Tawaquaptewa (Hopi chief)
Tawaquaptewa was appointed as chief of Oraibi, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in America, in 1901. He represented the Friendlies, or Progressives, a faction of the Hopi people that advocated for cooperation with the federal government, contrasting with the Hostiles, or Traditionals, led by Yukioma, who resisted outside influence. The factions emerged from disagreements regarding the Hopis' reliance on government support, particularly following a violent incident involving a Navajo and the subsequent government response. Tawaquaptewa's leadership faced significant challenges, including a notable physical contest with Yukioma in 1906 to resolve their disputes, which ended in Yukioma's loss and departure to found a new spiritual center at Hotevilla. Although Tawaquaptewa became the undisputed leader after Yukioma's imprisonment in 1912, he struggled to integrate his American education with Hopi traditions. Under his leadership, traditional ceremonies began to decline, contributing to a significant decrease in the population of Oraibi. By the time of his death in 1960, the Bear Clan had fragmented, and Oraibi was in a state of disrepair.
Tawaquaptewa (Hopi chief)
- Born: c. 1882
- Birthplace: Oraibi, Third Mesa, Arizona
- Died: April 30, 1960
- Place of death: Oraibi, Third Mesa, Arizona
Category: Village chief
Tribal affiliation: Hopi (Bear Clan)
Significance: Tawaquaptewa tried to lead his clan and the Progressives through major civil strife in the Hopi Nation; he is blamed for the degradation of the ancient pueblo of Oraibi
Appointed chief of Oraibi, the oldest continuously occupied settlement in America, in 1901, Tawaquaptewa represented one of two factions of Hopis, the Friendlies, or Progressives, led by Lololma of the Bear Clan. The Hostiles, or Traditionals, were led by the dynamic and irascible Yukioma. The factions arose over a dispute about how much the Hopi should depend on the federal government for assistance. Lololma had earlier signed an agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs that pledged government support for the Hopi in their efforts to keep Navajo from trespassing on the Hopi reservation. The Hostiles believed that such agreements would lead to increased government intervention and further degradation of their spiritual and ceremonial roots; they wanted the policing of their land to be done without outside assistance. In 1891, a Navajo murdered Lololma’s nephew on the Hopi reservation. The bureau reluctantly arrested a Navajo suspect, then allowed him to escape, adding to the tension between the two factions.
In September of 1906, Tawaquaptewa attempted to force Lololma’s allies, led by Yukioma, from Oraibi. The skirmish would have led to civil war if not for the efforts of Reverend H. R. Voth, a Mennonite missionary. Tawaquaptewa and Yukioma agreed to a “push of war,” a physical contest between the two chiefs, to settle the dispute. The contest, staged on September 6, eventually disintegrated into chaos as allies for each faction joined in, trying to push their respective leaders across the line. Yukioma eventually lost after what has been documented as “hours of bloodless struggle.” He and his followers abandoned Oraibi that night, establishing a spiritual center at nearby Hotevilla.
In 1912, Yukioma, still chief of the now popular and powerful center of Hotevilla, was jailed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for threatening the matron of a government Indian school. This left Tawaquaptewa as the undisputed leader of the Hopi, a role for which he was unqualified and unprepared. Having received a routine American education from 1906 to 1910 in California, he could not reconcile what he had learned with Hopi spiritual traditions. Oraibians began to abandon traditional ceremonies and, by 1933, the pueblo numbered only 112 people. At his death in 1960 the Bear Clan disintegrated, and Oraibi was in ruins.