The Hopitu-shinumu

We are part of the world.  Everything we need is provided by nature: food, water, and shelter.

Our homes are built of sandstone, juniper wood, and mud from the riverbed.  Petrified wood is easy to knap into points, scrapers, and other beautiful and fine-edged tools.  Both plants and animals are available for food.

Besides gathering the plants of the high desert (such as skunkbush sumac, four-wing-saltbush, and wild onions), we also grow corn, beans, and squash: the Three Sacred Sisters.  Obviously, water is the most precious commodity in this arid region.  Unlike some of our neighbors, we don't use irrigation much.  The nearby Puerco River runs after the snow melts and during the rainy season of late summer, thick and rich as cocoa.  Even when the river appears dry, moisture is found just under the surface of the sand.  During the rainy season, the river and its many washes jump their banks to flood our fields, giving life to our crops.

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