Hopi Mesas
Northwest Arizona
Visiting the Hopi village of Walpi on First Mesa is like stepping back in time. The stone-built village, relocated there by the Hopi people to better protect themselves after they revolted against the Spanish in 1680, balances on a narrow cliff that juts out over the valley floor 300 feet below.
“You get up there and you can see the enormity of the landscape all around the Hopi mesas,” said Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director for the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office.
The Hopi Nation comprises 12 villages on three Mesas — First Mesa, Second Mesa and Third Mesa — and today includes about 13,000 people. In addition to Walpi, First Mesa is also home to two other villages, Tewa, also known as Hano, and Sichomovi.
Second Mesa is home to the villages of Mishongnovi, Shungopavi and Sipaulvi, which are known for their coiled baskets and katsina dolls; it is also home to the Hopi Cultural Center restaurant and inn. Residents of Third Mesa specialize in weaving multicolor wicker baskets and wall hangings.
Each village is autonomous; although the Hopi Nation has its central government, each village functions independently, and locals make their own rules about visitors, tours and photography, which is generally not allowed. Villages also often close for ceremonies and other spiritual observances, so it’s best to contact each village before visiting. The Hopi Cultural Center is a good starting point because the staff can provide a roster of tour guides, Kuwanwisiwma said.
Walpi is a popular destination because guided tours of the village and First Mesa are usually available. Local artisans often give demonstrations outside individual homes, making traditional arts and crafts such as pottery and katsina, or kachina, dolls, he said.
Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
With more than 300,000 registered members, the Cherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the United States, and nearly two-thirds of its population lives in Oklahoma.
The Cherokee History Tour is one of the most popular ways to experience the Cherokee Nation “because it does show our cultural heritage,” said Cheryl Trask, senior marketing and operation manager for Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism.
The tour takes people to the Cherokee Heritage Center, where guests will find Diligwa (dee-lee-gwah), a living replica of a 1710 village that opened in 2013. The village re-creates how Cherokee lived at the time, and people dressed in authentic attire demonstrate blow guns, basket weaving, pottery-making, arrowhead flint knapping and games of stickball. Guests can also tour Cherokee dwellings; council houses, where clan representatives governed; and, in the summer, gardens planted with what the Cherokee would have grown 300 years ago.
Inside the center, the Trail of Tears exhibit recounts how the U.S. government in 1838 forced the Cherokee to relocate from their ancestral lands to present-day Oklahoma, a death march during which thousands of Cherokee died.
“It’s a touching moment because it’s a life-size exhibit portraying people that are walking the Trail of Tears,” said Cynthia Vandenameele, sales specialist for Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism.
The tour includes stops at several historic sites, including the 1844 Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum and the Cherokee National Prison Museum, which served as a penitentiary from 1875 to 1901.
