Earlier this month LeRoy Shingoitewa from Upper Moencopi was sworn in as the new chairman of the Hopi Tribe. Chairman Shingoitewa has a long history of promoting education among Hopi and non-Hopi people. Throughout his career he has served as the principal for Kinsey Elementary School in the mountain community of Flagstaff, Arizona, Moencopi Day School, and the Tuba City High School. Herman Honanie from Kykotsmovi was elected to be the Vice Chairman.

According to a recent report in the Navajo-Hopi Observer, Chairman Shingoitewa and Vice Chairman Honanie will be revisiting the passing of last month’s budget that eliminated funding for the Hopi Tutuveni. When asked in a public forum about the closure of the Hopi paper, Chairman Shingoitewa said: “Vice Chairman Honanie and I will be looking at the entire 2010 budget that was approved recently. Many of these budget decisions will need a second [visit] and the Tutuveni is only one of the areas we will take a second look at.” To read the entire story in the Navajo-Hopi Observer, click here.

[Chairman Shingoitewa’s father, Samuel Shingoitewa, attended Sherman Institute in the 1920s. In 2004, I had the priviledge of interviewing Samuel at his home for my book on the Hopi boarding school experience at Sherman.]