Olive Toney (1915-2011) Hopi-Tewa, 1940s Polychrome Vase. Migratory bird motif throughout with traditional colors. Signed on the bottom with the words "Walpi Village," a Hopi settlement in Arizona. 

Size: 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. 

The Hopi are Native Americans primarily living on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, with a population of roughly 20,000 organized into matrilineal clans spanning all villages that share traits with neighboring Pueblo structures, including communal Great Houses and kivas. Descended from the Ancestral Pueblo people of the Four Corners region, the Hopi moved to mesa tops in the 17th Century for protection from Utes, Apaches, and Spanish colonists, resisting subjugation during events like the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and later encounters with U.S. soldiers, Navajo, and Mormon settlers. In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur established their reservation, which is now entirely surrounded by the Navajo Reservation due to mid-20th Century land disputes. The Hopi ratified their constitution in 1936, creating a Tribal Council government while preserving traditional village authority, including Old Oraibi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited villages in the U.S. Today, they are renowned for their arts, crafts, and natural resource management, with tourism and collectors of Hopi dolls, ceramics, and rugs sustaining their economy while celebrating their resilient culture.

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