David Monongye

Summary

David Monongye was a Hopi Native American traditional leader (Kikmongwi of Hotevilla). Nephew of Yukiuma, keeper of the Fire Clan tablets, who founded Hotevilla in 1906. He is one of four Hopis (including Thomas Banyacya, Dan Evehema, and Dan Katchongva) who decided or were appointed to reveal Hopi traditional wisdom and teachings, including the Hopi prophecies for the future, to the general public in 1946, after the use of the first two nuclear weapons on Japan.

Monongye's age is uncertain.[1] He was alive in 1906 when Oraibi split into two villages,[2] and lived to at least 1987, and at least 117.[3]

In 1972, Monongye and three other Hopi elders participated in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.[1] Monongye was a co-author of Techqua Ikachi, the traditional Hopi newsletters produced from 1975 to 1986. Monongye inspired Godfrey Reggio's 1982 film, Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance.[4] Monongye was vocal about problems generated by coal-mining on Hopi land.[5]

David Monongye was a member of the Hopi Snake Clan. He was married to Nora, with whom he raised a number of children, and they lived on the Third Mesa of the Hopi Reservation. Hotevilla was considered to be a "traditional" village, because its residents resisted the interference and control of the American government in Hopi affairs.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Loeffler 173
  2. ^ "Chapter 6. The Last Hope, part 1." Waking Up to Alzheimer's. (retrieved 28 Jan 2011)
  3. ^ Peter Coyote notes that Monongye was in his 90s in 1972.
  4. ^ Loeffler 33
  5. ^ Willwerth, James. "In Arizona: A New Long Walk?" Time. 30 Jun 1980 (retrieved 28 Jan 2011)

References edit

  • Loeffler, Jack. Headed Upstream. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-86534-755-7.

External links edit

  • Photograph of David Monongye
  • Struggle for the land : Native North American resistance to genocide ... By Ward Churchill (City Lights Books, 2002)
  • George Mason University's History News Network: dedication by Alan Gorg
  • The Indigenous Voice: Visions and Realities, 2 Vols. (London: Zed Books, 1988)
  • Chapter of book by Kurt Von Meier, PhD, Professor Emeritus, CSU Sacramento Main page of book: A Ball of Twine
  • Undelivered speech to the United Nations, 1982