The Hopi are a Native American people who have lived in northeastern Arizona for more than a thousand years. Their villages, built on and around three large mesas (flat-topped hills), are among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in North America. Some Hopi families have lived in the same stone houses for dozens of generations.

The Hopi are known for their intricate pottery, colorful kachina dolls (representing spiritual beings), and their skill at dry farming, growing corn, beans, and squash in a desert climate with very little rainfall. Their name comes from their own language and means “peaceful people” or “civilized people.”

Hopi culture places great importance on living in harmony with nature and maintaining balance in the world. They have preserved their language, ceremonies, and traditions despite centuries of pressure to abandon them. Today, about 18,000 Hopi live on their reservation in Arizona, working to keep their ancient culture alive while also participating in modern American life. Many Hopi are farmers, artists, teachers, and professionals who maintain strong connections to their ancestral villages and traditions.

The word Hopi can describe the people themselves (the Hopi Tribe), their language (speaking Hopi), or things related to their culture (Hopi pottery).