The Hopi are Native American First Nation tribal peoples and are one of the oldest living cultures in documented history. They live in Northeastern Arizona.

This crowdfund is to support Hopitutuquaiki - a community project and school to support and preserve Hopi language and culture.

Hopi elders, who are fluent Hopi speakers, say that the language is the root of perpetuating Hopi culture (Mesa Media, 2005).

Hopi fluency began to decline during the era when Native American children were forced into boarding schools and forbidden to speak their own language.

With language decline, Hopi people also experienced a loss of cultural identity.

Modern schools both on and off the reservation still emphasise a system of education developed from a European model. It was designed for a value system and developmental model quite different from most Native American peoples.

Tribal members wanted to create a school based on Hopi customs and values. They received funding from an unexpected source when Princess Irene of Greece, founder of a charity called World in Harmony, visited the Hopi Nation and offered a startup grant.

Hopitutuqaiki was born - the Hopi School.

It started with classes in traditional and contemporary arts and later added the year round Hopi language-immersion preschool. They work in the community spaces and also have their own large cabin. They work with all ages and run:

A year round Language Immersion Pre-School,

Traditional and contemporary art classes in the community

Presentations on cultural knowledge.

Hopitutuquaiki has been running in the community for over 18 years and all the classes are well attended.

Funding is through donations and fundraising activities - such as the yearly raffle of a beautiful Opportunity Quilt - made by members of the community each year.

Who has set up this crowd fund and why are we fundraising for Hopitutuquaiki?

We are a small group of friends in the UK who have set up this crowd funder in memory of Detta Lange. She visited Hopi Land regularly over many years in the 1960’s and 1970’s and had close friends in Hotevilla Village. She was an artists and a teacher and helped in the campaign for there to be Hopi teachers in the local schools. She moved to UK in the early 1980s and inspired many of us here to listen to, respect and relate to nature.

We learnt so much from Detta and this is a wonderful chance to give back and reciprocate in gratitude. Detta always spoke with such deep respect and gratitude for her time with the Hopi.

In 2005 Detta wrote:

“The greatest gift for me was to have the opportunity to be with a people whose life was totally in tune with the land and nature around them.

The dry earth, plants, trees, animals, rocks, the water which springs from the well, clouds, the daily weather, the contours of the mountains against the sky, the sun, the nightly movements of moon and stars.

I learned to collect edible and medicinal plants at the right time of day and the year, talking to the plants like to dear friends.

Planting is done with the wellbeing of every living thing in mind.

Every day spent with the Hopi was an inspiration. I felt blessed to be with a people who were one with the soul of the land”

The Hopi Way is one of peace and reverence for all things.

In 2022 Rachel visited Hopitutuquaiki in Hopi Land, Arizona. She is one of this group of Detta’s friends.

“ The artwork is just beautiful, and the stories of the positive impact of the classes were really inspiring. In order to preserve the Hopi language they identified that teaching the young children was very important. The pre-school is full and they hope to be able to expand this in the future”

Any donation will go directly to helping support their work

Please support this project with one off and regular donations either through this crowd funder or directly through the donations section on their website.

Regular donations are really helpful to an organisation like this.

We are holding several small fundraising events throughout the year in Devon, UK. To contact us Friends of Detta in the UK email: hopischoolfundraiser@gmail.com

For more information about Hopitutuquaiki:

www.hopitutuquaiki.com

and Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/p/Hopitutuqaiki-100083402467331/