Family Life

The Hopi people were closely connected by clans that divide them. Every clan has an animal name, like the Bear Clan, the Eagle Clan, etc. Each clan has different traditions.

The women get to own the houses, land and children! The brothers and sisters of the mother teach young Hopi kids their clan’s traditions, and their value to the kid’s education is almost as important as the children!

Couples in the Hopi tribe must be from different tribes to be able to get married. The bride may stay at the groom’s house for several days and will cook up meals to prove that she can care for her new husband.

In a special wedding ceremony, the groom’s parents might wash the new couples hair using suds from a yucca (yuh-KUH) plant’s roots.

Hopi families are not nomadic, they stay in permanent Adobe style houses that have multiple levels. Families climb separate ladders to reach different levels in their Adobe home.

Families are very important to the Hopi Tribe.