Hopi and Navajo Exploration:

A Volunteer Experience

Have you ever wondered what life is like on a reservation? Are you open to working with communities to accomplish tasks? Now is your chance! Join us for an unforgettable service trip. We will be traveling to Arizona and visiting the culturally rich Diné (Navajo) and Hopi reservations. We will fly into Phoenix and make our way up through the diverse landscape of Northern Arizona to the town of Polacca. We will participate in a wide variety of hands-on service projects around the reservations, including house painting, construction, hauling wood, and food and/or clothing sorting.

This immersive experience will allow students to learn about the history of these tribes, interact with local people, and deepen their understanding of past and ongoing injustices faced by Native Americans, such as the residential school movement, racism, substance abuse, and entrenched poverty. Systemic problems linked to extreme poverty are wide and varied; for example, Arizona Public Radio estimates that “40% of Navajo households lack running water.” In addition to confronting these challenging injustices, we will also have opportunities to embrace the beauty of this area and understand its importance to those who live there. Experiences may include a visit to the Canyon de Chelly, hiking/exploring, traditional ceremonies, and visiting local sites such as Walpi, a Hopi village founded in 900 AD.

Day 1

We spent the morning loading up the trailers at the Tipi Raisers’ Hub with all the building supplies we will need for all our construction projects this week. So pumped!!

Day 2

After a smooth flight from Denver, we landed in Phoenix, collected our rental cars, and headed north. Here is a photo of us in Sedona taking in the desert.

Tomorrow, we will head up to First Mesa to begin our service work. An elder on the reservation died earlier this week, so the community is in deep mourning. We aren’t sure what projects will be available for us, but we will keep you posted.

Day 3

We were up on First Mesa today helping the Hopi community to re-mud an ancient stone building. They taught us how to make the mud with the appropriate quantities of sand and water.

We as non-native individuals were forbidden from taking pictures up on the mesa because it is sacred ground. It was a rare honor to help them with this building practice. In lieu of a mudding photo today, we offer this sunset.

Day 4

Today one of our groups hauled firewood for 6 hours, 10 trailer loads. Working in the town of Bacavi to supply to local families for heat.

Day 5

Today half of our group helped with trash clean up on the mesa. They worked with a local family who spearheads this clean up effort. Marlo, Cassidy, and Alia report that they felt they made a direct impact on the community and found some crazy treasures including a creepy clown wig.

The other half of our group helped Pastor Albert, the care taker of the boarding school where we stayed, build a barbed wire fence around his cornfield to keep pests like cattle, jack rabbits, and sheep at bay. Here are some photos from that activity.

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