Screening BEYOND THE MESAS at Upper Moencopi

On September 20, 2010September 28, 2010 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Films, Hopi education, Hopi films, Hopi scholarship, Phoenix Indian School, Screenings, Sherman InstituteLeave a comment

Moencopi screening 1 — Photograph by Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

On Saturday September 18, 2010, I had a special opportunity to screen BEYOND THE MESAS and give a presentation to my family at the village of Upper Moencopi’s Community Center. The screening and presentation were part of the Sakiestewa/Honanie Annual Family Reunion. About 60 people attended the event.

I have screened BEYOND THE MESAS at several universities in the United States, and I have shown it at other locations on the Hopi Reservation, but this was the first time the documentary was screened at Upper Moencopi. The film was well received and it led into a discussion on the benefits and negative consequences of Hopi attendance at off-reservation Indian boarding schools.

After the screening I passed out student case files that I collected at the National Archives in Laguna Niguel, California (now located in Perris, California). The files belong to members of the Sakiestewa and Honanie families who attended Sherman Institute or the Phoenix Indian School from 1906 to the 1940s. Most of the files included school applications, report cards, and handwritten and typed letters.

As a Hopi professor at the University of Illinois I am thankful for the opportunities that I have to bring my research back to the Hopi community. This has always been a driving force behind my work.

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

Beginnurz Hoyam Hopilavayi Pilot Program

On September 16, 2010September 17, 2010 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Announcements, HEEF, Hopi education1 Comment

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

Beginnurz Hoyam Hopilavayi Pilot Program presents Hopi Language courses for Hopi adults with little to no Hopi fluency

There are three 6-week courses available:

Immersion 1 begins on Tuesday, September 28 and will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Hopi Day School in Kykotsmovi

Literacy 1 begins on Tuesday, September 28 and will meet on Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at Northland Pioneer College

Interactive 1 begins on Friday, October 1st with an orientation from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Tuuwanasavi Heritage Consulting Office in Kykotsmovi and regular classes begin on Monday, October 4th and will meet on Mondays from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Sipaulovi Community Building

Each course is limited to 15 students, registration is required for participation and is processed on a first-come, first-served basis. The fee for each course is $50.00 and is due at registration.

Please see the attached registration packet for more information. You may return your registration c/o: Vermetta Quanimptewa, Northland Pioneer College by fax at 928-738-2267 or hand deliver to NPC (928-738-2265) or you may contact Troy Lomavaya (928-226-3830) or Vernon Kahe (928-734-2275).

The Beginnurz Hoyam Hopilavayi Pilot Program also receives funding from the Hopi Education Endowment Fund/Hopi Foundation Community Grant Program and the Hopi Foundation Leadership Program 2008-2009 Alumni. In-kind partners include: Hopi Day School, Northland Pioneer College and Sipaulovi Village.

Please feel free to forward to others who might be interested.

BH Registration Packet

Scholarship Opportunity: APS Hopi Scholars Program

On September 16, 2010September 16, 2010 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Announcements, HEEF, Hopi education, HTGSPLeave a comment

***HOPI SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT***

Through a partnership with Arizona Public Service (APS), the Hopi Education Endowment Fund (HEEF) and the Hopi Tribe Grants and Scholarship Program (HTGSP) we are pleased to announce a unique scholarship opportunity for Hopi students entitled the APS Hopi Scholars Program. The program will provide eight $3,500 scholarships for 3 seniors, 3 juniors, and 2 sophomores pursuing an AAS, AS, BA or BS at an accredited college or university for the Academic Year (AY) 2010-2011.

In addition to general eligibility requirements, students must submit a Special Scholarship Application and a 1 page essay regarding “Commitment to Community”. The selected students must also perform 40 hours of community service to the Hopi community before the start of the next AY. Applications will be competitive and will be reviewed and awarded by a Selection Committee. If you have any questions please contact the HTGSP at 1-800-762-9630. The deadline is October 1, 2010.

The Application Form can be downloaded HERE

Hopi Education Endowment Fund

PO Box 605

Kykostmovi, Arizona

Phone: (928) 734-2275

Fax: (928) 734-2273

Hopi doctoral candidate to present at Purdue

On September 15, 2010September 15, 2010 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Announcements, Hopi education, Hopi scholarshipLeave a comment

Receive 20% off EDUCATION BEYOND THE MESAS

On July 25, 2010September 25, 2010 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn American Indian Studies, Hopi authors, Hopi education, Hopi history, Hopi scholarshipLeave a comment

Receive 20% off each copy of Education beyond the Mesas: Hopi Students at Sherman Institute, 1902-1929, if you order from the University of Nebraska Press. Mention promotion code 6AF10 to obtain the discount. For more information, please click on the following link to download the book’s promotional flyer: Education beyond the Mesas – flyer

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

Beyond the Mesas to air locally and via internet

On January 17, 2010January 17, 2010 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn HCPO, Hopi education, Native films, Phoenix Indian School, Sherman Institute, ShowingsLeave a comment

I am pleased to announce that UI-7, a local television station associated with the College of Media at the University of Illinois, will air Beyond the Mesas this week on the following days and times:

Tuesday, January 19 – 7:30pm and 9:00pm CST
Wednesday, January 20 – 1:00 pm CST
Friday, January 22 – 10:00 pm CST
Saturday, January 23 – 8:00 pm CST

UI-7 can be seen on Channel 7 for local Comcast subscribers.

On the same days/times, Beyond the Mesas will air simultaneously over the internet via a live stream at: http://www.media.illinois.edu/service/ui7live.html

If you are planning on watching the film on-line, remember to account for the different time zones. The above showings are listed in Central Standard Time (CST)

Beyond the Mesas Trailer

About the film:

Directed by Emmy Award winning director, Allan Holzman, and produced by Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, Stewart B. Koyiyumptewa, Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert, and Gerald Eichner, Beyond the Mesas is a thirty-six minute documentary film on the removal of Hopis to on and off-reservation boarding schools and their experiences at schools such as Sherman Institute, Phoenix Indian School, Ganado Mission School, and Stewart Indian School. Topics covered in the film include Hopi understandings of education, early U.S. government attempts to assimilate Hopis, the Orayvi Split, Hopi language loss at American schools, and the future of the Hopi people. Produced with the cooperation and involvement of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office in Kykotsmovi, Arizona, Beyond the Mesas is part I of a series of films on children and American Indian culture titled “Keeping the Culture Alive.”

The first public showing of the film was at the Hotevilla Bacavi Community School on the Hopi Reservation on November 8, 2006. Shortly afterwards, the Applied Indigenous Studies Department at Northern Arizona University and the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office hosted a screening at the Cline Library auditorium. Since November 2006, official screenings have taken place at other universities and schools, including the University of Illinois, University of California, Riverside, Cornell University, and Sherman Indian High School. The film has aired on several regional PBS stations throughout the United States.

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

Hopi professor earns tenure and promotion

On January 6, 2010September 16, 2012 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn Hopi education, Hopi news of interest, Hopi scholarship, Hopis and the academy, HTGSP1 Comment

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Hopi professor Angela A. Gonzales from Shungopavi on Second Mesa has received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor at Cornell University. This truly is an incredible accomplishment. Gonzales received her undergraduate degree from UC Riverside and her MA, EdM, and PhD in Sociology form Harvard University. Her first academic post was at San Francisco State University where she served as an assistant professor and acting chair of American Indian Studies from 1997 to 2000. In 2002 she joined the faculty in the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell where she also teaches in the American Indian Program. As an assistant professor Gonzales has had a prolific and remarkable career.

In addition to publishing chapters in many books, her articles have appeared in the Social Sciences Journal, the Public Historian, the American Indian Culture and Research Journal, and the International Social Sciences Journal. Alongside her faculty appointments, she was the director of the Hopi Tribe Grants and Scholarship Program on the Hopi Reservation from 1994 to 1995, and from 2005 to 2007 she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center, Native Elder Research Center, and the American Indian and Alaska Native Program.

In 2009 she was awarded the Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship for her project titled “Racializing American Indians: The Politics of Identity, Displacement, and Dispossession.” Gonzales’ tenure and promotion is a proud moment for Hopi people. She is only one of a few Hopi professors in the academy with indefinite tenure.

Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

An organization to help Hopi students pursue an education

On November 24, 2009January 1, 2010 By Matthew Sakiestewa GilbertIn HEEF, Hopi education, HTGSP4 Comments

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.