Miguel Vasquez
Northern Arizona University
Changing the Terms of Engagement: NAU - Hopi Collaboration
For the past 15 years, faculty and student anthropologists and archaeologists from the Anthropology Department at Northern Arizona University have worked in collaboration with communities on the Hopi Reservation and the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office on a variety of grass-roots projects aimed at the revitalization of traditional indigenous knowledge and valued tribal practices. Using gardens, orchards, as well as conventional classrooms, in conjunction with tribal elders, parents, and teachers, these projects provide participants with practical experience in cultural sustainability and “raising children the Hopi way”. This presentation will provide an overview of the diverse nature of this university-tribal cooperation, its background, and challenges, as well as guidelines for further work in “changing the terms of engagement” between anthropologists and indigenous communities.
