I was asked to contribute an essay for the latest issue of Archaeology Southwest Magazine, titled, "More than a Pet: Exploring the Canine Cultural Histories in North America". I had a bit of fun with this one, and as always, I appreciate the opportunity to support Archaeology Southwest, the non-profit organization which publishes the magazine. …
Continue reading Pumuy Pokot’hoyam ep Hopi’tutskwa: The Dogs of Hopi-land
Did I really say that?!? 😁 Why, yes indeed I did!Back in 2020 (geez...) I was asked by the good people at Archaeology Southwest (Tucson, AZ) if I was interested in writing an introductory essay for the Archaeology Southwest Magazine. I've written a few essays for this publication (and a new one forthcoming!), so I …
By Lyle Balenquah Third Mesa Tep'wungwa (Greasewood) Clan, Village of Paaqavi, Arizona. The following chapter appears in the volume, "Working as Indigenous Archaeologists: Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives". Edited by George Nicholas and Joe Watkins. (Routledge, 2024). “I know my story. But the only real, tangible evidence of the clans being here …
Continue reading Seeking My Center Place: Migrations through Science and Tradition
Our first Director and leader of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (HCPO), Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, made his final journey from this earthly world on February 17th, 2025. While it is not considered a Hopi practice to be “memorialized”, it is with respect and humility that we offer this remembrance of his life. Leigh was born …
Continue reading In Honor Of Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma (1950-2025).
"It was just a colour out of space—a messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; from realms whose mere existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the black extra-cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes." ~H.P. Lovecraft ++++ This is the view looking southwest from the …
In 2022, I and another Hopi Archaeologist, April Sewaquaptewa, were asked to contribute an essay for the 400+ page book titled, "Native American Art from the Thomas W. Weisel Family Collection". In addition to many beautiful color plate photos of the fine art, the book contains essays and writings from museum curators and conservators, as …
Continue reading Pueblo Pottery: A Thousand years of Ancestral Designs and Continuing Traditions
This is a short essay I wrote for Plateau Magazine (Museum of Northern Arizona) about Hopi connections to the Glen Canyon region. This issue compliments a small exhibit currently on display at MNA titled, "Archaeologists in Glen Canyon". The exhibit will run through the summer of 2023. The essay, with voice-over, is also on display …
My latest article about the conservation work we completed in the Bears Ears area is now available via the link below. The piece is featured in the Spring/Summer 2022 edition of the Grand Canyon Trust's publication, "Advocate Magazine". Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Zuni #642. Photo: Lyle Balenquah Please consider supporting the Grand Canyon Trust in …
Continue reading Beyond Stone & Mortar: Preserving Indigenous Presence within Ancestral Landscapes
A great article, "Full Circle", authored by Karuna Eberl recently appeared that highlights the conservation work we have been doing within Bears Ears National Monument. The article is featured in the Spring 2022 edition of National Parks, the quarterly magazine of the National Parks Conservation Association. You can find the article HERE There is also …
"No matter its color—clear, red, or blue—the Little Colorado River gives life to the lands, communities, and cultures through which it flows." Follow the link below to hear and read various Indigenous perspectives about Paayu, the Little Colorado River, and why it deserves continued protection and preservation as a Cultural Landscape and unique, desert ecosystem. …
Continue reading Lifeways of the Little Colorado River – Grand Canyon Trust
I recently had the opportunity to speak with the "Science Moab Podcast" about my views on Indigenous Archaeology as well as on-going conservation work in Southeastern Utah. This interview was included as a part of the Moab Festival of Science. You can hear the interview here-->https://sciencemoab.org/perspectives-from-a-hopi-archaeologist/ The interview was followed by a live-stream Q & …
Continue reading “Speak Softly, Tread Lightly & Show Much Respect….”
The much anticipated collaborative work about Hopi Archaeology and History is now available. If you or anyone else would like to buy a copy, please use the following link: https://uapress.arizona.edu/2021/06/naisa-2021-learn-about-our-recent-indigenous-studies-titles
Be sure to check out this short, but great video overflight of 3 dam systems that are being proposed to be built within the Little Colorado River Gorge. These dams would significantly impact unique cultural landscapes that are important for several Indigenous tribes, as well as impact critical, natural habitat for the endangered Humpback Chub. …
Continue reading Help protect the Little Colorado River Gorge from development!
I am happy to share my latest writing about Bears Ears, Indigenous Archaeology and what we hope to see develop for this culturally important landscape. This piece is featured in the most recent edition of the Grand Canyon Trust's publication, "Advocate Magazine". Please consider joining the Trust as a member and supporting their efforts to …
An earlier version of this writing appeared in Archaeology Southwest Magazine, Volume 33, Nos. 1 & 2. Like many landscapes throughout the American Southwest, Hopi people maintain a cultural connection with the region now designated as part of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). From a Hopi perspective, we believe that it is our ancestors who, …
Continue reading Ancestral Hopi Presence in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
With the historic visit by Indigenous Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to southeast Utah this week, I think it's worth re-posting a previous blog writing from 4 years ago describing, in part, some of the Hopi questions and answers we find in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante landscapes. While the increased attention of …
Continue reading Hisat’sinom to Hopi: Establishing Cultural Affiliation in the Bears Ears Landscape
Here are a couple of links to recent articles from High Country News and CNN about the current and future work in the Bears Ears issue. With the change in administration and nomination of Representative (NM) Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior, there is renewed hope to reverse the harmful impacts implemented …
The turquoise waters of the Little Colorado River just above the Confluence. The Grand Canyon landscape contains some of the Southwests most unique ecosystems of rivers, springs and riparian zones. These areas are home to many plant and animal species, some found nowhere else in the world, or that represent the last viable populations holding …
Be sure to check out the "Mesa Verde Voices" Podcast. Ill be sharing some insights about trade networks and relationships within the Ancestral Pueblo World. Listen to Season 3 Teaser by Mesa Verde Voices on #SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/mesaverdevoices/e0-season-3-teaser
Sandstone Canyons. Toko'navi in the far distance. It’s 2 AM in the morning and I’m sitting on a steep, rocky hillside, deep inside a canyon in Southeastern Utah. I am not alone. An intimate group of friends and family have also made the long backpack to reach this location. We sit in a loose circle, …
Last spring (2018) I was asked if I was interested in providing content for a museum exhibit to be show-cased in the John Wesley Powell Museum in Green River, Utah. The exhibit titled, "Glen Canyon: A River Guide Remembers" is intended to present the landscapes of Glen Canyon before it was flooded by the waters …
Continue reading Glen Canyon: A River Guide Remembers, A Museum Exhibit
The origins of this book began as a session of the 2013 Society for American Archaeology conference held in honor of Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (HCPO) Director, Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma (retired). The papers resulting from that session serve as the basis for the 14 chapters of the book. The authors include HCPO staff, Southwestern anthropologists, …
Continue reading Book Review: Footprints of Hopi History: Hopihiniwtiput Kukveni’at
With the historic visit by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to southeast Utah this week, I think it's worth re-posting a previous blog writing from 4 years ago describing, in part, some of the Hopi questions and answers we find in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante landscapes. While the increased attention of the …
Continue reading Hisat’sinom to Hopi: Establishing Cultural Affiliation in the Bears Ears Landscape
In today’s episode, Lyle Balenquah interviews Susan Sekaquaptewa and Marissa Nuvayestewa about their efforts to build a Hopi museum and learning center by Hopi, for Hopi. They and their team are in the thick of working on turning this idea into a reality and they break down that process in this episode. They talk about …
This episode is part two of the Grand Canyon National Park miniseries. Today we interview Heritage Voices co-host Lyle Balenquah, Hopi archaeologist, ethnographer, educator, advocate, and river guide extraordinaire about his background, diversity in Anthropology, and Hopi connections to the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon topics include the proposed Greater Grand Canyon National Monument, the Desert …
Recently I was asked to submit a review of this book for the publication, Kiva: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, which is published by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. This is my unedited submission. Awat’ovi has experienced its fair share of research, both by the archaeologists’ trowel and the historians’ pen. Upon …
PR Piece that was printed as a Full Page Ad in the Navajo Times.
For Immediate Release December 29, 2016 Kykotsmovi, Ariz. – Today Hopi Tribal Chairman Herman G. Honanie applauds President Obama’s designation of the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) under the Antiquities Act of 1906. This is a landmark decision culminating a broad collaborative effort between conservation groups, federal and state governments and five tribal groups including Hopi, Zuni,Ute …
Continue reading Hopi Tribe Celebrates Bears Ears National Monument Proclamation
An interview from 2014 with Jack Loeffler (Santa Fe, NM) talking about Hopi connections to Landscapes, Culture & Sustainability. Originally appeared in Green Fire Times, 2014 (Santa Fe, NM). JL: How do you perceive culture relative to homeland? LB: Culture relative to homeland is a big idea. Homeland is something that is always in the back of …
1200 A.D. Dawn breaks over a secluded canyon, spreading a sliver of orange light along the rim as a lone canyon wren welcomes the morning, singing another day into existence. As the light increases in intensity, it illuminates a sheer cliff face, revealing layers of geologic time; ancient cross-bedded sand dunes and million-year old ocean …
Continue reading Spirit of Place: Preserving the Cultural Landscape of the Bears Ears
In the Hopi language, Nayavu'waltsa is a place name, meaning "Clay Gap Place" and refers to the region known as Black Mesa, located in Northern Arizona. This mesa of the high desert is a geologic uplift of the much larger Colorado Plateau which covers a large area of the 4 Corners region; Southeastern Utah, Western Colorado, …
Continue reading Walking The Line at Nayavu’waltsa: Preservation of a Cultural Landscape (Intro)
“Buildings too, are children of Earth and Sun” ~Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect Throughout the American Southwest are thousands of prehistoric architectural remains that were once the homes, ceremonial centers and gathering places for the Indigenous peoples who occupied this vast geographic area. Ranging in size from pit-houses to large village and cliff-dwelling complexes, and …
“When we visit the Grand Canyon and we come to this area…we just don’t show up empty handed. There’s great preparation that goes into coming down here….we bring offerings for allowing us to come through the passage of this place. As we make our way down here, there are several places that we stop and …
On the approach of the 25th anniversary of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), I wanted to reflect on my personal experiences in dealing with and implementing NAGPRA with the Hopi Tribe. This is not meant to be a technical, legal or political analysis of the Act, there are other resources available …
PAA'TUUWI 