March 30, 2007

Peter Coyote's Hopi roots

Actor gives textile back to Hopi peopleCoyote is no stranger to the Hopi mesas.

"Thirty-five years ago, as a confused young man and leader of a commune in California, I wound up on Hopi visiting David Monongye, who was then in his 90s," he said.

"There were no white people in Hotevilla then. I stayed there a couple of months and he taught me some Hopi prophesies, showed me some of the abandoned villages, and allowed me to observe the Hopi way of life.

"I stayed with David and his wife, and I saw the way people came in and out of their house and discussed things. I was hugely impressed. That visit became the moral compass of my life and I've done what I could to be of use to the Hopi people since then, including being involved in the effort to save the N-aquifer."

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