Tour Guide: Into Hopi Country

Rachel Dickinson visits a Hopi village with a local guide.

Evelyn Fredericks is a small, energetic woman who walks like a New Yorker on her way to a meeting, only she was nowhere near New York. Fredericks was our tour leader through her Hopi village in northern Arizona, situated in the middle of the huge, sprawling Navajo reservation that covers much the northern portion of the state. About 10,000 Hopi live in 12 villages associated with three mesas, and anyone who drives along highway 264 will pass through the reservation's high desert landscape and notice the small agricultural fields carved out of the sand where the Hopi grow corn, squash, melons, and beans using dry-framing techniques. But if you want to visit the villages, the best way to do so is to hire a Hopi guide.

We followed Fredericks to a remote canyon with fantastically shaped rock formations. As we gawked at the rocks (which reminded most of us of various foods ranging from mushrooms to buttercream frosting), Evelyn told us about the history of the region and gave us a little insight into Hopi culture with its matrilineal landholdings and tight clan structure.


Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/into-hopi-country.html