Hik wis’ uuts tuya-19:

HLC is now seeking community participants interested in sharing personal experiences related to how COVID has impacted our culture. Community input is important to us, and we are happy to have support from the National Endowment of the Humanities for Tribal Cultural Institutions to help capture Hopi people’s experiences for future generations to reference.

Many Indigenous nations have been gravely affected by the pandemic. Not only have elders and knowledge keepers been lost, but the dangers of direct contact exposure have impacted ceremonial cycles and events. Because of isolation mandates, ceremonies have not been fully practiced or have been altered to some degree, thus leading to significant disruption of intergenerational knowledge sharing. By interviewing and video-recording community members about their experiences, we aim to make a time capsule of this unique moment in history, sharing stories of loss, adaptation, and resilience.

The COVID Oral Histories Project involves three components:

1. Conduct video-recording testimonies from Hopi community members.

2. Edit testimonies into seven-minute videos.

3. Further compile testimonies into a five-minute video for HLC website.

Follow us for project updates!