Sipaulovi village to celebrate ancestry with Suvoyuki Days

Hopi Sipaulovi Village celebrates its ancestral connections to Homolovi Ruins State Park with free events on Sunday, July 8.

After participating in Suvoyuki (translated as "coming together at one place") at the park on July 6 and 7, visitors can travel north on Highway 87 to Sipaulovi Village, paralleling an ancient Hopi migration route to Second Mesa. Suvoyuki Days is an opportunity to experience direct connections between the ancient and contemporary, to find out where the Hisat sinom from Homolovi went and what their life is like today.

Sunday's events at Sipaulovi feature an artist fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; two 45-minute walking tours of the upper village presented by Cedric Kuwaninvaya at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; a Living Atlas presentation of Hopi lands by Vaughn Sieweumptewa; and a lecture on Hopi Lifeways from 2:30-4:30 p.m. by Alph Secakuku. Traditional foods will be available for purchase during the day.

This event inaugurates Sipaulovi's new Tourism Program and Visitor Center in the middle village. Maps will be available at the park and other regional locations; directions will be posted at the Highway 87/264 junction. Visitors are requested to come to the middle village community center for orientation and directions to the day's events.

Clan stories and "footprints" mark Hopi migration routes over hundreds of years and thousands of miles to converge at present day Hopi mesas. Sipaulovi Village, founded in the late 1600s, traces its migration from Homolovi. This year's Suvoyuki Days celebrates the 50th anniversary of Arizona State Parks and their collaboration with the Hopi Tribe's Homolovi Park Project, establishing Homolovi Ruins State Park as the gateway to Hopi.

For more information, call the Sipaulovi Village office at (928) 737-2570, e-mail sznjmsn@gilanet.com or visit www.homolovi.com.

Directions to Second Mesa and Sipaulovi Village: From I-40, take exit 257 for Highway 87 north to Homolovi Ruins State Park and Second Mesa. Sipaulovi Village is 67 miles north, at the junction of Highways 87 and 264.

For information about Arizona State Parks call (602) 542-4174 (outside of the Phoenix metro area call toll-free (800) 285-3703) or visit the website at www.azstateparks.com.

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