible opportunity! Our neighbor, as I previously mentioned is a Hopi Indian. He was more than willing, even insistent on coming over to teach our family their traditions. We had a fabulous time and I was thrilled at the honor of it. We learned so much and gained so much respect for the traditions and the basic beliefs of the Hopi. He is in many ways a perfect Christian. Their means of the law of consecration, their simple lives, their intuition with nature. I am thrilled at what he had to offer, even remind us of. I can't wait to learn more. One of these days he is going to take us to his village where they still live primitively. He will also teach us about the land and the herbs/berries found within this area. Here are the pictures!
This is a model he and his wife made to represent the Hopi pueblo villages. The book he gave us to prestudy as a family. It offered history, tradition, beliefs and the "Hopi Today"
He had the children try their Indian food. The corn (red, white, blue) is their version of popcorn. It is cooked in clean hot sand. This doesn't burst the kernel. Then it is salted with salt mined, by them, from the Grand Canyon. The little paper thin blue speck is known as a corn bread from the blue corn. It is carefully made on a hot stone and cooked over a fire until dry enough to wrap in a sheet. When finished it resembles blue specked tissue paper.(exactly rolled and half the size of tissue paper you would buy) I regret I didn't get a picture of it. As soon as he told the children to try some they gobbled it up. It was a year old and perfectly preserved. Incredible.
Two kachina dolls. One is an eagle. This is the highest honorary doll. The second is a scary monster like doll. It represents the "real" Kachina that comes once a year to collect the children who have been naughty. He comes to the door (a man in this costume)and demands the child to go with him. The mother defends her child and makes the child promise to obey from now on. This seems to work because in the Hopi nation the children are well disciplined. Both dolls are hand carved and painted. These sell for quite a bit.
Pottery. He taught the kids that there is symbolism and a story with the designs. He had them smell the earth by smelling the pottery.


Handwoven baskets from his tribe.
This Yucca woven basket is still strong at 120 years old.
Here is Mr. "Taz" his last name is long and traditional. He shortened it for us. He is holding a hand carved and naturally dyed (from flowers)Kachina doll that was his grandfather's.
This Bow and arrow is a gift the boys get at birth. Each one at first is simple to represent a blank canvas. Each year after is marked by the boy's personality and life events. The feather, blue, red, black-all have different meanings.
This is a larger one.
The girls get these "dolls" at birth until puberty, or when they lose interest in dolls. The first one they receive is mostly white as the personality is not yet determined. As the child grows and develops each year the child receives one that represents how they were at that age.
Parrot feather represents the rising and setting sun where the sky is blue. The other feathers are hawks, owl and eagle plume feathers. Only a few Indians are allowed by law to have these. Anyone else caught with Eagle feathers will be fined 25,000. He had the children feel the "medicine warmth" by holding it.
Even trying on traditional clothing.



In order to further enhance our study of Indians, we had a field trip that involved a hike to see some ancient cliff dwellings. We had a wonderful time!
Ready to hike down.
Cool little door between "homes"


Brett and Joseph pretending they're Indians in their home.
Joseph HAD to touch the cactus...why is the NO so tempting?!




Experiencing the ancient homes.



Justin is holding up the boulder so we could pass...what a gentleman.
There is still smoke from the fires.
Front view of the cliff dwellers.Our hike included a sack lunch with cheetos (he is wearing the evidence) And a caterpillar. We are studying Insects in science and even have a few caterpillars that are going to change into butterflies shortly (I'll post later)

This is an "Indian Village" that the children modeled. I told them to be creative with a cardboard box and whatever they could find in the yard to build a village.