Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story
(eBook)

From master Hopi woodcarver Mavasta Honyouti, the story of his grandfather's experience at a residential boarding school and how he returned home to pass their traditions down to future generations. When Mavasta Honyouti was a boy, he would go with his kwa'a to their cornfield, watching him nurture every plant. During breaks, his grandfather would take out a piece of paako and use his pocket knife to whittle away. He made beautiful wood carvings that Mavasta would later learn to do himself. Mavasta would often wonder what his kwa'a was like when he too was a boy. And one day, he heard the story: How his grandfather, like many Native American children across the country, was forced to leave their Hopi reservation as a child and go to a residential boarding school far away. There, he was made to cut his hair, was punished for speaking his native language, and given a new name. But Mavasta's grandfather never forgot who he was, or where he came from; he tried to escape again and again, and, eventually, made it back home to their reservation. In later years, Mavasta's kwa'a chose a simple life, taking great care of his family just like he took great care of his plants. His son and then later his grandson, Mavasta, became acclaimed Hopi katsina woodcarvers, just like him. Coming Home is a deeply personal book that features sixteen stunning original painted woodcarvings and tells the story of one man and one family rising above a painful piece of history.