Hopi and Resistance: Water is Life

By Brenda Norrell

Photo of Hopi imprisoned at Alcatraz

KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. -- Hopi gathered at the 'Water is Life' conference in Kykotsmovi on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, to protect their aquifer and waters from mining and contamination from Peabody Coal on Black Mesa. It is also a time to remember the 19 Hopi imprisoned at Alcatraz who refused to allow their children to be indoctrinated in US colonial boarding schools.
"John Martini described the prisoner's cells at Alcatraz as 'tiny wooden cells ... worlds removed from the western desert and plains.' Indeed, a description of Alcatraz in 1902, just seven years after the Hopi prisoners were jailed there, suggests that the cells were in poor condition: 'The old cell blocks were `rotten and unsafe; the sanitary condition very dangerous to health. They are dark and damp, and are fire traps of the most approved (sic) kind," according to a history compiled by the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office.
"In a series of letters between H.R. Voth, a Mennonite missionary at Orayvi, and Guruther, the Commanding Officer at Alcatraz, family members at Hopi were extremely worried about the prisoners. There were rumors that some of them had died. In August, Voth wrote to the Guruther that the pictures of the prisoners were 'very much appreciated by relatives and friends/ because rumors had circulated that they were "poorly fed, clothed, worked hard, some had died, etc. were perhaps killed.
"In September, Voth wrote to Lomahongiwma to report on the prisoners' families and the crops. These reports must have caused considerable anguish among the prisoners, especially those who were separated from their families during important ceremonies and planting and harvesting. In addition, two of the prisoners' wives gave birth to children who died while the men were at Alcatraz."

 
In Memory of the 19 Hopi who resisted and were imprisoned at Alcatraz:
Aqawsi (Kwaa/Eagle)
Heevi'yma (Kookop/Fire)
Kuywisa (Kookop/Fire)
Lomahongiwma (Kookyangw/Spider)
Lomayawma (Is/Coyote)
Lomayestiwa (Kookyangw/Spider)
Masaatiwa (Kuukuts or Tep/Lizard or Greasewood)
Nasingayniwa (Kwaa/Eagle) Patupha(Kookop/Fire)
Piphongva (Masihonan/Grey Badger)
Polingyawma (Kyar/Parrot)
Qotsventiwa (Aawat/Bow)
Qotsyawma (Paa'is/Water Coyote)
Sikyaheptiwa (Piikyas or Patki/Young Corn or Water)
Talangayniwa (Kookop/Fire)
Talasyawma (Masihonan/Grey Badger)
Tawaletstiwa (Tasaphonan/Navajo Badger)
Tuvehoyiwma (Hon/Bear)
Yukiwma (Kookop/Fire)

A Public Forum On Water & Energy
"Water is Life"

Veterans Memorial Center, Kykotsmovi
Agenda
November 6, 2009
8:00 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. Welcome & Prayer - Alph Secakuku, Sipaulovi Village
President of H.O.P.I
9:00 a.m. Purpose of the Forum: Ben Nuvamsa, Moderator

• Recognition and Honoring of the Late (Former Hopi Tribal Chairman)

Chairman Ferrell Secakuku and the Late
Nat Nutongla (Advocates of the
Preservation of our sacred water)
9:15 a.m. History of Peabody Coal Company Ben Nuvamsa and
on the Black Mesa Mine Vernon Masayesva (former Hopi Tribal
(An Historical Chronicle of Peabody Coal leases Chairman)
from the 1960's to Present Day and the Role
of Hopi Tribal Attorneys).
10:00 a.m. Presentations by Invited Guest Speakers Moderated by Ben Nuvamsa
11:00 a.m. Collaboration with Hopi and Navajo Tribes; Roger Clark (Executive Director - Grand
Alternative Energy Projects; and Impacts of Canyon Trust)
Black Mesa, Mohave and Desert Rock Power
Plants: Showing of "Power Path" A Documentary
12:00 p.m. Lunch Break
Video: "Burning the Future: Coal in
America" - A documentary on open pit
mining and impacts on the environment".
1:00 p.m. - Track A: Black Mesa Environmental Impact Sean Gnant (CM Brewer, LLP)
2:00 p.m. Statement (What it is and its long term impacts
on Hopi)
1:00 p.m. - Track B: Life of Mine Permit Vernon Masayesva, Ben Nuvamsa
2:00 p.m. (What it is and what it means to you)
2:00 p.m. - Track C: Black Mesa Lease Reopener Vernon Masayesva & Ben Nuvamsa
2:30 p.m. (What is this and what it means to you)
2:00 p.m. - Track D: Alternative Energy Resources Shannon Francis
2:30 p.m.
2:30 p.m. Environmental, Cultural & Economic Impacts Open Microphone:
of Mining on Black Mesa & Kayenta Mines Testimony Offered by Forum Participants
(effects of pumping on the Navajo Aquifer
on our life ways, our ceremonies, our
economy).
4:00 p.m. Prayer and Adjournment

'Water is Life' conference information:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2009/11/hopi-water-forum-water-is-life.html