Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, former director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, shares what the Grand Canyon means to him and its significance to all of humanity. Watch the video ›
Videography by Deidra Peaches, Paper Rocket Productions
View the other videos in the series: Coleen Kaska (Havasupai), Loretta Jackson-Kelly (Hualapai), Nikki Cooley (Navajo), and Jim Enote (Zuni) ›
LEIGH KUWANWISIWMA: The Grand Canyon has a spirit. They say that we emerged from the Grand Canyon at a place called “Sipapuni,” which is the trail to the underworld. And then from there we emerged into this present world. And eventually, we will travel into the spiritual world.
And when that happens, our spirit travels to the Grand Canyon, particularly around the area of the confluence. And that is the home for our ancestral people and their spirits. And from the Grand Canyon, the spirits travel throughout the world as clouds. So every day they are with us.
So I hope that the visitors will share that kind of feeling, that the Grand Canyon, and humanity, are all one.
