Walpi ( nv, Deezʼáahjįʼ) is a

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

established around 900 AD.Experience Hopi: Guided Hopi Walpi village walking tour
. accessed 1.9.2012 It is located above

Arizona State Route 264 State Route 264 (SR 264) is a state highway in northeastern Arizona, that runs from a junction with US 160 near Tuba City to the New Mexico state line at Window Rock, where the highway continues as New Mexico State Road 264 (NM 264). Route ...

, east of the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

Navajo County Navajo County is in the northern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 106,717. The county seat is Holbrook. Navajo County comprises the Show Low, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. Navajo County co ...

, northern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. ''Walpi'' is the

term for "place of the notch." Historically, the village has also been known as Ash Hill Terrace, Gaspe, Gualpi, Hualpi, Kuchapturela, Valpee, and Wolpi. Walpi became the official name as a result of a decision of the

Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

in 1915. Walpi is an ancient stone pueblo complex located on the

First Mesa First Mesa ( Hopi: Wàlpi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Navajo County, Arizona, United States, on the Hopi Reservation. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 1,555, spread among three Hopi villages atop the 5,700-foot (1,740 m ...

(of three), above the canyon floor, on the

Hopi Reservation The Hopi Reservation ( Hopi: Hopituskwa) is a Native American reservation for the Hopi and Arizona Tewa people, surrounded entirely by the Navajo Nation, in Navajo and Coconino counties in north-eastern Arizona, United States. The site has ...

. The villages of Sichomovi and Tewa (Hano) are also on First Mesa, both established after the

Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Popay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than prese ...

of 1680 against the Spanish missions.

History

Walpi, of the

Hopi people The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the United ...

, is one of the older continuously inhabited villages in the United States, continuously inhabited for more than 1100 years since around 900 AD. It is an example of traditional Hopi stone architecture, used for their historic pueblos built at defensive locations on the mesa tops. The stone pueblo subtly rising from the stone mesa was well documented by photographs in the latter 19th century, by

Edward S. Curtis Edward Sherriff Curtis (February 19, 1868 – October 19, 1952) was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people. Sometimes referred to as the "Shadow Catcher", Curtis traveled ...

John K. Hillers John Karl Hillers (1843, Hanover, Germany – 1925) was an American government photographer. Hillers came to the United States in 1852. He was a policeman and then a soldier in the American Civil War, first with the New York Naval Brigade, ...

, and others.

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...

continued in the 20th century, along with increasing tourists' 'snapshots' via Fred Harvey bus tours and their own automobiles up from

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

Present day

The First Mesa Tourism Program describes the village of Walpi as "a living village where the homes are passed down through matrilineal clan lineage." About half a dozen in number live in the ancient stone dwellings, without running water or electricity, in the traditional manner. ;Access Walpi is accessible to visitors by guided tours, given by the First Mesa Consolidated Villages' Tourism Program.

References

Entry in The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2006

Britannica entry

External links

* ttp://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/search/searchterm/%20Walpi%20(Ariz.)--1910-1920./mode/exact Digital Denver Library.org: Walpi images from 1910-1920— ''online gallery''. * {{authority control Hopi Pueblo great houses Populated places in Navajo County, Arizona Native American history of Arizona Road-inaccessible communities of Arizona Hopi Reservation Pueblos in New Mexico

History

Present day

See also

References

External links