One of the organizations that the film producers acknowledged and thanked in Beyond the Mesas was the Hopi Education Endowment Fund (HEEF). In addition to providing funds to support educational research, HEEF has generated millions of dollars to help Hopi students receive an education on and off the reservation. I was one of these students, and I remain very thankful and indebted to HEEF and the Hopi Tribe Grants and Scholarship Program (HTGSP) for helping me to attend college and graduate school. I would not be where I am at today without the support of HEEF and the HTGSP. Below is a brief film about the organization’s purpose and goals. A reoccurring theme in the film is that many Hopis consider education to be a tool that will ensure the survival of our people. This understanding is key to HEEF’s existence. Please consider donating to this worthy organization. To learn more about HEEF, click here.
Beyond the Mesas 
I thought that the main message of the movie was furthering education for the Hopi people, which is something that I completely agree with. In the beginning of the movie it stated that the Hopi people were not against education, they just want to preserve the Hopi culture as well. It was also stated in the beginning of the movie that Hopi’s also believed that education of the white man’s way of life was necessary for survival, which is another statement that I definitely agree with. As the white men were starting to take over Native countries and their ways of life, it became vital that Native Americans learn how to adapt to the white man’s way of life, while preserving their culture and traditional values as well. I really enjoyed the part when the movie talked about the Hopi Education Endowment Fund and the Hopi Tribe Grants and Scholarships Program. I thought this was great for Hopi people and a wonderful opportunity for them to advance their education without the financial burden. Alyssa Fredricks and Monica Kahe were perfect examples of Hopi women who are furthering their education through the Hopi Education Endowment Fund while maintaining their roles and responsibilities of being a Hopi woman. They also practiced giving back to others while carrying on their traditions and values which is something that should be highly regarded among those women and anyone else who is in pursuit of advancing their education while maintaining close ties with their culture.
This was a very cool piece. Taking a class on the education of Indian children, I realize the importance of it. As stated, the Hopi’s realized that the way to survive in a world where the white people were increasingly taking over is to become educated.This is obvious by the Hopi Education Endowment Fund and other programs that promoted education. By calling the Hopi Education Endowment Fund one of the key events to help Hopi people, it is obvious how much the Hopi people realize education is. Examples shown in the video of people who received the scholarship shows how not only do Hopi people have the drive to become educated, but how they also have the urge to come back to Hopi nation to help the Hopi people out. This would probably be exactly with the Hopi elders want: young people becoming educated and helping out the Hopi reservation. Education is needed to survive in the modern world, and it is obvious that the Hopi people realize that.
HEEF is doing great by helping HOPI people in getting educated. It also shows that How much HOPI people realized the importance of education. These types of organization needs to be setup in many other developing countries.
Nishant, thanks for your comment. Yes, HEEF is doing a great job in helping Hopis obtain an education on and off the reservation. HEEF has provided a wonderful model that can be adapted to meet the educational needs of other people groups around the world.