The Hopi People

n silversmithing, Hopis are best known for their intricate overlay designs. These designs are cut out entirely free hand from either Sterling Silver or gold. The subject matter that they select can range from simple symbols, including rain clouds, to extremely intricate scenes that depict Kachina dances, Kivas, storm clouds, lightning, and or pueblo buildings.

As with the other pueblos Hopi pottery is hand-coiled and traditionally fired outdoors. They gather their clay from traditional sites and pieces are polished by hand and painted after firing.

Hopis are known for their colorful and traditional culture, with Kachinas being central to their spirituality and art. Kachinas are spiritual beings of nature believed to live on the sacred San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona.

The Hopis deliberately built their villages on the mesa tops and dry farmed in the ravines running down the mountain sides. The Spanish recorded the Hopi Village, Old Oraibi, as having 1,500 - 3,000 residents in 1540.