Hopi youth to learn exhibit savvy from Washington, D.C., museums

A group of Hopi youth and elders who are part of a Northern Arizona University anthropology project are heading to Washington, D.C., to learn ways to preserve their culture.

Sixteen Hopi teens, along with five Hopi elders and project staff, will conduct cultural preservation activities at the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of Natural History from June 15-19 as part of the "Footprints of Ancestors" project.

During their visit, the young travelers will participate in museum workshops and critiques of exhibits and will learn ways to create a museum-quality Hopi youth traveling exhibit.

The Footprints of Ancestors project, a collaboration between NAU and the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, promotes interaction between Hopi youth and elders, educators, archaeologists and multimedia professionals to preserve the tribe's cultural past.

It follows the "footprints" of Hopi culture left from ancestors at archaeological sites throughout the Southwest and results in the creation of intergenerational learning activities, such as Digital Hopi Youth Guide DVDs and podcasts, so Hopi youth and elders can share their cultural knowledge with future generations.

"Following their learning experiences in Washington, D.C., we will continue exhibit design and production in Arizona," said George Gumerman, director of the NAU Honors Program and former anthropology chair. "Using the DVDs created in prior years, collections, archives and knowledge passed down from Hopi elders and archaeologists, the youth will develop their own traveling exhibit."

Gumerman said the new exhibit opening is scheduled to coincide with the Museum of Northern Arizona's Hopi Heritage Festival, July 3 and 4, 2010—the oldest Hopi cultural festival in the world.