An original, realistic fiction elementary school slide presentation (Part 1 of 2) of the life of a young girl named Takala, a Hopi Pueblo Native American, at the turn of the 20th Century, which shows village life, aspects of culture and religion to elementary students using rare, online archival photographs taken from that time.

1. My Life as a Hopi
Pueblo Indian -A STORY THAT TAKES PLACE
IN THE EARLY 1900’S
BY GREGG SUHM
My name is Takala. I am Hopi. I
am 12 years old. My name in the
Shoshonean language means "corn
tassel”.

2. This is my village. It is called
Mishongnovi. It is on the Second Mesa
in the Arizona Territory, once part of Mexico.
There are only 350 people living here now.

3. Many years ago, Mishongnovi was moved up here after our
people revolted, refusing to be forced to become Christians
by the Spanish Missions, led by Francisco de
Porras.
.
So, we had to get away
from the Spaniards.

4. We do not make
war, like our Apache
brothers -or the
Navajo- who try to
kill us, or bring us
much hardship, -or
like our White brother
who tries to take
our Sacred Land.
You see, we are a peaceful
people, and we don’t want any
trouble.
“Hopi” is short for Hópitu-shínumu
in our language,
which means the most
'peaceful all people' .

5. After thousands of years of traveling across the Mother Earth,
our People came to this spot,
w h i c h w e b e l ie v e t o b e th e
Center of the
Universe.

6. Our Sacred Tablets told us come to here, to cultivate the land,
and tend the animals,
even though the land
is dry and desolate. We
are to do this until the
Bahana comes to bring
our lost brothers together…
–the white, yellow, black, and
red people, like different
colored kernles of corn.

7. Continue to Part 2.