Many people understand the word “anasazi” comes from Navajo. The Navajo, like everyone, came from somewhere else, certainly centuries after the zenith of Chaco.
Does “anasazi” really mean “ancient enemy”? The Navajo were not always gentle shepherds. When they flew in on Shiprock, they were fierce. Still, how belligerent do you have to be to regard as an “enemy” someone from centuries before. That would be like me saying I hate Visigoths.
The key is the Hopi, whom the Navajo surround and outnumber. Though they have largely found detente over the centuries, the arrival of the Navajo may have been as disruptive as any of the many waves of new arrivals in the area. For perhaps 13,000 years, people have migrated to what is now the Four Corners of the Southwestern United States. Each wave of newcomers seems to have felt some entitlement and those who were already settled in may have forgotten they had been newcomers and so felt invaded. It is a recurring theme that may have lead to just the right distance between the various puebloan city-states today. It probably also contributes to that sense of peaceful welcome in spite of many cite-able atrocities and struggles. We are one in our love of the land.
Whatever the Navajo and Hopi really think of each other, I don’t know. But, the Navajo say they learned weaving from someone at Wijiji and that the Gambler had a hand in the destruction of Chaco. And the Hopi surely are right that the Anasazi are their ancestors (as right as all pueblo peoples).
When I use the word Anasazi, I hope and pray I am not using a word as ugly as a half a dozen I can think of but never write or speak — ugly words used to put down and dehumanize other people. But, I have some misgivings about letting the Hopi dictate what I call their ancestors, especially if other puebloans don’t agree with the Hopi-preferred term of Hisatsinom.
It seems that Ancestral Puebloan is both accurate and pleasant. It sounds vaguely politically correct, but so did the transition from Indian to Native American, or First Americans (more so). Yet, as homosexuals embrace queer, so too have many Native Americans come out in favor of “Indians” (though, not, redskins — so the analogy is weak). But, perhaps Hopi should say, “hell, yes, we’re Anasazi and proud!”
As for me, I will continue to use Anasazi until someone convinces me it is the equivalent of the N-word. It’s a cool sounding word, more native than an English or Spanish word, and it assures my text will be found by most Web searches. mjh