Hopi teacher wins Spirit of the Heard Award

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

PHOENIX — Emory Sekaquaptewa doesn’t take things for granted, his philosophy, you could say, is “Don’t worry, be Hopi.”

So Sekaquaptewa didn’t get a big head when he won the fourth Spirit of the Heard Award from the Heard Museum.

“I was surprised but grateful for the recognition,”

Sekaquaptewa said. “I’m not really doing these things for recognition; I enjoy doing them and feel it has to be done.”
The central work of his life has been to try to save the language for future Hopi generations.

The Spirit of the Heard Award recognizes a person’s actions and work experience to further the Heard mission:

“To educate the public about the heritage and the living cultures and art of Native peoples, with an emphasis on the peoples of the Southwest.”

The recipient of this national award must be a living member of an American Indian tribe or community.

The museum’s Board of Trustee’s American Indian Advisory Committee created the Spirit of the Heard Award to honor an individual who has demonstrated a level of personal excellence in his or her life either individually as a community leader. The award ceremony was part of this year’s Native American Recognition Days in the Phoenix area. This year marks the 25th Annual, and the theme is “Celebrating 25 Years of Native American Communities and Cultures.”

Committee members chose Sekaquaptewa, a research anthropologist at the University of Arizona, for this honor because of his tireless work to help preserve all aspects of Hopi life, including the Hopi language for future generations.

One of his major works was the Hopi dictionary, which has more than 30,000 entries in it. It was published in 1998 after a decade of work. The latest revision of the Hopi Dictionary was completed in February 2004.

Sekaquaptewa was born on Third Mesa on the Hopi Reservation. He has worked at the U of A since 1972, in teaching, research and service. In addition, he was awarded a law degree from the university in 1970.

Sekaquaptewa is also an appellate judge for the Hopi Tribe.

During his tenure at the U of A, Sekaquaptewa has published dozens of scholarly articles and books.

“Emory Sekaquaptewa’s dedication to preserving all aspects of Hopi culture and language, his accomplishment in the Indian law field and his work as an educator at the U of A serve as an inspiration to all of us at the Heard,” said Frank Goodyear Jr., the museum’s director. “We are truly honored to present the Spirit of the Heard Award to such a stellar figure in Native American today.”

Sekaquaptewa has no plans to rest on his laurels, though.

His current project involves laying foundations for Hopi literacy programs at Hopi High School and other school on the Hopi Nation. He is also involved with the Hopi Murals Projects, funded by the Getty Foundation at the Museum of Northern Arizona .

He still teaches the “Hopi Language in Culture” course at the U of A, where he also co-teaches anthropology.

And, as one might expect, Sekaquaptewa is an active member of the Hopi community in all of its activities, both modern and traditional.

“It’s like I never left. I’ve been involved in every aspect of Hopi life,” Sekaquaptewa said.

He points to his 1966 Chevy Impala as an example.

“I think it had nearly 300,000 (miles) when I last looked,” he said.

Like his car, Sekaquaptewa just keeps on rolling along.

The Heard has educated visitors from around the world about the art and cultures of Native people of the

Southwest since 1929. It has nearly 40,000 artifacts in its permanent collection, an education center and an award-winning shop and bookstore and restaurant