Adobe Gallery Blog

The Hopi have preserved their culture in a more traditional form than many other Native tribes in the United States.  The men have continued their reenactment of the roles of the Katsina in Hopi life and the women have continued to practice the art of basketry for its original intent.

We, as outsiders, see Hopi plaques as decorative objects made to sell to tourists and collectors but that is only a secondary and recent purpose.  The plaques have served to retain Hopi culture and the women are responsible for this occurrence.  It is the females who laboriously gather the materials, process them through sun drying, preparing the dyes and dying the wicker and then, as a last step, weaving the plaque.  It is the plaque that symbolizes the woman's role in Hopi culture as it is the reenactment of the Katsina dances that reinforces the role of the men.

Read more about this basket here.