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Kiana F.
Professor Judith Bullen
Religion in America
13 December 2015
The Cultures and Religions of The Hopi Indians and The Oglala

The Hopi Indians and Oglala have played a large role in history with their life
changing advancements in farming and architecture. With all of their new
advancements, they still were able to place the highest importance on their religion and
families. Both groups have encountered hardship in the process of fighting for their
religious freedoms. Their dedication to their culture in history and present day is
something that modern Americans can learn from. In order to understand the impact
the Hopi and Oglala people made on American history, it is important to look at their
culture, way of life, and the lesson that modern Americans should learn from them. In
doing so, we will also discuss the similarities and differences between these two very
different tribes.

The Hopi Indians are considered to be a branch of the Pueblo Indians. The first
sighting of this tribe was in 500 B.C. in the greater Mexico area. The tribe then
immigrated North to Arizona where they can still be found today (Hopi Indians).

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According to Indians.org, the word Hopi is said to mean peace and hopefulness. This
sentiment is something echoed in the daily lives that these Native Americans live.

Women played a large role in Hopi society. In many religious stories like "Oraibi",
women were created before men and they had the ability to create life, placing them at
the center of cultural and religious importance (Albanese 31). The status of women in
the Hopi tribe gave them the right to own their own houses and serve as the head of the
household. Children also took on the family name of their mother (Albanese 31-32).
Unlike the stereotypical house makers seen in the European culture, these women
played large roles in the community. Women hunted buffalo with their husbands before
cooking and preparing the food. They also served as medicinal healers and
seamstresses (Native American Women).

The Hopi Indians are currently spread across Southeastern Arizona. Their
pueblos that were built on the side of mountains are seen as historic landmarks of their
ancestors. Man made ladders and tunneled passageways connected the pueblos in a
village. These pueblos are made out of a combination of baked clay and stone. These
remarkable settlements are built multiple stories high. The second story is made out of
living compartments or what would be equivalent to "bed rooms" today. The first floor is

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very symbolic with a circular shaped opening in the center. These man made pits were
referred to as kivas. These crater like openings were at the center of the community
because most religious ceremonies were conducted in the kiva. Solely men conducted
these rituals as women were excluded from worshipping in the kiva (Hopi Indians
Facts).

In the kiva, men often prayed about a healthy harvest. The Hopi Indians
revolutionized agriculture in the dessert soil of Arizona. These Native Americans had to
conduct "dry farming" methods in order to produce the nutritious crops needed for
everyday life. This technique relies solely on natural precipitation and rainfall to water
the crops. Using this method, the Hopi people were able to produce several different
crops including corn, squash, and other forms of protein like beans. With over 24
different kinds of cultivated corn, the rare blue corn was the most significant. It was
smaller than corn crops from other regions of the country but it uniquely had protein that
was necessary to energize and satisfy the hunger of the Indians. With the discovery of
this protein packed corn, the tribe turned away from the hunting seen in many other
tribes and relied solely on their agriculture (Fairchild).

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The importance of agriculture and farming carried on into their religion. This
religion was a combination of ordinary and extraordinary religion. In a story regarding
the origin of the Hopi people, they are said to have originated by emerging from a world
below the current one. The Hopi Indians enjoyed a prosperous life in that world until evil
and animosity took over. The Hopi people were able to escape that world and climb to
the upper world with the help of the "Spider Woman." Nearly all of the rituals and
ceremonies conducted by the Hopi Indians were agriculturally centered. They
constantly prayed for water to support their crops in the bone-dry dessert. They also
believed in Kachinas to aide their religious ceremonies. A Kachina is a term with
several different meanings including a spiritual being, a male dancer possessed by the
spirit he is channeling, or a religious doll. The Hopi religious year was based off of
different Kachina rituals dating from December to July. Their religion was very important
to them with the center of their pueblo villages being the kiva. These Hopi Indians relied
on the worship for rain and fertility to support their main food source through "dry
farming (Albanese 32)."

The Oglala have many cultural and religious similarities and difference with the
Hopi Indians. The Oglala tribe is a smaller division of the Sioux tribe. This group of
Native Americans originated from the Minnesota area. Their home on the Great

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Plaines, noticeably contrasts from the dessert living of the Hopi tribe. In 1750, the
Oglala felt as if they were on top of the world with the help of the migrating Europeans.
The tribe was able to hunt buffalo easier than ever with the introduction of horses.
These horses not only lessoned the wear and tare of walking for miles on end, but the
horses could also carry luggage and other tools that the Indians needed on their hunting
expeditions (Albanese 27).

One of the most well known members of the Oglala tribe was Nicholas Black Elk.
Black Elk is well known because he not only practiced his Native American religion, but
he was also Catholic. Black Elk and the rest of his tribe were threatened by the
encroachment of the invading United States military in 1889. During this stressful time,
he received a sign from above to turn to the Ghost Dance. He claims that he received a
message telling him that Native Americans could be saved from the imminent threat that
the "white" people posed by performing the Ghost Dance. This custom consists of
singing and dancing to different rituals. The United States military took action after
finding out about the widespread belief among Native Americans that the Ghost dance
could save them. The battle that ensued killed over 200 Native Americans including
children and women (Black Elk).

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Religion had a large impact on the lives of the Oglala Indians. Their religion is a
combination of ordinary and extraordinary religion. There origins are said to be from a
world below ours. The Oglala people were tempted to enter the above world until they
ran into suffering and misfortune. In the upper world, however, the White Buffalo Calf
Woman that brought the chief of the tribe a pipe and promised them prosperity on earth
greeted them. The story of the White Buffalo Calf Woman has become an integral part
of the tribe with a pipe being used in many religious rituals. The religion of the Oglala
people is one that incorporates many customs and practices (Albanese 32).

The Oglala people created a symbolic and religious ceremony for every life
changing moment that a person went through. The first important ritual of the Oglala
people is ghost keeping. This belief gives the Oglala people a healthier way to grieve
because they believe that the spirit of a deceased family member continues to stay with
them for several months after their physical death. Another key part of their religion is
the vision quest. During a vision quest, young men are sent out into the wild in order to
receive a message that serves as a way for a spirit to connect with and enlighten the
young youth. One of the most significant rituals conducted by the Oglala people is the
Buffalo ceremony. At a time when a girl is about to begin her first menstrual cycle, they
conduct this ceremony to connect the girl with the White Calf Buffalo Woman. The girl

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then has to live in isolation for a short time period because the power a woman has
during her menstrual cycle was thought to be powerful enough to harm the strongest
warrior. The Oglala people took the leap from childhood to adult life very seriously
(Albanese 28-29).

The majestic buffalo played a large role in the lives of the Oglala Indians. This
animal was the main form of income and food source for the Oglala people. The buffalo
meat was the main staple of their diet. The hide was very insulating and kept the Oglala
Indians warm during the frigid Minnesota winters. They even kept the buffalo teeth and
wove them into their religious attire. The Oglala were people that lived off the land and
often put animals like the buffalo at the center of their daily religious activities. They
would pray for a prosperous bounty before a hunt and would pray again when they
returned to give thanks for the buffalo. Today, in a time where hunting for your only food
source is no longer necessary, the Oglala people have returned to focus on their religion
in order to stay connected to their community and history (Albanese 30).

Although the Hopi and Oglala people lived in very different parts of the United
States, they had many cultural similarities. For example, religion was a key part of the
lifestyles practiced by members in these two groups. The religion for both tribes was a

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combination of ordinary and extraordinary religion. Both groups of Indians also shared
a similar story of origin linking their beginning from a world below the present one. The
Hopi and Oglala tribes thrived by receiving all of life's necessities from the earth. The
Hopi people focused on agriculture and vegetation as their main food source while the
Oglala's were hunters. These two Indian tribes were also smaller sub groups of a larger
Native American tribe. The Hopi Indians were a sub group of the Pueblo Indians while
the Oglala were a small branch of the Sioux Indians. The traditions practiced in the
tribes were based off of their physical and religious needs instead of just performing
them because they were important in their peoples history (Albanese 30-31).

Though similar, the Hopi and Oglala people have many differences making each
tribe unique. The Hopi people occupied land in the desserts of Arizona while the Oglala
called the Plaines of Minnesota home. Unlike the Oglala, the Hopi people centered their
religion around the harvest because farming was their main source of nutrition and
survival. Their religious calendar coordinated with the seasons and prayer focused on
the need for water in the bone-dry dessert. The only rituals conducted by the Hopi
people centered around Kachinas. In contrast, the Oglala people had many different
rituals based on the different stages of adulthood. Some of the rituals practiced by the

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Oglala include Sweat lodges, vision quests, ghost keeping, and the buffalo ceremony
(Albanese 32).

The once prosperous Hopi and Oglala people faced hardships when introduced
to the migrating Europeans and their missions, which began in 1862 (Albanese 35).
These two groups that were able to learn and thrive in Americas roughest terrains were
able to modernize when faced with adversity. In order to survive, these tribes learned
how to combine the practice of the native traditional religion and the widespread
Mormonism faith. The Hopi and Oglala cultures have many unifying and diverse
qualities. In the end, they were both able to lean on their religious beliefs in order to
succeed in the ever changing America. It is important to give the proper respect to the
natives of this country that were willing to modernize their traditions in order to make
room for the European immigrants moving to the United States. Their good morals and
values is something that can still be seen when visiting their historic Pueblos, taking a
trip to a local reservation, or reading about them in a textbook. This lesson of
acceptance and courtesy is something that should be practiced and revered today.

Works Cited:

Albanese, Catherine L. America: Religions & Religion. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. Print.

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"Black Elk." History. 2015.Web. <http://www.history.com/topics/native-americanhistory/black-elk>.

Fairchild, Kathy. "The Hopi - Early Innovators of Dry Land Farming." The Innovation
Diaries. 2011.Web. <http://www.theinnovationdiaries.com/2110/hopi-dry-landfarming/>.

"Hopi Indians." Native Net. 2014.Web. <http://www.native-net.org/tribes/hopiindians.html>.

"Hopi Indians Facts." Native American Indian Facts. 2015.Web.

<http://native-american-indian-facts.com/Southwest-American-IndianFacts/Hopi-Indians-Facts.shtml>.
"Native American Women." Indians.org. 2015.Web.
<http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-women.html>.