The Hopi

Like Coronado, Don Juan Onate took land j throughout the Southwest in the name of Spain, including Hopi land in northern Arizona. The Hopi called themselves Hopitu, meaning “peaceful ones.” They had farmed northern Arizona since long before the Spanish arrived. Hopi had lived in Oraibi, a village on the Third Mesa, since 1050. As desert dwellers, the Hopi remained concerned about water for crops and daily needs. The Hopi snake dance was (and continues to be) a ritual to ask the snakes to carry prayers of rain to the gods of the underworld. The snake dance is performed by members of the Snake and Antelope clans.

Sharing a close relationship to the land, the Hopi believe their mission is to protect the Earth. Much of Hopi culture centered around the growing and celebrating of corn. Corn is more than just nourishment for the Hopi, it is also a part of their belief system. According to legends, when people came to this world, a kachina or spirit called Maasawu offered them corn. Everyone grabbed the corn, leaving the shortest ear for the Hopi. This short ear of corn taught the Hopi to be humble. Being close to the Earth led to their belief that the Hopi were here to protect the land.

Hopi beliefs state that after making humans, the creator created corn from human flesh, so that the two are always connected. It is a tradition that newborn babies stay in a dark room with their mothers for the first 20 days of life. On the twenty-first day, the baby saw the sun for the first time. After the mother gifted the sun with cornmeal, the baby received an ear of corn called the “corn mother,” which was kept for life.

Due the importance of corn in Hopi society, it was important that crops not fail. The Hopi people have always lived in the arid desert climate of Arizona. This type of climate makes farming difficult. Yet by using irrigation and terrace gardening techniques, some of which have been in use since 1200, the Hopi have been successful farmers.

In 1970, a Hopi elder, Dan Katchongva, recorded some of the Hopi prophecies that guided his people. One of these was the “Arrival of Another Race Foretold.” Long before the Europeans invaded the land of the native people of the Americas, Hopi elders knew from stone tablets and the rock writings or petroglyphs that another race of people would someday appear and claim the land as their own. This other race “would use force in an attempt to trap us into using weapons, but we must not fall for this trick, for then we ourselves would be brought to our knees, from which we might not be able to rise. Nor must we ever raise our hand against any nation.”

Hopi snake dancer.

SMALLPOX

Smallpox is a highly infectious disease caused by the Variola virus and often transmitted through direct contact, although cases have also been reported from contaminated clothing or bedding. Its name comes from the Latin word for "spotted," which is pox. This is what smallpox looks like—a rash of many small, raised bumps.

Smallpox has been around for thousands of years and has caused many deaths. Long ago, smallpox killed up to half its victims and left survivors with deep scars. This disease was especially devastating to Native Americans as they had no natural immunity to the disease. During the French-lndian War (1754-63), the commanding general of the British forces was rumored to have given smallpox-infected blankets to Native American nations that supported the French. In 1781, hundreds of the Piegan Blackfeet people lost their lives to smallpox. Smallpox continued to ravage Native American communities throughout the 1800s. In another epidemic in 1836-37, the Piegan Blackfeet lost two-thirds of their population.

In 1980, smallpox was declared officially eradicated from the world. The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949.

Hopi land wasn’t just at risk from this other race that they called the Bahanna. By the early i8th century, the Dine (Navajo) had migrated into the Southwest. The Dine, Spanish, and later Americans remained a threat to the Hopi, who had lived in villages on the top of mesas for hundreds of years.

Meanwhile, the Spanish discovered a much more effective weapon than guns against the Native Americans: smallpox. While most Europeans had developed a natural immunity to it, the native people throughout the Americas had no resistance to the disease. It struck with a vengeance, killing many thousands and wiping out entire villages. Some consider the deliberate introduction of smallpox to Native American communities a form of genocide.