Advocate Fall/Winter 2016 - My People Were Here (Header)
Ellen Heyn
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Adv - Kawestima title

Kawestima by the numbers

Adv - Kawestima by the numbers

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Includes living spaces, granaries, storage rooms & kivas.

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Required climb to reach the alcove

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Period of occupation

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Amount of water you need to carry for the two-day hike

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How do you trace your ancestry to Kawestima?

During one of my visits, the ranger kept saying, “they lived here, they built this, they, they, they.” So I asked the ranger, who is “they”? And he replied, “the Puebloans.” So I asked, “Why don’t you say that?” People need to know the facts. And the facts are that the Puebloan people lived there. And the Puebloan people are Hopi. 

According to members of my family, my clan did not live here in the early days. We migrated from down south in Peru and established residency in the area commonly known as Navajo Mountain. You see a lot of my clanship symbols around Navajo Mountain, Inscription House, and Kawestima. From there, they continued migrating south and then eventually came back toward the Hopi mesas. 

Across the Southwest, where else have you seen your clan markings?

I’ve seen them down along the Sedona area, Camp Verde. And I’ve heard they’re as far south as Springerville, Arizona. I’ve also seen them at Mesa Verde. 

What do the pictographs and petroglyphs at Kawestima mean to you?

My people were here, my ancestors were here, my clan was here. It’s a reminder to not take things for granted. This is how they lived. We can hopefully appreciate how much hardship every clan faced. It’s a reminder that we were there, and we still exist today. 

Advocate Fall/Winter 2016 - My People Were Here (Section Title)

Sneak Peek
Ellen Heyn
Ellen Heyn
Ellen Heyn
Ellen Heyn
Ellen Heyn
Ellen Heyn
Ellen Heyn
Ellen Heyn

Adv - Kawestima Text 2

Ellen Heyn Communications & Outreach Associate Ellen Heyn hikes and writes for the Colorado Plateau Explorer.


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Tim Peterson

Advocate Fall/Winter 2016 - Proposed Bears Ears National Monument (Feature block)

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