Hopi Food & Agriculture Symposium By Somana Yaiva, Navajo-Hopi Observer

The Hopi Tribal Department of Natural Resources Planner, Micah Loma’omvaya, gave a very informative presentation on land management practices in the past and a brief overview of ethno-botanical research techniques and how they can benefit Hopi farmers.

”When we look at the practice of Hopi farming we must recognize the ancient origins of this technology in the many prehistoric sites of the Southwest and beyond,” he said. ”Archaeology and archaeobotany provide a window of opportunity to view and understand the practices of our ancestors in farming and plant use in various environments.

”The Hopi have benefited from the technology and knowledge developed by our ancestors known to the field of archaeology by various archaeological complexes named the Anasazi, Sinagua, Salado, Hohokam, Hakataya, Mogollon, etc. but all known to the Hopi as the ‘Hisatsinom,’ (Our People of Long Ago).”

This is the first time I’ve seen the name ”Hakataya” (for what that’s worth). Many New Mexico Pueblos also have kinship with the ”Ancestral Puebloans.”

By the way, www.navajohopiobserver.com makes for interesting reading from time to time. mjh