IN THE HOME OF THE HOPI INDIAN 
“HUMAN HABITAT GROUP’’ CONSTRUCTED IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM — 
IT GIVES A FEELING OF THE GREAT OPEN LANDSCAPES WHERE THE HOPI 
INDIAN LIVES—A SNAPSHOT OF TYPICAL HOPI PEOPLE PURSUING THE 
By Clark Wissler 
ROUTINE OF THEIR DAILY LIFE 
NEW life-size Indian group has 
just been completed in an annex 
A to the hall for the Southwest. 
It presents a scene among the Hopi of 
Arizona, one of the best known groups of 
Pueblo Indians. In general plan the 
construction is similar to the bird habitat 
groups which have long distinguished 
the Museum’s exhibits. The original 
idea as to subject was to select a typical 
Pueblo village and then to reproduce as 
far as possible a representative section 
with the corresponding landscape. 
In this case the choice of a type is not 
difficult, for the principal surviving 
villages, those of Hopi, Zui, Acoma, 
Laguna and Isleta, while marked by 
certain individualities are quite alike. 
This is particularly true of their outward 
or objective characteristics for they 
are laid out on the same general plan 
and show the same architectural lines. 
Further, they are in the same kind of 
country, the somewhat arid, sunny and 
highly picturesque land of the South- 
west. The people also, show many 
similarities in dress and occupation and 
are to-day living very much as did 
their prehistoric ancestors. These vil- 
lages are moreover of respectable anti- 
quity, for several of them were described 
by the first Spanish explorers (1539-40) 
in terms that are recognizable to-day. 
No doubt many of the same houses in 
Acoma now, were standing when first 
viewed by Coronado, Alvarado and their 
followers, and no one knows for how 
many centuries before. Thus the final 
choice of a site for this group became 
merely a practical question, the site 
best adapted to the space and mechanical 
limitations. To our mind, this was the 
Hopi village of Walpi. 
The administrative responsibility for 
the group was accepted by Dr. Pliny E. 
Goddard who commissioned the artist, 
Howard McCormick, to design and exe- 
cute it with the help of the sculptor, 
Mahonri M. Young. When the design 
had been approved by the Museum, 
Messrs. McCormick and Young went to 
Walpi where they spent a summer mak- 
ing the necessary sketches, color studies 
and figure modeling. 
The near village in the canvas back- 
ground is Walpi as seen from the south 
while beyond in the distance is its 
neighbor, Sichumovi. It may be noted 
that the Hopi villages are in three groups 
because they occupy three separate 
stretches of elevated land, or mesas. 
These mesas are designated as the first 
or eastern, the second or middle, and 
the third or western mesa. On the first 
mesa are Walpi, Sichumovi and Hano, 
Walpi occupying the southern end or 
point. 
To the left of Walpi on the canvas 
appears the second mesa, where the 
contour is broken by a cafion, through 
which the lowering rays of the afternoon 
sun stream in a striking way. To the 
right are the lowlands in which the Hopi 
fields are laid out, ‘the artist having 
indicated the growing corn. 
In the foreground is an outlying or 
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