(Continued from Previous Post)
Hopi House Navajo Dancers
We walked past Bright Angel Lodge and saw the Fountain shop. We did grab a few crudités at Kolb Studio but thought we should go and check out the offering. It wasn't terribly exciting; there was the standard selection of ice cream, wrapped sandwiches, hot dogs, fruit, pastries and beverages to go.
As it was a hot day, we decided that some refreshment was in order.
It was nice to just slurp our drinks right at the rim.
We kept heading east on the Rim trail. DH had found out there was a performance happening at Hopi House.
Around the turn of the 19th century, as the United States pushed westward forcing Native American tribes onto reservations, many Americans believed that Native Americans were a "dying race." They thought that soon Native Americans would vanish due to war, disease, or assimilation into mainstream white American society. Some tourism enterprises, especially in the American Southwest, began encouraging wealthy travelers to come see these tribes while they were still somewhat intact. In particular, the Hopi were a popular tribe to visit, because they were peaceful and, by 19th century standards, were considered more civilized because they lived in permanent pueblos built of multi-level stone structures and created sophisticated arts and crafts. The Hopi and their ancestors typically referred to as Ancestral Puebloans, have inhabited the Grand Canyon area for millennia. To capitalize on this tourist interest, the Santa Fe Railway built Hopi House on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon as a place where visitors could observe Hopi artisans at work and purchase their goods.
Built in 1905, Hopi House is the first of eight projects at the Grand Canyon that were designed by architect Mary Colter.
Colter planned Hopi House as a sort of living museum, in which Hopi Indians could live while making and selling traditional crafts. I didn't take any pictures of the building inside but it does explain the internal layout of this place. It did feel like it had originally been constructed of smaller rooms; much like a house that was now all opened up to display the merchandise in here. We did look and I got some souvenir t-shirts; but nothing else caught our eye. I may be selling it short but it just felt like a lot of mass-produced merchandise; and the stuff that was more artisan in nature was quite pricey.
Despite the prominence of Hopi House and the Hopi presence at the Grand Canyon, there are in fact, today 12 different tribes recognized as having cultural ties to the Canyon. The National Park Service has been working to accommodate the cultural needs of these other groups. One such group is the Navajo; and the performance that DH had found out about was the Pollen Trail Dance Navajo Troupe performing dances traditionally performed at pow wows. It was a free performance staged outside of Hopi House.
We saw 3 dances - The Basket Dance.
Nothing is ever for free. That basket in the front was for donations and tips.
The native costume was amazing!
The second dance - Grasshopper Dance.
He was rather nimble.
The third dance was the showstopper for me - the Hoop Dance.
This guy was amazing!
He ended up keeping the rhythm of the dance whilst managing up to 12 hoops.
We caught the 1 pm performance and it lasted 45 minutes. There is a second show at 2.15. If you do decide to see it, make sure you slip, slop, slap with the appropriate shirt, sunscreen and hat if it is a sunny day. I got a little bit too much sun just in that 45 minute period.
And for the record. We did partake in contributing to the basket.
Although you take wonderful photos, I don't think any photo could really do it justice.
Thanks. I remember you telling me you stayed at Yavapai. Did you stay at the East or West side?
