Dignity as (Self-)Determination: Hopi Sovereignty in the Face of US Dispossessions

Abstract

In 2013, the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort began spraying artificial snow made from reclaimed wastewater on Arizona's highest peak, a place the Hopi people call Nuvatukya'ovi, “Snow-on-top-of-it.” As one of the Hopis' most sacred places, the home of the katsinam and the southwestern boundary marker of their aboriginal territory, the Hopi have fought for decades to stop development of the ski resort, which today sits on US Forest Service land. Viewing the history of this dispute through the lens of Atuahene's notion of a “dignity taking,” this article argues that despite never having been relocated, the indignities that the Hopi have suffered by US dispossessions of much of their aboriginal territory are the product of a series of bureaucratic sleights of hand that only bear the mark of legality if one ignores history and denies the enduring right to self-determination and sovereignty that Hopi have continuously claimed with regard to the totality of their aboriginal land. Yuuyahiwa, Ayamo Nuvatukya'ove'e. Oo'oomawutu, angqw puma naayuwasinaya, pewi'i. They are preparing themselves [for a journey], Over there at the snow-capped mountains [San Francisco Peaks]. The clouds, From there, they are putting on their endowments [of rain power], To come here. A Hopi katsinam song recalled by Emory Sekaquaptewa (from Sekaquaptewa and Washburn, 2004, 468)