Chaco Culture on the Solstice
June 22nd, 2006 by Jim SpadacciniIt was an amazing afternoon at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. We saw two performances of Hopi dancers and took quite a few photographs.
We talked with the two leaders of the group, Bertram Tsavadawa and Ruben Saufkie. They are from Second Mesa, one of a number Hopi Villages in eastern Arizona.
Ruben told us about the importance and symbolism of the dances and their impression of Chaco Canyon, a place that they (and other Puebloan people) consider an ancestral homeland.
He also told us about their water crisis and a recent event in which he and Bert participated in. They ran from “Hopi” to Mexico City to raise awareness about the issue.
It was great to spend an afternoon watching the group dance. Here’s a few photographs, we hope to post more tomorrow.
Ruben Saufkie
Dancers smile.
Colorful feathers.
A young eagle dancer.
An even younger eagle dancer.
June 24th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
[...] Here’s some more photographs from our trip to Chaco Culture National Historical Park on the Summer Solstice. As I mentioned in thw previous post the dancers are Hopi and are from Second Mesa, Arizona. Deer dancer makes a call. [...]
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
[...] and I’ve been lucky enough to be at four out of the last five (you can see photos from 2004, 2006, 2007, and there are lots more photos of Chaco Culture at the Traditions of the Sun [...]