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Hopi Tribe

Comprehensive Economic

Development Strategy (CEDS)

Hopi Tribe

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

(CEDS) Plan

2023 Update

Visit:

www.hopiresilience.org

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2022

Council 2023:

Chairman: Timothy L. Nuvangyaoma

Vice Chairman: Craig Andrews

Village of Upper Moenkopi

William Charley

Michael Elmer

Danny Humetewa, Sr.

Leroy Sumatzkuku

Village of Bakabi

Marilyn Fredericks

Ruth Kewanimptewa

Dwayne Secakuku

Village of Kyakotsmovi

Danny Honanie

Herman H. Honanie

Gary Kelhoyouma

David Talayumptewa

Village of Sipaulavi

Anita Bahnimptewa

Rosa Honani

Raymond Namoki

Village of Mishongnovi

Art Batala

Ronald Humeyestewa

Marilyn Tewa

Mervin Yoyetewa

First Mesa Consolidated Villages

Albert T. Sinquah

Dale Sinquah

Wallace Youvella, Jr.

Tribal Council Administration:

Tribal Secretary: Judith Youvella

Tribal Treasurer: Nada Talayumptewa

Sergeant-at-Arms: Alfonso Sakeva

Villages not represented by Council

Village of Shungopavi

Village of Oraibi

Village of Hotevilla

Village of Lower Moencopi

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HOPI TRIBE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

STRATEGY 2023 UPDATE

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...............................................................................

Hopi Tribal Planning ..................................................................................

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................

Introduction to the CEDS Plan ......................................................................

The CEDS Planning Process ..........................................................................

Hopi Tribal Planning ....................................................................................

Cultural Factors ……………………………………………………………..

The Hopi Tunatya’at 2000……………………………………………………

Village-Based Outreach ................................................................................

BACKGROUND . ...................................................... ......................................

Region.. .......................................................................................................

The Hopi Tribe .............................................................................................

SWOT and KSF Analysis ...............................................................................

Demographics .............................................................................................

Education ....................................................................................................

HOPI RESOURCES . ...................................................... ................................

Land .............................................................................................................

Water, HAMP and Agriculture ...................................................................

Minerals ...................................................................................................

Energy ........................................................................................................

Transportation ............................................................................................

INFRASTRUCTURE ........................................................................................

Solid Waste ...............................................................................................

Power .......................................................................................................

Telecommunications ..................................................................................

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ...........................................................................

Organizational Infrastructure ......................................................................

Housing Authority ......................................................................................

Hopi Tribal Government ..............................................................................

Finances and Economic Development .........................................................

Retail Development and Economic Leakages ...............................................

Tourism ........................................................................................................

Page

iii

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Economic Resilience and COVID-19 Impact ....................................................

Strategy………………………………………………………………………………………………………

IHS 638 Contracting ............................................................................................

Gaming ..........................................................................................................

8(a) Marketing ....................................................................................................

Tax Code .........................................................................................................

Additional Projects ...........................................................................................

Plan of Action for Implementation ...............................................................

Measurement, Control and Metrics ..............................................................

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hopi Tribal Planning

he last three decades have witnessed a remarkable resurgence of Indian Nations. After centuries of turmoil,

oppression, attempted subjugation, and economic deprivation, Indian Nations have asserted their rights and

identities and have built and rebuilt political systems in order to implement self-rule. They have begun to

overcome what once seemed to be insurmountable problems of poverty and social inequities stemming from

centuries of oppression, including long periods of racial and cultural genocide.

Economic development planning at Hopi has taken on added importance due to the re- cent closure of regional

coal-ﬁred generating stations and coal mines causing the termination of the coal royalty contract between the

Hopi Tribe and Peabody Coal, resulting in the loss of roughly 80% of the Tribe’s non-federal income.

Despite centuries of western civilization encroachment, exploitation and development, the Hopi people have

largely retained their language, traditions and culture into the present day.

A $1.9 trillion dollar Covid Relief Bill was passed by Congress in 2020 that includes more than $31.2 billion for

Tribal governments and Native communities in areas such as health and substance abuse, economic

development and agriculture, energy development, justice issues and Tribal infrastructure among other

initiatives. The Hopi Tribe needs to monitor new federal grant money carefully and use the CEDS to be ready to

submit new applications for appropriate projects.

Hopi has been minimally engaged in this new era of Tribal economic development be- cause of a variety of

factors. Hopi is isolated and completely surrounded by the Navajo Reservation. Some of the economic

development activities that Hopi has engaged in have at times come at a price. This is true regarding coal

development whereby Hopi was left with less than an optimal business arrangement that did not yield what the

resource was worth, while coal mining depleted Hopi water resources causing environ- mental damage.

Shortly after the loss of the Hopi/Peabody coal contract was publicized, the Tribe received well over a dozen

business proposals, mostly from companies looking for large investments from the Hopi Tribe for speculative

and unproven start-up ventures. A Hopi business vetting manual was also developed. As a result, no investments

were made in outside companies. However, a list was made of alternative low-risk, internally developed

opportunities that could be lucrative for the Hopi Tribe. This list forms the basis of the projects recommended

in this CEDS Plan and is summarized above:

Several projects have the potential to more than make up for lost coal contract revenue, including IHS 638

contracting with third-party insurance billing, helium development, tourism development and oﬀ-reservation

gaming.

The Tribe made the decision not to lay-oﬀ staﬀ as a result of the loss of coal contract revenue. This will seriously

impact Tribal ﬁnances and reserves in the future if alternative sources of revenue are not developed.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

POTENTIAL NEW and EXISTNG RECENT PROJECTS SUMMARY

Note: These are Tribal project strategies developed by the Hopi Economic

development Team.

ESTIMATED

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

COST

An IHS 638 contract can provide

$60k for an

substantial new revenue to the Tribe if attorney to

coupled with third-party insurance

assist with

billing.

securing the

contract

Hopi ranch lands are in the area of the Finance with

purest helium in the world. The price outside

of helium has increased several fold.

investment

while under

Hopi control

APS will issue an RFP for 350MW of

Finance with

renewable power over the next two

outside

years.

investment

An RFP for a Feasibility study for a

$90k

Tribal power Utility has been issued.

POTENTIAL FUNDING OR

COLLABORATORS

Indian Health Services, Health

Center Management.

Hopi Tribe Arsenic Mitigation Project

(HAMP)

Will provide clean water to several

Villages - project in process.

Funded through EPA & IHS

Tourism Development - potential to

benefit Villages and cottage industry

if done with cultural sensitivity.

Hopi Tribe Arsenic Mitigation Project

(HAMP)

Strengthen Hopi Tourism Dept. and

Market the Hopi Tribe as a destination

in U.S., Europe and Asia - while

controlling tourism.

Will provide clean water to several

$20M

Villages - project in process.

Tourism Development

Establish regulations/system to

PROJECT

Hopi Health Center 638 Contract

(Salaries, management and benefits

can stay the same.)

Helium Extraction (no environmental

or water repercussions.)

Solar Energy Development (potential

to bid on power generation)

Tribal Utility

New Modular Community - Tawa-Ovi

SBA 8(a) Construction Co.

protect, conserve and protect areas

like Blue Canyon and Dawa Park; build

Hopi Museum

New modular units have been set-up

for offices and housing.

The federal government will be

spending on infrastructure. A Tribal

8(a) firm can joint-venture and have

substantial marketing advantages.

$20M

DOI and private consultants are

excited about the potential to

work with Hopi to develop this

resource.

DOE/ DOI/ Cota Holdings/ tax

equity developers

Cost for the feasibility study has

been funded.

BIA, USDA, ANA etc.

Funded through EPA and IHS

EDA/ DOI/ ANA/ USDA etc. (This

work could also be advanced by the

new Hopi Tourism Association)

Funded - CARES

Act

Minimal cost

Private Sector Partner

Gaming

The Hopi Tribe has permits for 900

class Ill Gaming machines that can be

leased or set-up off-Reservation.

Tax Code

A tax code to tax non-Tribal members

can bring in extra revenue

Village Projects

New developments can subsidize

community service businesses in

Villages such as small groceries.

Villages, Tribe

Agriculture

Add- value to Hopi successful cattle

operation; hydroponic growing;

industrial hemp & carbon

sequestration.

Expand Hopi Telecomm

USDA, NAAF, foundations, BIA

Broadband

Potential Private Sector Partner

Minimal cost

Tribal Broadband Connectivity

Program

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

INTRODUCTION

Introduction to the CEDS Plan

his Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) was developed for and by the Hopi Tribe as

part of a systematic approach by the Tribe’s Council, villages and departments to further its mission of

creating a self-sustaining economy, income and employment opportunities that is consistent with the Tribe’s

community, cultural and environmental values.

In order to meet federal EDA (Economic Development Administration) requirements there is some emphasis

on updated demographic information (pages 17-24), the impact of the CEDS Pandemic on the Hopi Tribe and

villages (pages 54-57), information on progress and adjustments to prior plans and goals and a schedule of new

and continuing goals (pages 64-68).

This CEDS was designed to facilitate eﬀective decision making by creating a framework that the Hopi Tribe can

use to evaluate potential economic development options. This framework comprises the Tribe’s expressed

needs, values, and priorities and an analysis of the characteristics of the Tribe and the regional economic

environment. This CEDS then uses the framework to identify economic opportunities and outlines a plan to

pursue them.

A CEDS Plan is also concerned with the number of Jobs created/or retained, the number, types and amount of

major investments undertaken in the region, the reduction in unemployment rates and the number of group

business training sessions. This information has been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and by the fact

that the Tribe was under strict lockdown for much of the time that the current CEDS update was put together.

At the same time, there were investments made during this period: The HAMP (Hopi Arsenic Mitigation

Project) which is a $20 million project funded by the federal EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and IHS

(Indian Health Services) to bring healthy drinking water to Hopi Villages (pages 31-34); the construction of the

Kykotsmovi Travel Center; and infrastructure and new modular oﬃce development at Turquoise Wells/

Tawa’ovi. The Hopi tribe is also in the process of ﬁnalizing a lease on Tribal fee simple land for the potential

construction of a 100MW solar array.

These investments created mostly temporary construction jobs. The Kykotsmovi store, however, will create

about seven full-time jobs. Of note is that the Hopi Tribe decided not to lay-oﬀ staﬀ as a result of the coal

revenue cutback or COVID-19. There have been some temporary lay-oﬀs from private businesses on the

Reservation during the lockdowns. The most up-to-date unemployment data that could be found is for 2019

(page 22). No business workshops were scheduled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the lockdowns.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The CEDS Planning Process

n eﬀective CEDS Plan is part of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) requirement for

ﬁnancial consideration and support. The EDA designates a Tribe as its own Economic Development District

(EDD) making it eligible for project funding if the Tribe has completed a recent CEDS plan and speciﬁc projects

are discussed. The EDA makes funds available for publicly or Tribally owned infrastructure that will support

job creation. A well-done CEDS Plan can also assist in the preparation of other economic development grant

ap- plications and funding by providing data and by referencing projects as documented in prior planning

eﬀorts that often make new applications more competitive. Adoption of a CEDS by the Tribal Council

indicates broad support for projects mentioned within the Plan.

Most contemporary CEDS Plans are 1) tailored to the speciﬁc needs of those responsible for implementing

it, 2) capture true and complete background information regarding the characteristics of the aﬀected community, 3) Identify potential economic challenges, opportunities and strategies for economic development

based on that background, and 4) engage broad participation from the targeted community. A CEDS plan is

general in nature, however, and can serve as an overview of broad opportunities that Hopi administration,

The Tribal Council, the Hopi Tribe Economic Development Corporation (HTEDC) and Villages can then agree

to prioritize and pursue. Once projects are identiﬁed, comprehensive business plans should be

commissioned that outlines implementation steps, funding strategies, feasibility, risk and potential ﬁnancial

returns to the Tribe.

A CEDS Plan typically encompasses background information and demographics, describes regional

challenges and opportunities, involves broad participation, and provides strategic direction for an economic

development Plan of Action, as well as a plan to measure results. When prepared for the EDA, a CEDS should

include the following:

 Summary Background: A summary background of the economic conditions of the Tribe and region;

 SWOT Analysis: An in-depth analysis of regional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

(commonly known as a “SWOT” analysis);

 Strategic Direction/Action Plan: The strategic direction and action plan should build on ﬁndings from

the SWOT analysis and incorporate/integrate elements from other regional plans (e.g., land use and

transportation, workforce development, etc.) where appropriate as determined by the EDD

(Economic Development District) or community/region engaged in development of the CEDS. The

action plan should also identify the stakeholder(s) responsible for implementation, timetables, and

opportunities for the integrated use of other local, state, and federal funds;

 Evaluation Framework: Performance measures used to evaluate the organization’s implementation

of the CEDS and impact on the regional economy.

 Resiliency: Many deﬁnitions of economic resilience limit its focus on the ability to quickly recover

from a disruption. However, in the context of economic development, economic resilience becomes

inclusive of three primary attributes: the ability to recover quickly from a shock, the ability to

withstand a shock, and the ability to avoid the shock altogether.

Establishing economic resilience in a local or regional economy requires the ability to anticipate risk,

evaluate how that risk can impact key economic assets, and build a responsive capacity.4 Resiliency

measures can assist the Hopi Tribe to deal with the loss of coal revenue, the COVID-19 Pandemic and

environmental issues such climate change and drought. The Tribe has put many measures in place to deal

with these issues, including this CEDS Plan update.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Hopi Tribal Planning

he Hopi Tribe’s and Village elected oﬃcials will set the policies and plans that will guide the departmental

staﬀ in implementing strategies aimed at diversifying the Tribe’s economy away from the former dependency

upon coal revenues. By diversifying the Tribe’s economy through strategically planned and implemented

economic development the Hopi Tribal Council along with the Villages will have the opportunity to create a selfsustaining economy that reﬂects the core Hopi traditional and cultural values that have sustained the Hopi in

their homeland since time immemorial.

Since at least the late 1990’s, the Hopi Tribal government has worked to generate economic development

through the purchase of commercial developments oﬀ the main Reservation as a source of revenue and as an

investment for the Tribe. The ranch lands located on I-40 are the Hart & Drye Ranch, the Clear Creek and

Chevelon Ranch; the Aja Ranch; and 26 Bar Ranch near Springerville. There are also the agricultural lands in La

Paz County and on the Cibolla property. Additionally, Hopi lands that have been purchased include commercial properties in Flagstaﬀ, Sedona, Winslow, and Holbrook. The purchase of these assets will help the Tribe

improve and diversify Tribal government revenues.

The Village and Clan authority over lands and sacred sites are included as part of the CEDS. The CEDS will be

utilized as a document not only for planning economic development, but also as a means of protecting Village’s

right to develop their own plans for future housing, small to major infrastructure improvements/ developments

and other initiatives within each village’s jurisdiction. Village eﬀorts are included in the CEDS so that the

document can create awareness for all members, leaving the Villages to handle its own growth according to its

own decisions as time goes forward. Regarding jurisdiction, according to the Constitution, Title VII, Section 1

states, “Assignment of use of farming land withing the traditional clan holdings of the Villages of First Mesa,

Mishongnovi, Sipaulavi, and Shungopavi, and within the established village holdings of the Villages of

Kyakotsmovi, Bakabi, Oraibi, Hotevilla and Moenkopi, as in effect at the time of approval of this Constitution,

shall be made by each village according to its established custom, or such rules as it may lay down under a

village Constitution adopted according to the provisions of Article III, Section 4. Unoccupied land beyond the

clan and village holdings mentioned shall be open to the use of any member of the Tribal Council.”

The Hopi Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy will be a guide for the Tribal Council, the Villages and

the people to be utilized for applying for federal, state, and local funding opportunities that will assist the Tribe

in facing the challenges of building a sustainable homeland in a remote reservation environment with few

direct links to the regional and national economies.

Cultural Factors

he relative isolation of the Hopi people and their continued existence in their traditional homeland have

contributed to the maintenance of strong cultural traditions. The Hopi are one of the few Tribes that have

never been at war with the United States and so do not have a treaty. Because the Hopi live in an isolated and arid

region their land was not usurped, and they were left alone by the colonizing powers to a larger extent than

many other Tribes. This did not entirely stop the governments of Spain, Mexico and the United States, along

with Catholic, Mormons, Mennonite and other churches, to try and change the ways of the Hopi, mostly with

little to show, except for substantial hardship inﬂicted upon the Hopi people.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

A tradition of independence and self-suﬃciency, along with strong Hopi culture have meant that the Hopi

people have not participated in economic development and Tribal businesses to the same extent as some

other American Indian Tribes. This has partly been through a lack of opportunities and challenges brought

about from relative isolation, but also by choice. For example, some Hopi Villages are not electriﬁed and will

remain that way preferring to maintain a traditional way of life. The Hopi Tribe has also voted down gaming

on the Reservation.

Hopi cultural traditions and beliefs are intricately intertwined into the decision-making process when it comes

to allocating land for use in economic development projects or selecting which projects to pursue. The

November 29, 2011 Hopi Potskwaniat (Hopi Strategic Plan) deﬁnes Hopi Values as: Preservation, practice and

protection of the religion and ceremonies, cultural customs and practices; language, arts and crafts, etc., of the

Hopi5.

Because of its importance in Hopi culture, land use issues can sometimes present challenges due to required

approvals and permits for economic development for capital construction for housing, commercial buildings

and other types of infrastructure. Traditional Hopi practices have strong ties to the land and natural resources.

For example, the ongoing traditional practice of dry farming in an arid homeland continues to be a very visible

aspect of Hopi life. Land practices and relations to clans and clan lands create binding limits for each village as

they work to create their own economic development ventures through land approvals for housing and small

commercial business sites. Across the main Reservation as a whole, land use will continue to be constrained

by traditional land values. The Hopi Tribe will continue to face case-by-case decision-making resolutions of

land use issues when it comes to deciding locations for future economic development.

The Hopi Tunatya’at 2000

While the Hopi Tribe faces many issues, there are also many opportunities. The Hopit Tunatya’at 2000: The Hopi

Strategic Land Use and Development Plan is one such opportunity, an opportunity to adopt a strategy to grapple

with the critical issues that face the tribe and its people. The Hopit Tunatya’at 2000: The Hopi Strategic Land Use

and Development Plan is the opportunity to establish investment and policy choices that will guide the Hopi Tribe

in making decisions or granting approvals for development projects on the reservation.

The Hopit Tunatya’at 2000: The Hopi Strategic Land Use and Development Plan calls for the creation of five

Planned Community Development Districts located four on the main reservation and one in the Moenkopi

District. These would be large tracts of land, several thousand acres, in which a Planned Community would be

developed. They are all located on Hopi Partition Lands. The Planned Community would contain a mix of

commercial, institutional, recreational and medium and high-density development. They would be limited in size

to 4-500 acres. The communities would be fully serviced. Eventually, they would be able to undertake local

governance.

The Planned Community Development Districts, with one exception, would be closed to home site development.

These areas would be co-managed by the residents of Planned Community Development and the tribal

government. The five areas are: the Tawaovi, Moenkopi, Side Rock Well, Howell Mesa East, and Yu Weh Loo

Pahki PCDD/PCD.

A sixth Planned Community Development is the Hopi Winslow Property; there would be no surround district

associated with this light industrial and community development.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Two of the projects are tribal initiatives, two are village initiatives and two stem from a preexisting concentrated

settlement of people in an area.

Development of these communities would provide the opportunity to address the issues of replenishing and

adding to the reservation housing stock without infringing on village and clan rights. The plan also calls for some

development, particularly residential development, to take place in the vicinity of the existing villages consistent

with and regulated by traditional land allocation practices.

The major infrastructure projects the Hopit Tunatya’at 2000: The Hopi Strategic Land Use and Development Plan

calls for are continuing efforts to secure an allocation of Colorado River water at Lake Powell and construction of

a pipeline to deliver the water to the Hopi communities. Three alternative corridors are described. Also called for

in the plan is a continued effort to secure financing for construction and completion of the Turquoise Trail (BIA

4) as an all-weather road from the present terminus north to US 160. Minor infrastructure development called

for in the plan includes enhancing and extending the electrical supply, improving and increasing air transportation

facilities, and expanding the telecommunications network to include satellite Internet links.

The Hopit Pötskwaniat (Hopi Tribal Consolidated Strategic Plan), created in 2011 was the action plan addressing

the needs of the Hopit Tunatya’at 2000: The Hopi Strategic Land Use and Development Plan.

Village-based Outreach and Economic Development Priorities

ll Hopi villages are experiencing annual population growth. The traditional villages must deal with ownership issues which are complicated when it comes to clan, farm, home and/or village lands. However, under

the Hopi Tribal Government, some lands are being set aside for future communities that do not fall under strict

land classiﬁcations per the traditional Kikmongwi. With this parallel plan for future economic development,

the diﬃcult dilemma facing the Hopi people is the task of maintaining Hopi values and other community values,

while living and operating within a larger, more dominant society. Finding a delicate balance to co-exist within

the two worlds is diﬃcult but necessary to achieve the Tribe’s vision for the future without having to sacriﬁce

the “Hopi way”.6

Some villages continue to practice the traditional form of leadership and do not have elected individuals representing them on the Hopi Tribal Council. The “majority rule” western perception continues to be a point of

contention when long time respect and understanding for the Kikmongwi traditional knowledge and ways have

been in existence for hundreds of years. This approach differs from the practice of democracy as known to the

modern world.

The Hopi Tribe engaged the services of consultants to assist Hopi Villages to identify and implement projects

that address the pending jobs and budgetary crisis stemming from the closure of the Black Mesa Mines and

the termination of the Hopi/Peabody Coal Company contract. The outreach work that resulted in the villageby-village project identification was conducted in 2017-2018 through the Office of Community Planning and

Economic Development. From December of 2017 through September 2018, over 40 face-to-face meetings

were held with Village leaders, staﬀ, and volunteers.

1 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Content Guidelines, US Economic Development Administration – 090820

2 Hopi Potskwaniat, November 29, 2011 pg 10

3 Hopi Economic Development

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The following tables show the Village work plans and economic development projects along with the meeting

activity for the 11 Villages/Communities that chose to participate in the process. Many of the projects identified

in that process are still relevant for project consideration and implementation at this time.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Phase Three Work

Village

Bacavi

Hotevilla

Kykotsmovi

Lower Moencopi Village

Mishongnovi

Shungopavi

Priority

Yet to officially designate priority project

Projected Activity

Offering business planning assistance to the

Community Service Administrator for a

preliminary agriculture-related business

development project.

Still awaiting invitation for first meeting; no

To be determined

projects identified

Land use plan including community mapping Drone-based mapping services were completed;

and land ownership identification

final Land Use Plan yet to be delivered

Existing project documentation has been

reviewed; initial work has been completed to

refine the project location parameters.

Poosiwlelena project development

Continued development of the project should be

conducted as a part of a broader commitment to

address the land and infrastructure requirements

for the project.

Funding from the Economic Development

Administration (EDA) Assisting Building

Hydroponics project development

Communities

Yet to officially designate priority project

To be determined

Grinding Mill Business Plan

Tourism development strategy

Sichomovi

Mesa geological analysis

Sipaulovi

Marketplace project

Spider Mound

Updated Land Use Plan

Tewa

Eight projects are under consideration as

the priority project for Tewa

Upper Moenkopi Village

Administrative office space project

Walpi

Outhouse system

The project priority was changed in the Sum mer

of 2018 from "water filtration project" to

"grinding mill." The next step for the project

might be the development of a business plan.

This project has been funded by the Economic

Development Administration (EDA) Assisting Coal

Communities (ACC) program. The Tourism

Strategic Plan has been completed

Outreach has been conducted to the United

States Geological Survey (USGS). Pending the

response from USGS and potentially from

universities, this analysis may proceed.

Up through August 2018, it was presumed that

this project would be positioned for a grant

request for Indian Community Development

Block Grant (ICDBG) funding. Potential conflicts

amongst Villages and Clans caused the project

not to be submitted for ICDBG funding in early

2019. This situation is in flux at the moment.

The drone-based mapping activity has been

completed and a report is in process for

Yuwehloo Pahki Community. This will enable

their engagement with the Joint Village Strategic

Plan (JVSP) to be more successful.

Awaiting invitation by Village to focus upon

project selection and implementation.

The Village is coordinating with the Tribe to gain

consensus on the historic ownership situation of

the building and any current environmental

hazards (asbestos, for example). Grant writing

services for the project can begin once

preliminary issues are resolved.

Assistance is being provided to understand

outhouse system alternatives and funding

sources. Grant writing services can then be

offered.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

BACKGROUND

Region

he limited population base on the Hopi Reservation, even with the additional population of the non- Hopi

communities of Winslow (population of 10,194), which is about 60 miles from the center of the Hopi

Reservation, and Holbrook (population of about 5,000) about 90 miles distant, comprises a small local trade

area and labor market. The regional trade area grows to nearly 33,000 with the inclusion of neighboring

Navajo towns such as Tuba City, adjacent to the Hopi village of Moenkopi and U.S. Route 160 on the northwestern portion of the Reservation. Adding Flagstaﬀ, Arizona and Gallup, New Mexico as well as the bordering Navajo Census Designated Place (CDP) areas, the trade area expands to just over 120,000. Still, to reach

the larger population centers from Hopi involves considerable drive time.

Northeastern Arizona is part of the Four Corners region where the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado

and Utah meet. The Four Corners regional economy is based upon fossil energy resources, primarily oil, gas

and coal. The San Juan Basin, which is mostly in New Mexico, but extends into the border area of northeastern Arizona, is the second largest natural gas ﬁeld in the world, with over 40,000 drilled wells. The energy

sector, including coal mining, has provided good paying, skilled work for generations of area residents.

Starting in 1963, one of the largest

industrial developments in the country

was initiated on the Colorado Plateau in

the Four Corners region of Arizona and

New

Mexico.

The

burgeoning

metropolises of Los Angeles, Phoenix and

Albuquerque spurred an immense need

for power. Large coal deposits were found

to exist in the Four Corners region far

enough away from the cities so as not to

produce pollution, but close enough to

deliver cheap power. Over the next few

decades power plants were built, and coal

mines were opened to fuel them. An allNavajo Generating Station

out eﬀort to tap these energy resources

led a coalition of 21 utility companies from

Arizona, California, New Mexico, Colorado,

Nevada, Utah and Texas to join forces as Western Energy Supply and Trans- mission Associates (WEST).

Eﬀorts to develop these resources impacted:

• The division of joint-use ancestral lands through the 1974 Navajo- Hopi Land Settlement Act.

• A federally imposed building moratorium for Navajos and Hopi on Partition Lands (Bennett Freeze).

• The relocation of Navajo and Hopi people.

Several power plants and mines were constructed on both the Navajo Reservation and Hopi lands.

Especially in the early days, Tribes would receive minimal compensation in the form of royalties. Later, the

operating budgets of the Navajo and Hopi became heavily dependent upon coal revenues and thousands

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

112

of high paying jobs were created for Tribal members and non-Tribal members alike. However, The Kayenta

Mine has a Navajo Preference Clause fostering limited Hopi employment, while distance also became a

factor to having very few Hopis working at the mines.

The prior CEDS documents identiﬁed and reviewed the current external national and state policies regarding

climate change and the economic challenges and threats posed by this issue for the Hopi Tribe through the

Clean Air Act (CAA). The national movement has swayed the pendulum from fossil fuels to renewable

energy. The de- mise of the U.S. coal industry was largely brought about by hydraulic fracturing and

horizontal drilling technology used to extract natural gas. The resulting glut of natural gas and the decline in

gas prices caused utilities to increasingly shut down coal ﬁred power plants in favor of natural gas ﬁred

plants.

The shut-down of the Navajo Generating Station and the Mojave Generating Station along with the Black

Mesa mines resulted in the recent termination of the Hopi/ Peabody coal contract. Having no tax base, the

Hopi Tribe over the last 40 years re- lied on its Black Mesa coal leases with Peabody Energy to produce the

bulk of its non-governmental revenues. The coal revenues have been relied on historically to produce 88%

of the Hopi Tribe’s General Fund – the revenues that are used to fund the essential governmental services

provided by the Tribe to its people.4 Therefore, Hopi economic development is now more important than

ever. The closure of the Four Corners power plants and generating stations has resulted in a major economic

decline in Northeastern Arizona and the loss of thousands of high paying jobs.

At the same time, the region south of Hopi has been experiencing fast population growth. According to US

Census data Coconino County population has been growing at a steady pace with a 2022 yearly growth rate

of 0.78% (Population: 148,305). Coconino County represents Arizona as the 7th largest county in the state. The main

population center in Coconino County is Flagstaﬀ. Flagstaﬀ is home to Northern Arizona University and is

the only regional population center with an amount of manufacturing, including ﬂuid power process

machinery manufacturing, pet food manufacturing, surgical appliance and supplies manufacturing, sanitary

paper product manufacturing, and turbine and turbine generator set manufacturing.

Navajo County had been growing significantly for years. From 2000-2010, the population had grown 10.2%.

However, the next decade from 2010-2020, the population decreased to -0.68%. Navajo County includes

population centers of Holbrook (adjacent to Hopi) and Show-Low. Previous growth stemmed from Yavapai

County, south of Coconino, which experienced population growth of more than 30% from 1990 to 2015. 2015

(average of 1.2% annually). Population growth within the region had been driven largely by retirees moving

into less expensive rural areas with an ideal year-round climate, scenic attractions and comfortable amenities.

The implication for Hopi is that strategically located hospitality, visitor venues, tour- ism development and

retirement housing including RV facilities are businesses that are in demand from a regional and

demographic perspective.

4 Analysis of Economic Impacts on the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation of a Stringent NOx BART Decision for the Navajo

Generating Station, March 1, 2010, Pg. 39. Prepared for the Hopi Tribe. ICF Resources, Hopi Economic Development

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The Hopi Tribe

he Hopi Tribe was in part a creation of the U.S. Government and economic interests motivated by the

desire to have one oﬃcial entity to negotiate with regarding mineral leases. Prior to contact with the U.S.,

Hopi was a culture rather than a Tribal organization. The Hopi developed and survived as part of an

autonomous village system governed by clan leaders and consensus driven decision making. Hopi Villages

still maintain a level of autonomy that is responsible for a challenging governing environment as the Hopi

attempt to reconcile a more conventional Tribal government system that was imposed on them with semiautonomous traditional village governments. There are several Villages that still do not participate directly

in Hopi Tribal government.

The U.S. Government ﬁrst attempted to create a Hopi Tribal Government as part of the 1936 Indian Reorganization Act. This set-up conﬂicting jurisdictions between traditional Village Governments and the

Hopi Tribal Council along with issues of legitimacy. The original Hopi Tribal Council lasted for seven years,

from 1937 to 1943, and was disbanded primarily because Hopi traditional leaders refused to recognize it.

In 1938, Congress enacted the Indian Mineral Leasing Act, which provided that “lands within an Indian

reservation may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, be leased for mining purposes, by

authority of the Tribal Council or other authorized spokesmen for the Indians”. In 1944 geologists working

for a subsidiary of Standard Oil requested a lease to drill within the 1882 Executive Order Hopi Reservation.

An opinion was issued by the federal government in 1946 stating that “the rights of the Navajo within the

area...are co- extensive with those of the Hopis with respect to the natural resources of the Reservation.”

In order to negotiate leases, the Hopi Tribal Council was revived through an eﬀort led largely by non-Hopi

interests.

On April 24, 1943, the Hopi Reservation was enlarged by an area known as “Grazing District Six,” which

designated about 650,000 acres of land surrounding the Hopi mesas (within the 1882 Executive Order

Area) as exclusively Hopi land. District Six placed a boundary around the Hopi Villages on the First, Second,

and Third mesas.

Congress enacted a law in 1958 authorizing the Hopi and Navajo Tribal Councils to participate in a lawsuit

to determine the rights and interests of the 1882 Executive Order Area. In 1962, the District Court, in a case

known as Healing v. Jones, held that, except for the Hopi Reservation District Six land, the Hopi and Navajo

Tribes have joint, undivided, and equal interests to the surface and subsurface land, “including all

resources pertaining thereto”.

In 1955, the BIA and the University of Arizona College of Mines completed a detailed study of mineral resources on Navajo and Hopi lands, including the Black Mesa formation, which substantiated the rich coal

and petroleum content of the land. In the same year, a petition was ﬁled to acquire Hopi mineral rights to

the jointly owned land within the 1882 Executive Order Area exclusive of District Six. Hopi traditionalists

ﬁled suit in federal court in 1964 challenging the delegation of mineral leasing authority to the Tribal

Council. The suit was dismissed on the grounds that the Council could not be sued because of its sovereign

immunity. This was a rare example of the doctrine of sovereign immunity used to ignore the wishes of

Tribal people.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

In 1966, Peabody Coal Company was granted the right to mine more than 64,000 acres of coal-laden land

in the Black Mesa area - 40,000 acres of which lay within the Joint Use Area (Partition Land) and the rest

on Navajo Reservation land. The Hopi Tribe received 3.3% of gross sales, about half the rate that the

federal government was receiving for mining royalties at that time. Taxes to the Tribe were also waived.

The lease had no provision for re-negotiation. The area was estimated to contain 20 billion tons of

strippable coal and inestimable amounts of uranium, oil and other minerals. The lease was amended in

October 1966 to allow Peabody to withdraw more than 4,000 acre-feet of potable water from the regional

aquifer each year. Peabody Coal company used the water rights to build the longest water slurry line in

the world to transport coal to the Mohave Generating Station a distance of over 273 miles, seriously

degrading Hopi water resources and sacred springs.

SWOT and Key Success Factor Analysis

he CEDS planning team created a SWOT analysis based on meetings and interviews with staﬀ and

leadership. The SWOT Analysis identiﬁed several key areas informing eventual strategic directions. A SWOT

Analysis is deﬁned as “an in-depth analysis of regional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.”

The Hopi Tribe also utilized an enhancement to the traditional SWOT Analysis which is referred to as Key

Success Factor Analysis (KSFA). The KSFA recognizes that all communities have 88 Key Success Factors that

are relevant to the successful implementation of one or more of 25 economic development strategies.

These economic development strategies are options that Tribes, communities and regions can select to

improve their economic condition and overall quality of life.

On Thursday, April 18, 2019, the Hopi Oﬃce of Community Planning and Economic Development and Land

Information Services (OCPEDLIS) participated in a session with the Village Community Service

Administrators (CSA’s) to conduct the KSFA. Although Village members and leaders may have diﬀering

viewpoints from the CSA’s, the CSA’s provide an informed audience in which to conduct the analysis. In

general, CSA’s are aware of the opportunities, challenges and priorities of their Villages and have

administrative skills to support priorities.

Each of the CSA’s in attendance were furnished an electronic response card (i.e. “clicker”) and were

presented with a 285-slide presentation which basically asks one question relevant to each Key Success

Factor. The Key Success Factors are divided into seven KSF Categories: Assets, Capital, Expertise,

Government, Infrastructure, Land and Location. The SWOT and summary results of the KSFA are presented

in the following tables.

Limited business capacity

Strong culture and history

Lack ofTax Policy

Reputation

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Coal economic dependence

Isolation

Existing businesses

Lack of housing

Sovereignty

Economic leakages

New Internal Organization

Lack of employment opportunities

Strength-determination of People

Need for Economic Development

Communication gaps

Difficult Land Issues

Lack of Infrastructure

Growth

Grant Eligibility

Financing potential

Low-risk Internal Project

Opportunities

Loss of coal revenue

Limited water resources

Potential Mineral Resources

1515

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Three of the KSF strategies scored in the ‘50s,’ including Cultural Tourism, Value-added Mining and Local/

Regional Tourism. Successful implementation of these strategies may prove to be “less challenging” than

others. A fourth strategy, Destination Tourism, scored a ’40.’ All of the other strategies score 34 points or

lower.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Demographics

he year 2010 marked a major turning point in the collection of information on the American population.

For the ﬁrst time in over 70 years, the Census Bureau’s once a decade headcount of the nation’s people did

not collect information on detailed socio-economic characteristics. There were no questions on aspects of

the population’s well-being such as employment and income. Those detailed socio-economic characteristics

are now gathered through a separate operation called the American Community Survey (ACS) from a smaller

sample size.

One consequence of the smaller sample size is that the Census Bureau aggregates the information it collects

over a ﬁve-year period in order to get results it considers reliable for communities with populations of less

than 20,000 - a category that includes nearly every Indian reservation. This produces a “period in time,”

rather than a “point in time” set of results - data covering a ﬁve-year time frame instead of one day (Census

Day) as is the case with the decennial census. One result is a blurring of the impact of year-to-year changes

in the populations in smaller geographic areas. However, new ACS data is available every year, not just once

a decade. The timeliness of the data, with results published annually, is considered to be a major advantage

of the ACS. The most recent time that data is available is for 2021.

The Hopi Tribe is a recognized Indian entity and eligible to receive services from the United States

Bureau of Indian Aﬀairs pursuant to Federal Register Vol. 81, No.86, May 4, 2016. Census data to substantiate

demographic information for federal grants has always been problematic for Hopi. There are traditional Hopi

members who will decline to participate in any type of survey or count that may be conducted by the U.S.

Census Bureau or the Tribe or Villages. There are other aspects that impact demographic information as

well, such as having a Hopi home on the Reservation with some family members living and working oﬀReservation for part of the year, making it diﬃcult to include such part-time residents in the count. A varying

percentage of Hopis live and work oﬀ the main Reservation and return for ceremonies and other family

obligations.

As of April 2023, approximately 14,498 Enrolled Tribal members live on and oﬀ the Hopi Reservation. Hopi

Tribal members living on reservation live within 14 residential communities or villages. The majority of these

residents live along the State Highway 264 corridor in villages near or on First, Second, and Third Mesas.

However, four outlying communities exist – Spider Mound (Yu Weh Loo Pahki) and Keams Canyon to the east,

and to the west the Villages of Upper and Lower Moenkopi located adjacent to the Navajo community of

Tuba City.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The following chart from Enrollment Oﬃce data shows Village aﬃliation and age categories for each Village

based on current data:

According to ACS data, in 2021, the Hopi Reservation and Reservation Trust Land contained a total population

of 8,655. An estimated 71.5% of the population is 18 years or older, with 23.9% of the population falling

between the ages of 25-44 years old, 22.5% was 45 to 64 years, and 15.4% was 65 years and older. The median

age has increased slightly from 33 years of age now to 35.

The following chart represents the population for total enrolled Tribal members. The sharp increases in 2000 and

2010 are due to changes in blood quantum enrollment criteria from 100% to 25%. According to the Hopi

Enrollment Oﬃce, the following data was current as of January 2023.

Total enrolled members:

Total Population and Trends

Hopi

Tribe On Hopi On

Navajo

& Off

Res.

County

Res.

Only

Arizona

3,665,228 77,658

8,258

4,634

5,130,632 97,470 10,571

6,946

6,392,017 107,449 12,532

7,185

7,151,502 106,717 14,503

7,845

1990

2000

2010

2020

% Change in

Population

95%

37%

76%

69%

1990-2020

% Change in

Population

40%

26%

28%

50%

1990-2000

% Change in

Population

25%

10%

19%

2000-2010

% Change in

Population

11.9%

-0.68% 15.7%

2010-2020

Sources: US Census Bureau, Decennial (AZ & Navajo)

Enrollment Office (Hopi)

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The chart reﬂects enrolled Tribal members, many of whom may be living oﬀ-reservation. The Hopi Tribal

database shows an upward trend in Tribal member population growth, increasing by an impressive 76%

between 1990 and 2020, with a 15.7% increase in population from 2010-2020.

The 3% population increase from 2000-2010 for Hopi members living on the reservation in contrast to the

19% increase in overall Hopi population clearly demonstrates that Tribal members are making the decision

to live off reservation at a much greater rate than staying on the reservation. As such, the percentage of

decline of those living on the reservation supports the need to increase planning and for key improvement

projects both in the Villages and within the Tribe overall. A fairly comprehensive demographic study of the

Hopi Tribe was completed for the Hopi Oﬃce of Community Planning and Economic Development based

upon 2010 Census data and 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) information. The Report was compiled

and disseminated by Arizona Rural Policy Institute of Northern Arizona University, and partially funded under

an award from the Economic Development Administration.

This comparative increase in Tribal members, however, may not truly reﬂect the actual change in the Tribe

between the census periods because this rate reﬂects growth by birthrate alone and not growth through

in-migration as is the case with both the State and the County. The Census is considered the oﬃcial count,

and accounts for only the population within the exterior boundaries of the Tribal lands. Both the State

(24.6%) and the County (10.2%) grew at much faster rates between the 2000 and 2010 Census largely due

to in-migration. However, it is important to note that the 2010-2020 numbers for both the state and county

reflect a decline in population growth, with the State’s pace slowing to 11.9% and Navajo County hitting a

deficit at -0.68%. Hopi, over the same period of time has witnessed positive growth of 15.7% growth over

the same period of time.

ACS data (5-year data 2017-2021) lists the total population of Hopi people living on-reservation lands as

8,655 with 72% of the population being 18 years and over (6,190), with the percentage of Hopi under 18 at

23%.

The Hopi Constitution provides under Article II the membership qualiﬁcations all Hopi have to meet. In some

instances, some Hopis are not oﬃcially enrolled due to the membership requirements or due to voluntary

dis-enrollment, although they speak Hopi ﬂuently and live on and oﬀ the Hopi Reservation. The Hopi Tribal

requirements for enrollment depend upon documentation of parents and grandparents and the degree of

Indian Hopi blood. Tribal membership provides individual eligibility for the various Tribal programs such as

Tribal housing, land assignments and grazing permits, scholarships, jobs and various social service programs

of Tribal government.

As of 2021 ACS data, there were 2,355 households in Hopi Reservation and Oﬀ-Reservation Trust Land, with the

average household consisting of 3.68 people and a family household size containing 4.22 people. Both the average and

family households contain roughly more than 1 person than both the state and Navajo County. While still high, families

are on the decline, now making up 72.5% of the population versus 77% from a few years ago. It is interesting

to note that married couples have been on the decline at nearly 10%, with now only 24.3% of households

being married. It is also interesting to note that married households are nearly half that of the state and

Navajo County. Many Hopi households are married the traditional Hopi way rather than by Civil Law and so

may not be counted by the Census as married. Also interesting to note, Other types of households for the

Hopi Tribe are roughly double that of Arizona and Navajo County as households on the Hopi Reservation are

many times more likely to be multi-generational.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Type of Households - % of Population

Hopi

Tribe On

Navajo

& Off

Res.

Arizona County

Married

47.3%

44.6%

24.3%

Cohabitating

7.9%

7.7%

16.1%

People Living Alone

26.3%

25.7%

19.4%

Other

18.5%

22.0%

40.2%

Average HH Size

Average Family Size

2.53

3.08

2.63

3.13

3.68

4.22

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

Taking a deeper dive into the type of households represented by Hopi, 16% of the household population

contains children under the age of 18. Of the 318 families with kids under 18, 63% are represented by Female

household families without a Spouse (single mothers), whereas Males are caring for children under 18 over

three times less, at 17%. Married couples with children under the age of 18 represent 20% of that population,

again at much less of a percentage than single moms. Looking from both a state and Navajo County perspective,

single mothers are represented at a much lower percentage than Hopi, at 23% and 24.5%, respectively.

Type of Households - Families

Total

Number

Total Households

2,335

Families

1,692

72%

Female w/o Spouse

911

39%

HH w/ Kids Under 18

381

16%

Female w/o Spouse

240

63%

Male w/o Spouse

17%

Married

20%

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

5 Demographic Analysis of the Hopi Tribe Using 2010 Census and 2010 American Community Survey Estimates, Arizona Rural

Policy Institute, Center for Business Outreach, Northern Arizona University.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Poverty rates on the Hopi Reservation (30.5%) are more than 2.5x’s as high as the State (12.8%) and roughly 5%

greater than the County (25.6%). Nearly 40% of all children under 18 years of age are considered to be living in

poverty, while less than one-third (28%) of Tribal members over 18 years of age are considered to be living in

poverty. To be considered living in poverty, the 2021 US Poverty Guidelines indicate a household of four

should earn $26,500 or less.

The median household income on the Hopi Reservation is $46,484, less than the County ($49,449) and far less

than the State ($69,056). Per capita Income on the Hopi Tribe ($12,632) is lower than the per capita income

for the County ($18,451) and significantly lower than the State ($27,295). Nearly 30% of all households on the

Hopi Reservation earn less than $25,000 compared to the State at 16.6% and the County at 28.5%.

One-ﬁfth (21%) of Tribal members have incomes in excess of $75,000, as compared to the state at 44.2% and

Navajo Nation fairing similarly to Hopi coming in at 28%. Households on the Hopi Reservation are four times

as likely (30%) to receive Food Stamps/SNAP than are residents of the State (10%) and the County (20%).

Considerably more Tribal members (10%) receive public assistance income than do residents of the County (5%)

and the State (2%). 6

Hopi Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, AZ

Income and Benefits (In 2021 inflation-adjusted dollars)

# of

Households % of Population

Total Households

2,335

N/A

Less than $10,000

363

15.5%

$10,000 to $14,999

120

5.1%

$15,000 to $24,999

208

8.9%

$25,000 to $34,999

223

9.6%

$35,000 to $49,999

340

14.6%

$50,000 to $74,999

594

25.4%

$75,000 to $99,999

185

7.9%

$100,000 to $149,999

222

9.5%

$150,000 to $199,999

2.4%

$200,000 or more

1.0%

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Unemployment at Hopi Reservation is twice that (11.3%) of the state (5.6%) and slightly above Navajo County.

The various communities in Hopi show unemployment rates from a low of 4.1% at Kykotsmovi Village to a

high of 23.7% at Shongopovi. Many Tribal members do not register as being unemployed, leaving the real

unemployment rate as potentially much higher at both the Village and Tribal levels. Hence, the margin of

error derived by Census.

United States

Arizona

Navajo County

Hopi Reservation

Village:

Keams Canyon

Kykotsmovi Village CDP

First Mesa CDP

Hotevilla-Bacavi CDP

Moenkopi CDP

Second Mesa CDP

Shongopovi CDP

Unemployment

Rate

Margin

Estimate

of Error

5.5%

±0.1

5.6%

±0.1

10.5%

±1.0

11.3%

±3.6

0.0%

4.1%

8.3%

8.7%

12.0%

17.6%

23.7%

±33.6

±4.7

±7.4

±7.2

±10.0

±12.1

±12.2

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

ACS indicates there are 6,422 people employed both on the Hopi Reservation, with 2,784 being in the civilian

employed population (43.4%). In Hopi Reservation and Oﬀ-Reservation Trust Land, 48.9% of the population 16

and over were employed, with 51.1% not currently in the labor force. An estimated 54.7% were federal, state, or

local government workers; 20.6% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.7% were selfemployed in their own (not incorporated) business; and rounding out the employment at 11% is Private not-forprofit wage and salary workers.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Further breaking down the statistics, a large number of jobs preside within the educational services, health care,

and social assistance at 42.2%. Public administration and retail trade round out the top 3 industries at 18.4% and

10.2%, respectfully. Employment on the Reservation is primarily derived from Tribal Government, the School

system, the Hopi Health Center and from tourism, along with cottage industries and a few retail establishments.

Hopi Tribal Administration, US Indian Health Services and Moenkopi Legacy Inn/Denny’s Restaurant represent a

generous proportion of the employment opportunities for Tribal members, with Hopi Tribal Administration being

by far the largest employer.

Industry: Hopi Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, AZ Value

Total

Number

Civilian employed population 16 years and over

2,784

Educational services, and health care and social assistance

1,175

Public administration

512

Retail trade

285

Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services

265

Construction

162

Manufacturing

Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services

Transportation and warehousing, and utilities

Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing

Other services, except public administration

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining

Wholesale trade

Information

N/A

42.2%

18.4%

10.2%

9.5%

5.8%

3.6%

3.3%

2.4%

2.1%

1.5%

1.0%

0.0%

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

6 Demographic Analysis of the Hopi Tribe Using 2010 Census and 2010 American Community Survey Estimates, Arizona Rural

Policy Institute, Center for Business Outreach, Northern Arizona University.

7 Ibid

8 Demographic Analysis of the Hopi Tribe Using 2010 Census and 2010 American Community Survey Estimates, Arizona Rural

Policy Institute, Center for Business Outreach, Northern Arizona University.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

In looking at the education of the Hopi Reservation in the workforce, 87.7% have earned their high school diploma

or greater, with 42.1% being a high school graduate and 41.8% achieving some college up to a bachelor’s degree.

Hopi Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, AZ

Education Level

Total

Number

Less than 9th grade

173

3.2%

9th to 12th grade, no diploma

486

9.1%

High school graduate (includes equivalency)

2,251

42.1%

Some college, no degree

1,396

26.1%

Associate's degree

642

12.0%

Bachelor's degree

196

3.7%

Graduate or professional degree

203

3.8%

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

Hopi Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, AZ

Education Level

High school graduate or higher

Bachelor's degree or higher

Total %

87.7

7.5

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

The Tribal members that live oﬀ the Reservation seek other job opportunities as well as higher secondary

education by way of obtaining a post-secondary college degree or vocational certiﬁcation. Other reasons for living

oﬀ the Reservation may be to seek housing and other common household amenities that are not available on the

Reservation. Given the importance of family to the Hopi culture, the population out-ﬂow has special meaning that

far exceeds the economic impact for Hopis not living on their homelands.

Although the Tribe was able to keep most people employed, layoﬀs have started due to the budget shortfall.

There have been other layoﬀs as well. The Hopi Tribe Unemployment Oﬃce oﬀers layoﬀ aversion resources and

transition strategies. In addition, One-Stop Centers provide free services including: job placement, skills

assessments, job training, career counseling and resume development.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Education

mong people at least ﬁve-years old living in Hopi in 2010-2014, 60% spoke a language other than English

at home. Of those speaking a language other than English at home, 3% spoke Spanish and 97% spoke

some other language (Hopi or Tewa); 29% do not speak English “very well.” Also, 85% of people 25 years and

over had at least graduated from high school and 10% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. An estimated 12.8%

did not complete high school.

Looking forward to the 2017-2021 ACS Survey, the total school enrollment in the Hopi Reservation and OﬀReservation Trust Land was 1,984 from Preschool through High School. Nursery school enrollment was 163

and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 1,686, with 8.2% of children attending preschool and

85% attending kindergarten to 12th grade. College or graduate school enrollment was 135.

Hopi Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, AZ

Current Education of Children

Est. Total Estimated

Number

Population 3 years and over enrolled in school

1,984

N/A

Nursery school, preschool

163

8.2%

Kindergarten to 12th grade

1,686

85.0%

College, undergraduate

126

6.4%

Graduate, professional school

0.5%

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2017-2021

Hopi’s current education system includes 7 elementary schools, Moenkopi Day School, Hotevilla-Bacavi School,

Hopi Day School, Second Mesa Day School, First Mesa Day School, Hopi Mission School, and Keams Canyon

Elementary School. A total of 6 of the 7 schools receive full funding from the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE);

Hopi Mission School is privately funded.

The Hopi Board of Education, made up of Members from each school, is a regulated entity that reports directly

to the Hopi Tribal Council. The purpose is to develop a more consistent education policy. The existing education

ordinance was developed under the BIA, now known as the Bureau of Indian Education. The Department’s goal

is to structure the ordinance to meet the education needs of the Hopi people according to the current Arizona

State Standards on providing a quality education.

The Hopi Tribe’s Education oﬃce indicated, through direct conversation with Director, Dr. Noreen Sakiestewa,

the changes that will be required in order to meet the challenges of education on Hopi. According to Dr.

Sakiestewa, the needed change was in the form of having the Hopi Tribal Education Department take control of

the grant schools. The Hopi Schools have now changed from Bureau of Indian Education to grant schools under

the direct supervision and oversight of the Hopi Education Department.

The purpose or strategy behind this change is to provide a quality education that incorporates strengthening

the Hopi language, culture and history into the curriculum and strengthens nation building through K-12

education. Strengthening the Hopi’lavayi (Hopi language) into the K-12 core curriculum enhances values of

sovereignty and cultural integrity at an early age.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Education has been a high priority for the Hopi people. In 2000, the Tribal Council established a Hopi Education

Endowment Fund (HEEF) of $10 million. HEEF was created by Tribal Ordinance through a Tribal Resolution to

preserve and protect the education fund. The Hopi Endowment Education Fund received most of its annual

funding from Peabody Energy (formally Peabody Western Coal Company) based coal revenues.9 The Hopi Tribe’s

goal was to help Hopi members further their education through the education fund. The Hopi Tribe’s Higher

Education program works with graduating seniors and other Tribal members who want to further their education.

As a result of the Mohave Generating Station closure in 2005, funding was cut dramatically for Hopi education,

including individual scholarships. For example, in 2005 the Hopi Tribe received just over $1.9 million in

educational funding from Peabody Western Coal Company. In 2006 the ﬁgure dropped to $169,000 and in 2007

the ﬁgure remained at $170,000.10 Due to the more recent shutdown of Navajo Generating Station and the

termination of the coal contract, the scholarship fund will continue to decline.

Most vocational training programs are oﬀ-reservation in Flagstaﬀ or even as far as Albuquerque and Phoenix.

Training options are mostly limited to demand occupations where graduates can get jobs. There are options

for local training provided by Northland Pioneer College (NPC). Northland Pioneer College has issued

Certiﬁcates of Proﬁciency in Restaurant Operations, accounting, Emergency Medical Training (EMT) and

Medical Assistant which are careers needed at Hopi.

9 Socioeconomic Study in Support of a Hydrographic Survey Report for the Hopi Indian Reservation Socioeconomic Study April

30, 2008. Prepared by SWCA Environmental Consultants for Arizona Department of Water Resources. Pg. at 27

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

HOPI RESOURCES

Land

he Hopi Reservation, approximately 3,000 square miles in area, is comprised of lands surrounding the

main population center (District 6), the adjoining Hopi Partitioned Lands (HPL), and the separated Moenkopi District. The 1882 Executive Order Reservation consists of approximately 2.5 million acres and was

established by an Executive Order dated December 16, 1882, issued by President Chester A. Arthur. The

1882 Executive Order Reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo Reservation. Lands within the

1934 Act Reservation consist of Moenkopi Village (sometimes referred to as Moenkopi Island) and allotted

lands.

Following years of land disputes, the U.S. District Court in 1962 designated an additional 1.8 million acres

as a Joint Use Area to be used by both the Hopi and Navajo Nations. The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act

of 1974 additionally gave the federal courts the power to equally divide the Joint Use Area land between

the Hopi and Navajo. Five years later the courts equally divided the land into 900,000-acre segments

labeled Hopi Partitioned Lands (HPL) and Navajo Partitioned Lands (NPL).

Subsurface mineral rights on the HPL and NPL are jointly owned and managed by the two Tribes. In exchange for allowing some Navajo families to remain as tenants on HPL, the Hopi Tribe in 1996 reached

settlement with the Federal government enabling the Tribe to purchase about 300,000 acres of aboriginal

land. Land acquisitions include ﬁve cattle ranches, an oﬃce complex in Flagstaﬀ, two Flagstaﬀ shopping

centers, land in Winslow and Holbrook, land along I-40 and a Sedona motel.

The main Hopi Reservation now includes a total of 1,620,000 acres. In addition, there is the noncontiguous Villages of Upper and Lower Moenkopi consisting of 61,604 acres and non-contiguous

ranchlands of 175,441 aces, for a total of 1.857 million acres or roughly 2,900 square miles:

• Hopi Main Reservation - 1,615,686 Acres (District Six & Hopi Partitioned Lands restored to Hopi

Tribe in 1974)

• Moenkopi District Reservation - 61,604 Acres (Restored to Hopi Tribe in 1996)

• Hopi Three Canyon Ranch Lands - 175,441 Acres (Consisting of purchased lands that were

converted to Hopi Trust Lands in 2010 and are managed by Department of Natural Resources)

• In addition, there is Hopi Tribe fee simple land (land owned by the Hopi Tribe, but not held in

trust) on the southern boundary of the Reservation.

10 Socioeconomic Study in Support of a Hydrographic Survey Report for the Hopi Indian Reservation Socioeconomic Study

April 30, 2008. Prepared by SWCA Environmental Consultants for Arizona Department of Water Resources. Pg. at 27

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Due to the diﬃcult history related to Hopi land, land jurisdiction is complex. The Hopi Council has authority

on Hopi Partitioned Land that is outside the boundaries of the District 6 Village lands; Villages have authority

over District 6 Land; Subsurface rights on Partitioned Land must be shared with the Navajo. There is similar

partition land on the Navajo side that the Navajo must split with the Hopi. Both Tribes must agree for mining

activity to take place on these parcels. There is also allotment land that is controlled by individual Tribal

members in the Village of Lower Moenkopi. The traditional village jurisdictions in District Six have mostly

not been formally surveyed so are subject to conﬂicts. The variety of jurisdictions and land divisions create

complex issues that have hindered development. The Hopi Tribal Council has existing standing committees

that address natural resource issues.

The Hopi Natural Resources Department has authority over the Hopi Ranches that are non-contiguous to the

Tribe on the south side. The Hopi Tribal Economic Development Corporation (HTEDC) has authority over fee

simple lands bordering Interstate 40, including checkerboard fee simple lands on the southern boundary of

the Reservation that are interspersed with State lands. In addition, there are departments such as the Land

Commission, the Oﬃce of Mining & Mineral Resources, the Oﬃce of Renewable Energy; Water Resources

Program; Wildlife & Ecosystems Management Program, the Oﬃce of Real Estate Services, the Tribal Land

Information System, and so forth, with various roles that may relate to land use and projects.

Traditional cultural activity occurs across the Reservation. There are numerous shrines, sacred springs, and

resource gathering areas throughout the original Hopi homeland which are now on the Navajo Reservation.

The traditional territory or Hopi homeland is called Tutsqua and includes the entire southeastern portion of

the Colorado Plateau and large areas to the South.

The Hopi Tribe has completed several land use plans, including the Hopi Integrated Resources Management

Plan (Adopted May 2001), the Hopi Tunatya’at 2000-Hopi Strategic Land Use & Development Plan, and the

Hopi Pötskwani’at 2011—Hopi Tribal Consolidated Strategic Plan. These plans are dated. There is a major

need to develop and update land use plans and resolve some of the jurisdictional issues. The Oﬃce of

Community Planning and Economic Development Land Information Systems (OCPEDLIS) proposed the

development of a Master Land Use Plan for Spider Mound (Yu Weh Loo Pahki), Kykotsmovi Village and Upper

Moenkopi Village that apart from Kykotsmovi, have undisputed boundaries. However, that plan was never

completed.

The Hopi Strategic Land Use and Development Plan that was completed in 2000 identiﬁed an immediate

need for 765 new homes to alleviate structural deﬁciencies in existing homes and overcrowding. The plan

mentioned an additional need for 90 new houses each year for the next twenty years to keep pace with

projected population growth. The Hopi Strategic Land Use Plan also called for ﬁve planned Community

Development Districts to be located on Hopi Partitioned Lands under the control of the Tribal Council.

Development at these districts will require substantial planning, infrastructure and capital development.

There is currently an amount of confusion regarding development potential as to which areas are

appropriate for infrastructure development, what areas may be ﬂood plains, where it makes sense to plan for

transportation corridors, and which areas should be zoned commercial or residential. An updated land use

plan should answer these questions.

The Hopi Tribe does have a Public-Law 93-638 contract in place with the BIA so that the Tribe is able to make

its own decisions and develop procedures and documentation for land use. Some of the Hopi departments

work well and eﬃciently to provide required information and permitting for development.

A useful land use plan will develop a road map for how the various agencies can work together on various

parcels of land to help fast-track development and land uses rather than create obstacles. The Realty Oﬃce

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

has been in charge of coordination up to now but may be able to update their procedures to make them more

eﬃcient. Prior land use plans did not address cross agency communication and eﬃciency. There are models

of successful development on Hopi land such as the construction of the Hopi Health Care Center and the ongoing HAMP (Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project) where examples of viable land use decisions can be codiﬁed

and adopted by the Tribal Council.

The rationale for the Hopi/Navajo partition lands was based upon the Peabody Coal contract whereby the

Navajo and Hopi Tribes would have joint jurisdiction and share in coal royalties and revenues. The Peabody

Coal contract is no longer in eﬀect. There- fore, it no longer makes sense to continue joint jurisdiction. The

partition lands will likely continue as an obstacle to development caused by vestiges from the past unless an

eﬀort can be mounted for change.

The Hopi Constitution states under Article VII – Land, Section 1. Assignment of use of farming land within the

traditional clan holdings of Villages, as recognized by the Constitution, shall be made by each Village according

to its established custom, or such rules as it may lay down under a Village Constitution adopted according to

the provisions of Article III, Section 4. Unoccupied land beyond the clan and Village holdings mentioned shall

be open to the use of any member of the Tribe, under the supervision of the Tribal Council.

Besides the minerals that are discussed later in the CEDS, including oil and gas, pot- ash and helium, Hopi

land resources include quarried sandstone, fuel wood, range-land, coal, sand and gravel, natural springs and

reservoirs and wildlife suitable for big and small game hunting. Hopi Dry Land Farming and irrigated ﬁelds in

Upper and Lower Moenkopi, support various Hopi crops, including corn, squash, beans, melons, gourds,

pump- kin, chile, onions, grapes, peaches apricots and apples. Range units support Hopi stockmen who raise

grass-fed sheep and beef cattle with cow/calf operations.

The Oﬃce of Real Estate Services

has identiﬁed fourteen separate

steps that may or may not all be

necessary to getting Hopi Tribal

approval for land use for

development purposes according to

the type of land and project being

pursued. This complex system of

jurisdictions and authorities has

tended to hinder development,

communication

and

decision

making. Nonetheless, if the process

is followed and each agency does its

job, approvals are granted. The

Director of Realty Office commonly

manages the process. The process

should now be facilitated due to the fact that projects are now originated and followed through by the HTEDC

and the Economic Development Board rather than the Council.

A list of oﬀ reservation properties include:

• Hopi Three Canyon Ranch - Winslow, AZ

o Cattle ranching business owned by the Tribe, which operates the Drye, Hart, Clear Creek,

Aja, and 26 Bar Ranches, Springerville, AZ

• Flagstaﬀ Commercial Properties – Flagstaﬀ, AZ

o Continental Plaza Shopping Center, Kachina Square Shopping Center and Heritage Square

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Shopping Center are real estate property investments of the Hopi Development Corporation.

The revenue stream derived from these properties is steady and predictable given the current

market and property values in Flagstaﬀ, Arizona. There are no employees, as the business is

run and managed entirely under a contract with Sterling Real Estate Management.

• Days Inn Wyndham at Sedona in Oak Creek Village/Sedona, Arizona

o The Days Inn Wyndham at Sedona has a total of 48 rooms and 1 conference center/breakfast room. A total of 17 employees are currently employed (housekeeping; front desk and

maintenance).

• Land in Winslow and land along I-40

o Including 13,200-acre Dobell Ranch and the 210 acre Twin Arrows parcel located on Interstate 40, 15 miles east of Flagstaﬀ.

A short list of on-Reservation properties include:

• Hopi Cultural Center on Second Mesa

o The Cultural Center currently employs 30 people (from the hotel to the restaurant). The

business is currently above the monthly average of proﬁt by 40%, due to the tourist season

beginning a bit early this year.

• Housing unit to rent 75 homes near the Hopi Health Care Center

o The Walpi Housing is managed by the HTEDC. The housing units are located next to the Hopi

Health Care Center and the tenants are Hopi Tribal government and Indian Health Service

employees. The number of employees is estimated at ﬁve.

Water, HAMP and Agriculture

roundwater, and more speciﬁcally the Navajo sandstone aquifer (N-aquifer), along with two other

smaller aquifers, are the primary source of water for 11 Hopi Villages and numerous Navajo communities

that adjoin the Hopi Reservation. The aquifers are also the source of water to numerous springs and

perennial water ﬂows that are sacred to the Hopi. Remote springs and geographically isolated wetlands of

Black Mesa and surrounding areas have sustained the Hopi people for close to 2,000 years. Aquifer

depletions have aﬀected the rare wetlands and associated springs on the Hopi Reservation in addition to

the quality of drinking water.

The Peabody Coal Lease was amended in October 1966 to allow Peabody Coal Company to withdraw more

than 4,000 acre-feet of potable water from the regional aquifer each year. Peabody Coal company used the

water rights to build the longest water slurry line in the world to transport coal to the Mohave Generating

Station a distance of over 273 miles, seriously degrading Hopi water resources and sacred springs.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The Hopi Tribal Council delegated authority to the Hopi

Water Resources Program (WRP) to implement and

enforce policies intended to ensure safe and

dependable supplies of water on the Reservation. The

WRP works with Northern Arizona University to

carefully monitor water availability and wetlands and

recommends conservation measures but has not

proposed a viable solution to deal with a declining

water supply. There are two on-going developments

that directly impact Hopi water: The HAMP (Hopi

Arsenic Mitigation Project) and the Little Colorado

River Adjudication Case.

The HAMP (Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project) was designed and funded to address the fact that water for eight

of the Tribe’s Villages is contaminated with high levels of naturally occurring arsenic. The ﬁrst phase of HAMP

provides water to designated Villages. The second phase of HAMP will provide water to sites such as BIA schools,

health care facilities and employee housing. The level of arsenic contamination currently exceeds the

Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) safe drinking water standards by as much as three times the allowable

contaminants. The EPA has ranked the contamination on the Hopi Reservation as one of its highest priorities and

longest running arsenic drinking water violations. While the primary purpose of the HAMP is to provide arsenic

compliant drinking water, additional beneﬁts to the regional system will include an increase in the quantity of

water available and improved water system reliability. The HAMP has been funded and construction is on-going.

Up to now all but three villages - Lower Moenkopi, Old Oraibi and Walpi – have been served by community

water systems. All Hopi communities on the main Reservation, except Yu Weh Loo Pahki (Spider Mound), are

dependent on the N-Aquifer (groundwater) as their source of domestic water. Annual water consumption by

Hopi communities in 2000 was approximately 300 acre-feet/year.

All water and sewer systems have been developed with federal assistance from the Department of Housing and

Urban Development (HUD), the Indian Health Service (IHS), US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA),

Oﬃce of Environmental Health (OEH) through Indian Health Service, and the Bureau of Indian Aﬀairs (BIA). To

determine if future water and sewer infrastructure projects will meet local needs and desires, the IHS and EPA

requests each village to identify and set priorities for its water and sanitation needs on a yearly basis.

Supplemental information, such as areas of planned village expansions, is also gathered to help plan future

projects. The IHS OEH program work with villages on plans designs and constructs most water systems on Hopi.

Some village homes lack indoor plumbing facilities compared to other Indian Reservations. The diﬃculty of

bringing in water lines is shown by the percentage of homes having to get water from “some other source”

which might be a village well (hauling water to and from location), a spring or, more recently, the purchase of

bottled water as the usual sources become too polluted to use for drinking and cooking purposes. The HAMP

should improve this situation.

A majority of existing water and wastewater treatment systems were not built to accommodate growth of the

local population or for economic development purposes since being implemented 60 years ago. The operation,

maintenance and repairs for the systems tends to be heavily subsidized by village governments’ annual budget.

The majority of the villages charge ﬂat rate fees, however some villages such as Sipaulovi charge

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

3334

a metered rate and many more need to move in this direction. There is no separate

charge for sewage system disposal. Most villages experience signiﬁcant problems

with their water infrastructure, including:

• Broken pumps

• Pumping for long periods of time without resting the equipment (i.e.,

water is hauled for livestock watering; systems were designed for domestic

demand only).

• Erratic pressure, small pipe diameters, and insuﬃcient storage capacity

obstruct ﬁre suppression.

• Unaccountable losses (leaks or aging pipes)

Many Hopi villages have deﬁcient sewage treatment systems while other villages

have none at all. Some villages still have outhouses (outdoor bathrooms) that are not

lined. Although there are functioning systems to be found across the Reservation,

wastewater management tends to be crisis driven and, therefore, is more expensive

in the long run.

HAMP was funded at roughly $20 million primarily by the EPA (Environmental

Protection Agency) and the IHS (Indian Health Services) with additional funds coming

from the Tribal reserve account to develop a new ﬁeld, drill new wells and provide

over forty miles of pipe to connect to village water systems. The project is being administered by the Hopi Utilities Corporation (HUC) and is under construction with a

completion date of April 2022. Under HUC management the construction company

has been laying roughly 2,000 feet of new water line per day.

HUC is a Section 17 corporate entity that functions independently from the Tribe but

is 100% owned by the Tribe and is accountable to the Tribe as its sole stockholder. The

HUC Board includes engineers and utility managers in addition to Tribal stakeholders.

HAMP Survey

HUC is also developing plans to integrate the Village water systems under HUC administration. Currently each Village operates their own independent water system

funded through the Tribe. Integrating the Village systems will provide better service,

allow the Villages to meet consistent environmental standards and save considerable

money.

One water project that HUC has worked on consists of bringing power and

infrastructure to up to three capped wells that can supply quality drinking water to

First and Second Mesas as well as provide water for the planned Tawa’ovi community.

Bringing power involved connecting to an NTUA (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority) line.

The Little Colorado River Adjudication Case has been going on for close to forty years

with many competing plaintiﬀs. The Hopi Tribe has been paying lawyers and

providing testimony over the last several years. The adjudication will determine how

HOPI ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

much water the Hopi will be allowed to utilize from the Little Colorado Watershed which encompasses

virtually all of the Tribe’s water resources. Hopi Chairman Nuvangyaoma recently expressed his consternation

regarding the adjudication by stating that, This is a rare case where our Hopi people have to ﬁght for water,

gallon for

gallon, that is naturally occurring on the

Hopi Reservation … we are not going to

other communities or towns demanding

their water. We are simply trying to

protect our Hopi people’s future water

rights.

The largest claims for water on the

Reservation are for irrigation of

agricultural lands. About 63% of the

Reservation, or over 1 million acres, have

been deter- mined to have soils that could

potentially grow crops if irrigated

(ADWR, 2008). The Hopi have a long

history of dry farming and irrigation in the

region and have developed traditional

practices to adapt to a limited water

supply and relatively harsh climate. The

latter is characterized by strong winds,

early and late frosts, and a semi-arid climate. Despite the fact that the Hopi Reservation is currently impacted

by climate change and drought many Traditional Hopi farming practices are still being used to grow crops on

the Reservation today.

A crop to keep an eye on in the area is hemp, as it is a diverse product that can be grown for many purposes

such as clothing, paper, medical needs, beauty products, building material, insulation, food, bioplastics,

animal feed, packaging, and biofuels among many other uses. While hemp is a multi-faceted product, being

a hardy, fast growing plant requiring minimal water, makes it an ideal crop, as it is easy to grow and

sustainable. Hemp is one of the fastest growing plants in the world and is a viable vehicle for carbon

sequestration.

The industrial hemp markets have been in development and growing and has been gaining some traction in

Indian Country. Hopi Reservation could utilize an amount of irrigated farmland to leverage this opportunity.

Although, the marijuana and CDC markets have been fairly chaotic with many small farmers who initially

planted crops for those purposes losing money, perhaps these farmers could look to partner with one of the

largest producers and marketing companies of hemp in the country, Santa Fe Farms. Santa Fe Farms is a

cultivator and processor of industrial hemp focused on regeneration and carbon sequestration and has plans

to create 60 processing sites to create “hemp-derived” materials for the paper and plastics industries. Santa

Fe Farms management is developing alliances with Tribes for proﬁtable hemp cultivation. Although hemp

is far from being a traditional crop, the Hopi tribe can explore this option with Santa Fe Farms and may also

be able to use hemp directly for cattle feed.

Lower Moenkopi Village is a farming community that relies on irrigated agriculture. There have been issues

of water seepage along the irrigation system of the Pasture Canyon Reservoir. Improvements and

maintenance of the Pasture Canyon Reservoir is a high priority.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Minerals

ccording to a recently completed survey by a certiﬁed geologist, there are likely commercial deposits of helium, coalbed methane gas and oil and gas on Hopi

lands. There are also veriﬁed commercial deposits of Potash. Helium is used in a

variety of military and industrial applications. At this time helium development is

extremely lucrative. The U.S. Government has eliminated its helium reserve

causing the price of helium to increase exponentially.

Although there are veriﬁed deposits of oil, gas and coal deposits on Hopi land, the

fossil fuel sector is in decline; there are concerns about global warming; and the

fossil fuel sector has been characterized by volatility.

Recent studies have veriﬁed deposits of potash on Hopi lands. In 2012, Passport

Potash spent millions of dollars on geologic studies and has veriﬁed extremely

valuable deposits of potash worth billions of dollars on and around Hopi ranch

lands. Potash is used worldwide as a component of industrial fertilizer. However,

the current price of potash does not justify the billion or so dollars it would take

to set-up a potash processing operation.

The situation with helium, however, is the opposite. New technology makes helium

extraction extremely economic. The price is near an all-time high and is predicted

to increase further over, the foreseeable future. There is a worldwide shortage

of helium. Helium is used for many technical and strategic industrial and medical

purposes.

The Holbrook Basin has some of the purest and most valuable helium deposits in

the world. Several major companies have tied up land within the Basin and are

doing exploratory drilling. There are helium deposits underneath Hopi fee simple

ranchlands in a checkerboard area within the Basin. One company has leased state

lands adjacent to Hopi land in the checkerboard area and is starting to drill. If

helium is taken from this area, the company will be pulling helium from

underneath Hopi land. Helium is a benign gas that has no environmental or climate

repercussions and does not require water in the extraction and development

process.

Hopi was guided by DOI geologists and ﬁnancial staﬀ to assist them in developing

helium, as well as write funded DOI grants verifying and developing helium.

Although there was considerable excitement and interest at the time, there has

been no follow-up since. The development of Hopi helium could easily be more

lucrative for the Tribe than past coal royalties with no environmental or water

issues. New technology has made helium extraction even more eﬃcient. There are

potential joint venture partners who will pay for Hopi helium development and

provide technical expertise without Hopi giving up majority ownership of a helium

company. A similar opportunity may exist for potash at some time in the future.

However, the price of helium warrants development now.

HOPI ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Energy

ne of the Hopi Tribe’s strategies to improve the reliability and cost eﬃciency of energy services on the

Reservation and to diversify away from coal revenue is to implement the Hopi Sustainable Energy Program.

The goal of this program is to develop and manage the Tribe’s own energy resources in a sustainable manner.

The Hopi Tribe has commissioned a number of renewable energy feasibility studies and plans, including a

recent feasibility study to ascertain the potential to develop a Tribally owned and managed power utility

company under HUC (Hopi Utility Corporation). The Tribe currently receives less then reliable power from

Arizona Public Service Company over old 69 kV lines at high cost. About a dozen Tribes have established and

operate their own power utility around the country.

Solar resources on the Hopi Reservation are considered to be “world class.” The annual average solar resource for the Hopi Reservation and most of Arizona is 6 to 7 kWh/m2 /day, among the highest levels in the

U.S. and the world.

The formation of the Hopi Oﬃce of Energy Eﬃciency and Renewable Energy was established in 2004.

Feasibility was completed for a 19MW solar array with power to be sold to the City of Flagstaﬀ. Tribal land

along I-40 would have been leased to a development company. The City of Flagstaﬀ made preliminary

commitments to purchase the power. However, market and regulatory conditions made this project not

feasible.

More recently, the Hopi Renewable Energy Oﬃce, along with other Hopi oﬃces and at the direction of Hopi

Tribal Council, worked towards another utility scale solar project on land along I-40. The project was the

result of more than 5 years of feasibility studies, land surveys and clearance work, consultation with Hopi

stakeholders, and collaboration between Hopi and Federal agencies. The project went out to a competitive

RFP bidding process in 2019 and is proceeding with a large renewable energy development company.

Historically, energy projects on Tribal lands have been largely based on leasing land for a comparatively low

amount to a developer that owns the project and retains most of the proﬁts providing the least control and

least return to the Tribe. Although this is a low-risk and easier method of developing a revenue stream from

a potential energy project this paradigm has shifted over the last few decades. Tribes are increasingly acting

as developers and owners as well as structuring business arrangements and projects themselves and realizing additional proﬁts. This can position Tribes in a unique niche. Tribes can realize a number of advantages

as their own developer or as a joint-venture partner.

Additionally, this is a particularly opportune time for Tribal renewable energy development. The Biden administration is promoting a 10-year renewal of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) with the possibility of the

credit taken in cash. This would make the credit directly available to Tribes. The ITC will cover 30% of the

cost of a renewable energy project. A Tribe can also avail itself of a New Market Tax Credit, and or an ITC, in

conjunction with a taxable investor. If both of these ﬁnancial instruments are used together more than half

the costs of a project can be subsidized. A taxable joint-venture investor/partner can also take advantage of

accelerated depreciation, subsidizing even more of a renewable energy project. The IRS allows tax credits

from a Tribal energy project to be passed through to a taxable project partner.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Under this model, the taxable joint-venture partner would own the majority of the project for the ﬁrst ﬁveyears in order to beneﬁt from the tax equity and depreciation and receive almost all of the required returns

from tax subsidies with an amount of energy revenue accruing to the Tribe. The project could then be turned

over to 100% Tribal ownership for the remaining ﬁfteen years or more of the useful life of a solar project.

This arrangement has been successfully done by Tribes in other parts of the country. The Tribe ends up owning a solar project at no or minimal cost and receives revenue for a period of up to 20 or more years. There

are currently identiﬁed trustworthy developers who are interested in working with Hopi in this regard. The

major feasibility factors are a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and a Transmission Agreement (TA). A PPA

and a TA may be forthcoming from APS (Arizona Public Service Company).

Transportation

he transportation system on the Reservation includes highways, local roads, an airstrip and helicopter

landing pads.11 There are 668.9 miles of BIA roads (both paved and unpaved), 99.1 miles of paved Arizona

Department of Transportation (ADOT) owned roads, and 467.1 miles of paved and unpaved Tribal roads.

There is a total of 1235.1 system miles in the Hopi Indian Reservation Roads Program.12 There are no Coconino

or Navajo County constructed or maintained roads on the Hopi reservation. The Integrated Reservation

Roads System, a multi-jurisdictional road system that incorporates the State of Arizona, Coconino County,

the Bureau of Indian Aﬀairs Hopi Agency, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation road maintenance agencies,

manages approximately 800 miles of roads. The remaining roads, most of which are “non-system” primitive

roads (not part of ADOT or a BIA governmental entity) are a Tribal responsibility to maintain or manage.

The Hopi Oﬃce of Range Management has developed and maintains a few “ranch roads” that are used by

local cattlemen and farmers to access remote areas of the Reservation. In addition, there are approximately

3,580 miles of non-maintained 4x4 trails and tracks mapped on the main reservation.

While no U.S. highways pass through the main Reservation, Arizona State Highway 264 runs in an east-west

direction is the busiest highway on the Reservation linking the villages. The east-west road across the

Reservation starts at the Arizona Highway 160 and 264 junctions in Moenkopi and ends at Ya-Ta-Hey, 8 miles

north of Gallup, New Mexico. Arizona Highway 87 is a secondary road that begins at Second Mesa and

connects with Interstate 40 near Winslow. The third route is Indian Route 6 to Spider Mound, which is

partially maintained by Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Indian Route 6 runs north to south

and connects to Interstate 40 near Holbrook.

The BIA Roads Branch maintains all Indian Route roads, constituting over 700 miles of roads on the

Reservation, including both paved and dirt. Indian Route 2 (Luepp Road) and Indian Route 6 (Holbrook Road)

are paved secondary roads. The majority of BIA roads are unpaved local roads. The majority of these local

roads are maintained due to school bus routes. These local roads are dirt, fair weather roads that are often

impassable in the winter snows and summer thunderstorms. Indian Route 2 links Kykotsmovi with Flagstaﬀ

covering 92 miles. Indian Route 6 begins 8 miles east of Keams Canyon and ends at Interstate 40 covering 70

miles east of Holbrook.

11 Socioeconomic Study in Support of a Hydrographic Survey Report for the Hopi Indian Reservation Submitted to Arizona Department of

Water Resources by SWCA Environmental Consultants April 2008.

12 Indian Reservation Roads Program FY 2016 Inventory, Hopi Department of Transportation

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 160 are major routes that inﬂuence traﬃc patterns throughout Northern

Arizona. Interstate 40 lies about 35 miles south of the Reservation and is one of the principle east-west

Interstate highways in the United States. The Hart Ranch, part of the Hopi Three Canyon Ranches lies on

both sides of Interstate 40 that runs east/west through the northern edge of the Ranch. The Ranch is

accessible from Interstate 40 by the Twin Arrows, Buﬀalo Range, Two Guns and Meteor Crater interchanges.

U.S. Highway 160 runs northeast/ southwest on the northwest boarder of the Hopi Reservation adjacent to

the communities of Upper and Lower Moenkopi.

Polacca Airstrip, located 2 miles west of Polacca, is available for charter or private usage. The primary use

is medical evacuation and personal transportation. The airstrip consists of a 4,200-foot paved and lighted

runway, a paved parking apron for 12 aircraft, a graded entrance road and a parking lot. Polacca Airstrip

requires frequent maintenance because of weeds, local ﬂooding and poor soils. The Hopi Tribe is a limited

sponsor due inclusion of the FAA Airport Capital Improvement Program for reconstructing the runway in the

future. In 2022, the Hopi Tribe contracted with Armstrong Consultants, Inc. to execute the design and

construction documents for the project.

The present airport facilities need numerous improvements to increase safety and accessibility. These

include extending and resurfacing the runway, paving the entrance road, fencing the airport perimeter and

upgrading the runway lights. A site study and master plan was prepared in 1977. 13 It proposed improving

the existing airport to meet immediate Tribal needs and developing a new airport on Second Mesa. The Airport Capital Improvement Grant is being used to complete an Airport Layout Plan and Narrative. The Hopi

Department of Transportation (HDOT) is working on the Hopi Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The

LRTP will help guide the Hopi Tribe with future community planning for economic development and basic

road improvements.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Solid Waste

n earlier days Hopi disposed of their refuse oﬀ the sides of the mesas in village designated communitydumps. Many dumps had poor physical characteristics that compounded waste management problems.

Several were located in natural washes contributing to surface water and ground water contamination.

Other dumpsites were located close to the villages and have a steep, high dumping face. These sites were

often visible from miles away. In a few villages, combustible refuse was burned in masonry incinerators or

simply thrown over the side of the mesas.

The Hopi Solid Waste Management Plan provides a system of public refuse collection with a centralized

sanitary landﬁll. The current Hopi Solid Waste Sanitary Landﬁll occupies 100 acres and is projected to serve

the Tribe and villages’ needs for 25 years based on IHS projections of population and generated waste.

13 PRC-R Dixon Speas Associates, 1977.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The Tribal government subsidizes solid waste collection on the Reservation. Residents must rent dumpsters

as well as pay additional fees for collection of large items or dumping additional loads at the landﬁll. As a

result, some individuals illegally dump their solid waste in remote locations to bypass these fees.

The Hopi Solid Waste Program cleaned up all historic mesa-side dumps. However, since there was no

education component to change people’s disposal habits, some dumps are being re-used again. Even when

villagers make an eﬀort for proper disposal, other village residents who do not rent dumpsters dispose of

their refuse in the rented dumpsters of others, over the side of the mesa, or into the wash.

Power

lectric service on the Hopi Reservation is substandard when compared to the reliable service in many

cities. Reservation electricity infrastructure exists mainly along Arizona Highway 264, serving most of the

Villages, but is essentially non-existent elsewhere on the Reservation. Three of the twelve villages, Lower

Moenkopi, Old Oraibi and Walpi have chosen not to allow utilities within their boundaries.

Arizona Public Service (APS) and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) provide electrical services on

the Hopi Reservation. Approximately 65% of the Hopi homes have electricity. A majority of the homes and

businesses with electricity are served by APS. A 69-kilovolt-transmission line provides electrical service

from Holbrook (through the Navajo Nation) to a substation several miles west of Keams Canyon. Arizona

Public Service Company (APS) lines are now well over 40 years old.

Electrical service is a radial feed, meaning that the power serving the Reservation comes from one source

and extends across the service territory without a back-up interconnection. From the substation, two

21-kilovolt lines branch oﬀ east to Keams Canyon and westward to the villages ending on Third Mesa. The

electrical lines within the villages usually range from 1.2 to 2.4 kilovolts. NTUA provides electrical service

to seven Hopi relocation families who live several miles south of Jeddito and to the new Hopi community

of Spider Mound (Yu Weh Loo Pahki). The Villages of Moenkopi (northeast of the main Hopi reservation)

have electricity service from APS that services Tuba City. NTUA operates a Questar gas line in Tuba City and

to the Moenkopi Legacy Inn. However, there is no domestic gas pipeline distribution system even though

there is a wholesale gas pipeline that traverses the Reservation.

APS has acknowledged that the duration of outages on the distribution feeder is longer than the APS

Company average. Distribution system maintenance records, which have been provided to the Tribe only

recently, would indicate likely system replacement requirements. Power reliability from APS has been improving, however.

While systems of this age are not uncommon in rural areas, enhanced routine maintenance, including

power pole replacements and equipment upgrades and replacements are needed to assure long-term

reliability.

It was noted that some portions of the system appear very old, and some safety issues may exist with

some of the drop lines from feeder poles into homes appearing quite close to the ground. APS continues

to work with the Hopi Tribe to address the number of brownouts that occur throughout the Hopi

Reservation. It is estimated that the total peak power load on the Hopi Reservation is 5MW.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

In the summer of 2004, the former HCAP Project Manager (HCAP refers to the Hopi Clean Air Partnership - a project done in partnership with the US Environmental Protection Agency) and an employee of

the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) conducted an inspection of the entire APS transmission line

on Hopi and compiled a deﬁciencies list of the line from which a report was generated and submit- ted

to APS. The inspection was performed in response to the Hopi Tribe’s interest in purchasing the

transmission system. Soon after, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) held a panel discussion on

electrical and other utilities reliability on Hopi at an Energy Summit. Several individuals testiﬁed about

how unreliable utilities are on Hopi. Soon after the Energy Summit, Arizona Public Service (APS) began

making improvements to the transmission system.

NTUA (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority) service territory surrounds the Hopi Reservation. NTUA maintains

service lines and facilities up to the edge of the Hopi Reservation in many places. It is not believed that

NTUA facilities exist on Hopi lands outside of limited service to Moenkopi and the homes near to

Jeddito. Because standard utility practices call for electrical facilities to be interconnected to

neighboring facilities for increased reliability and for coordination, Hopi and APS cooperation with

NTUA on utility related matters is essential for the development of reliable electrical service. 14

There has been talk of establishing a Tribally owned utility since before the HCAP in 2004. APS has

indicated an interest in selling its distribution system on the Hopi Reservation and in some surrounding

Navajo communities. The APS system at Hopi is an “island” system, meaning that it is wholly surrounded

by the system owned by the NTUA and is fed by one transmission line which crosses through the Navajo

Reservation. NTUA has indicated an interest in acquiring and improving the APS system within its

boundaries, but APS has agreed not to sell the system to NTUA without Hopi approval. It may make sense

for the Hopi Utility Corporation (HUC) to take over APS assets in conjunction with NTUA or

independently.

In 2004, the Hopi Tribe began receiving allocations of low-cost WAPA (Western Area Power

Administration) power. This allocation comes in the form of a check. However, the WAPA allocation to

Hopi is currently administered by the Navajo (NTUA) for high fee.

Tribes that have applied receive allocations of 4ȼ/kwh power from the federal Western Area Power

Administration (WAPA) which is the approximate cost that the government pays to secure hydropower

from federally built dams. This is done to make up for the prevalent ﬂooding of reservation lands in the

earlier part of the last century when many dams were built with no compensation to impacted Tribes.

Tribes with power utilities or with the capacity to sell power themselves can receive direct power

allocations. Other Tribes elect to receive checks. It may be possible for Hopi to receive both their

allocation directly instead of going through the Navajo.

The above factors could all be reasons as to why the Tribe should set up its own utility. There are about

12 Tribally owned utilities in the country. The Hopi Tribe recently issued an RFP for a Tribal utility

feasibility study.

Other options to improve electrical service include a regulatory body to oversee existing utilities, or a

partnership with the Arizona state regulatory bodies for more careful oversight and the enforcement of utility

standards and regulations. This could be facilitated with the passing of an energy plan which Hopi currently

does not have.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The cost of new service at Hopi is dependent on the customer‘s location and power requirements. Extensions

are considered on the basis of economic feasibility and each utility authority prepares separate cost estimates

for each project. In 1999, APS and NTUA estimated an average cost of $15,000 per mile for service that

extends beyond present service areas.

Telecommunications

ustomers at Hopi have experienced telephone service outages, cross-talk and fast- busy signals due to

inadequate network capacity. Many Tribal residents lived without

phone service because a network was not available in their location.

According to the 2000 Census, 68% of Hopi homes had telephone service. In contrast, in 1980, the Census

indicated that only 32% had such service. Only 2% of homes in the

U.S. generally were without telephone service as of the 2000 Census. The lack of qual- ity service was hindering

the social and economic health of the Tribe. Conventional telephone services are now provided by Hopi

Telecommunications, Inc. throughout all the Reservation’s communities with the exception of the

Moenkopi/Tuba City area, which obtains its service from Navajo Communication Co. and service has been greatly

improved. CellularONE provides wireless telephone service to a part of the Reservation through a cell tower

located on Antelope Mesa.

The Tribe received a 5-year grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to create a wireless,

satellite, broadband connection to the Internet at two ini- tial sites. The Hopi Police Department, Tribal Courts,

Hopi Health Care Center, Hopi High School and Northland Pioneer College were the ﬁrst to be connected. One

of the conditions of the grant was to partner with Hopi Telecommunications, Inc. (HTI) to ensure proper

operation, maintenance and repairs. The project is operated by HTI as a Tribal telecommunications utility for

broadband Internet and other wireless services for the Hopi Tribe.

HTI was established by the Hopi Tribal Council in 2004 to deploy advanced telecommunications that serves

the best interests of the Hopi Nation. HTI currently provides land line and satellite phone service as well as

internet services in speciﬁc areas and is in the process of expanding. There is a ﬁber optic line that runs from

Holbrook into Kykotsmovi. There is potential to connect additional communities and facilities to that line.

Additional funding for the HTI broadband initiative was provided through USDA Recovery Act funding

authorized in 2010. Since HTI has successfully rolled out this network, the Hopi Tribe and HTI should be in a

strong position to beneﬁt from new government funding. An announcement was recently made that $600

million will be allocated to support rural broadband connectivity that will ﬂow through the USDA Rural

Development Program in the near future with additional allocations as part of the new federal Infra- structure

Bill. HTI and the Tribe should remain vigilant and attempt to identify projects to take advantage of this

funding.

In late 2000, The Hopi Foundation launched the Hopi FM radio station, KUYI. The broadcast station is sited at

the Bureau of Indian Aﬀairs Police/Hopi Courts complex near First Mesa and a 69,000-watt tower is sited on

Antelope Mesa.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Organizational Infrastructure

ribes are the only entities in the United States that can act both as a government and a business. The status

of Tribes as sovereign entities within the United States allows Tribal enterprises to take advantage of many

unique opportunities. Most of these advantages are not well understood by the private sector, or for that

matter by many Tribes. Some of these advantages include:

• Self-regulatory authority

• Gaming

• Super 8(a) marketing (Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act)

• HubZone status

• Foreign Trade Zone Status

• Tax advantages

• Preference contracting

• Public Law 93-638 government contracting

• Government grants

• Guaranteed loans

• Tax exempt bonds and ﬁnancing

• Tax equity ﬁnancing

• New Market ﬁnancing

• EB-5 ﬁnancing

• Private joint ventures

• Taxation authority

• Section 17 Tribal Corporations

The economic development strategy put forth in this CEDS Report is partly based upon some of the above

advantages as they may apply to Hopi based on the potential to create Tribal revenue relatively quickly with

minimal risk and capital.

The Hopi Oﬃce of Community Planning and Economic Development (OCPED) is charged with land use,

development and economic development planning assistance within the Villages. In addition, the Hopi

Economic Development Board (EDB) was created by Council Resolution in September of 2017 and as- signed

the task of developing economic development opportunities for the Hopi Tribe. The EDB is now the point of

contact for any outside businesses and organizations interested in establishing business partnerships with the

Tribe and is responsible for receiving and reviewing proposals. Previously, there was no consistent referral for

those seeking to do business with Hopi, and contacts would be made randomly often resulting in a lack of

appropriate follow-through. Now that EDB is fulﬁlling that function it may still take some time before correct

referrals become the norm.

One of the best ways to help ensure eﬀective economic development implementation is to provide

appropriate organizational infrastructure. This was done by the Hopi Tribe through the creation of the Hopi

Tribe Economic Development Corporation (HTEDC). The HTEDC is a Tribally owned Section 17 Corporation.

A Tribally-owned Section 17 Corporation may establish and manage subsidiary corporations as joint-venture

enterprises with private companies; however, the main Section 17 must remain 100% Tribally owned.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

U.S. Tribes have operated construction, manufacturing, gaming, government contracting companies as well as

many other businesses through Section 17 Corporations. A Section 17 Corporation can arrange for ﬁnancing

without subjecting Tribal governmental assets to the risks and liability associated with borrowing money.

A Section 17 Corporation has a separate Board and accounting and reports to the Tribal Council. The Tribal

Council acts as the sole stockholder but does not become involved in direct management of HTED projects. A

Section 17 Corporation or its subsidiaries can enter into contracts and joint-venture businesses with outside

entities independently. A Section 17 Corporation insulates Tribal businesses from political considerations that

often come from direct control of Tribal businesses by a Tribal Council. A Section 17 Corporation can facilitate

capitalization through limited waivers of sovereign immunity for assets controlled by the Section 17 in order to

provide loan collateral without putting Tribal assets at risk, and also to provide assurances to potential business

or joint-venture partners that a Tribal government may ﬁnd diﬃcult to do as a result of independent

management. A Section 17 Board is normally made up of a mix of Tribal members and trusted advisors with

speciﬁc valuable business expertise.

Currently, the HTEDC manages:

• Hopi Cultural Center (Second Mesa)

• Days Inn (Sedona)

• Flagstaﬀ Properties (Flagstaﬀ)

Business concepts are often complex and may not be well understood by Tribal members. This is where a wellfunctioning Section 17 Corporation can make a diﬀerence by having the expertise and specialized sophistication

to properly analyze projected risk and reward and to take charge of the funding and implementation process as

well as educating Tribal members and eliciting support. The Section 17 should report periodically and be

accountable to the Council. Villages and Tribal members should also be aware of economic development plans

with questions and concerns answered with an emphasis on how the Tribe and Village residents will beneﬁt.

Many potential economic development projects involve land use. Not all of the entities that have land

jurisdiction may be in agreement as far as best use is concerned. Permitting, external permitting and

clearances are mostly controlled by the Oﬃce of Real Estate Services pursuant to federal regulations and can

be cumbersome. It is possible that external processes can be expedited either through a BIA 638 con- tract

administered by the Hopi Section 17 Corporation or through Hopi becoming a HEARTH Act Tribe. The Hopi

Tribe has BIA 638 status.

There are many steps to go through to satisfy internal regulatory requirements to obtain Tribal approval for

speciﬁc land use. The Oﬃce of Real Estate Services is adept at driving this process. Now that potential projects

are vetted by HTEDC, the HTED and the EDB (Economic Development Board) are able to monitor and help move

the process along. A thorough understanding of the land use approval process has not been as widespread

among Council members, so that the eﬃcacy of Council follow-up was not as great when the Council served to

approve business development instead of the HTEDC.

The HTEDC has a responsibility to set the guidelines, policies and procedures for the development of a new

business or the continuation of regulated entities on and oﬀ Reservation lands. These procedures incorporate

the Department of Natural Re- sources (DNR) that carries out the Hopi Tribal Ordinances to help protect the

Tribe‘s land, water, mineral and other resources. The Hopi Tribe through the Hopi Oﬃce of Community

Planning and Economic Development (OCPED) conducted various strategic work session in February through

May of 2017 to bring Hopi Departments/ Pro- grams, Hopi Tribal Council and HTEDC together to work on

setting priorities for the Hopi Tribe to begin the ﬁrst steps to identify key economic development projects. This

process has been expanded through the current CEDS Plan.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The Hopi Corporate Charter conveys numerous powers to HTEDC, including general powers to conduct

business on behalf of the Tribe, acquire or lease property, incur debts, enter into contracts, manage and

invest in commercial enterprises, distribute revenues, establish subsidiaries and so forth. The HTEDC cannot sell, mortgage or otherwise encumber any trust or restricted lands held by the United States for the

beneﬁt of the Hopi Tribe; nor can HTEDC lease any lands of the Hopi Tribe, whether held in trust or in fee,

without the prior authorization of the Hopi Tribal Council.

However, a major advantage of a Section 17 is that the Board has authority to approve, fund and administer

business projects without seeking direct approval from the Council which can greatly expedite business

development by serving as the prime conduit for vetting new business arrangements. At the same time,

the HTEDC must be managed responsibly and serve the best interests of the Tribe. Since the Tribe is the

sole stockholder of the Corporation the HTEDC Board is required to make formal reports to the Council,

including ﬁnancial reports, and the status of agreed upon plans and goals, so that the Council has

assurance that appropriate direction and goals are being met. Up to now, this vital communication has

been lacking, at least in a formal setting.

In 2012 Congress enacted the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home ownership (HEARTH) Act

amendments to the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act. This Act provides authority for Indian Tribes to lease Tribal

trust lands directly pursuant to Tribal law, without further Secretarial approval. Despite these substantial

beneﬁts, to date, comparatively few Tribes have taken advantage of the opportunity to use this tool and

promulgate Tribal leasing ordinances that take advantage of HEARTH Act authority.

The HTEDC can elect to establish and administer HEARTH Act regulations on behalf of the Tribe. However,

the 638 contracting authority with the BIA Oﬃce fulﬁlls many of the same functions. Going through the

exercise of becoming a HEARTH Act Tribe may make sense if the Hopi Tribe gets involved in leasing land in

conjunction with energy or mineral projects.

Housing Authority

he Hopi Tribal Housing Authority (HTHA) has been serving the Hopi People for more than 50 years. The

mission of HTHA is to provide the Hopi Community opportunities for safe, decent, sanitary, and quality

housing; to enable improvement of the physical conditions of housing; to continually upgrade the

management and operations of the Housing Authority, while developing and enhancing a stronger,

healthier and viable economic initiative related to low-income housing assistance.

The BIA Consolidation Report of Tribal Inventories of Housing Needs identiﬁed approximately 800 families

in need of housing assistance with an additional 300 families needing rehabilitative assistance. While most

homes are located within or near the Villages, some families obtain land leases located outside of the

Village land boundaries. Known as scattered-site housing, these home site locations are becoming

important alternative places for the Hopi to build and live.

The availability of aﬀordable housing on the Hopi Reservation is an increasing problem as the population

grows. Many Hopi people have been forced to move oﬀ-Reservation for employment and/or the lack of

housing. They cite not being able to build within the villages which are crowded to capacity, not being able

to secure an uncontested land assignment on which to build, not being able to secure funding to build a

home and not having opportunity to buy an existing home as the reasons.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The BIA and Indian Health Services provide rental housing at Keams Canyon. In addition, there are federal

rentals for BIA teachers at the Hopi Junior/Senior High School and in Polacca, Second Mesa, Kykotsmovi and

Hotevilla. A small amount (33 units) of low-income housing is available on Hopi trust lands in Winslow. The

Walpi Housing Project added 75 town home rental units, which are managed by Hopi Tribal Economic

Development Corporation (HTEDC). These are located at First Mesa and maintain a 99% occupancy rate.

Much of the housing found on the Reservation is public housing ﬁnanced under Housing and Urban

Development (HUD) programs and administered through the Hopi Tribal Housing Authority (HTHA).

Currently, the HTHA manages 230 homes through ownership and 33 as rentals (6 are low income and 27 are

tax credit). The HTHA has developed a one-year plan to include community input as well as a ﬁve-year plan.

A study identiﬁed that most homes were built between 1969-1984 and are in need of repairs.

The Hopi Tribe to date does not have a recent updated Reservation wide housing assessment. The Hopi

Housing Department was able to complete 40 units of rental housing in 2018 with energy saving amenities at

the Winslow Hopi Housing residential area. There are additional projects in the pipeline.

As with most Tribes, there is tremendous pressure on Tribal leadership to provide updated housing,

infrastructure, jobs and economic opportunity to Tribal members on the Reservation, especially for young

people. The chart below shows the number of housing units available for the Tribe on reservation. With 2,335

households currently living on the reservation and 3,032 housing units available, there is an existence of 697

vacant housing units. While this would indicate there is not a need to build additional housing, the homes that

are available are in need of intense renovations.

Hopi Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, AZ

Housing Occupancy

Total housing units

3,032

Occupied housing units

2,335

Vacant housing units

697

Homeowner vacancy rate

Rental vacancy rate

Average household size of owner-occupied unit

Average household size of renter-occupied unit

Median (dollars)

Currently HTHA has a list of projects proposed for the next ﬁve years:

• Warehouse Construction at Polacca and Winslow;

• Youth Center Subsurface Drainage System

• Spider Mound housing;

• Twin Arrows housing;

• First Mesa Consolidated Villages Community Development Master

• 20 unit scattered site development proposals,

• 40 unit Winslow Development and site improvement

• 2 BIA HIP Homes

• Home Rehabilitation Program

3.9

3.3

$102,800

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Hopi Tribal Government

ribal Government existed for many hundreds of years before the founding of the United States. Hopi

governmental authority was traditionally exercised at the local Village level through religious leadership and

clans. While the United States has insisted on dealing with the Hopi as if they were a single Tribe, the Hopi

Tribe is a union of self-governing Villages.

The concept of “Hopi” has historically indicated a culture, but not a governmental entity. Within each Village

there is a hereditary group of religious leaders or chiefs. The traditional Hopi Villages were ruled by clan theoracies. A few Hopi villages continue the traditional form of Village administration, which includes a leader

- kikmongwi - from a speciﬁc clan. Each Village has its own social, religious, and political organization. There

are signiﬁcant structural similarities between most Villages. Hopi clans are matrilineal. Each of the clans has its

own ceremonies and its own history.

The primary role of the kikmongwi was to ensure the success of crops and thus the well- being of the

Villages by carrying out ceremonial obligations. Political authority focused primarily on resolving disputes

regarding land use. The kikmongwi leads by examples of humility, hard work and good thoughts. Each Hopi

Village also had a qaletaqmongwi or war chief who was responsible for enforcing internal social order and

for dealing with external aﬀairs.

While some Hopi supported the creation of the administrative system of 1936, there was some opposition

to its establishment, traced to the Hopi refusal to adopt the white man’s political systems. Hopi and Tewa

people face the challenges of working together and working with the Council. The Tewa Village at Hopi is

made up of descendants of the Rio Grande Pueblo Tribes who ﬂed the Pueblo Revolt of 1680-1692 and

settled in Hopi rather than returning to their homeland Villages.

The Villages have continued to be self-governing and sometimes ignore the Tribal Council. The Tribal Council

has limited authority within Village jurisdictions. Empowering the Council to make decisions by majority

vote, rather than through the traditional religious leadership, was viewed by many Hopi as undercutting

the rightful authority of the traditional Kikmongwi. Unoccupied land beyond the clan and Village holdings

is open to the use of any member of the Tribe under the supervision of the Tribal Council. Each Village has

either a Community Service Administrator (CSA) or an appointed individual(s) as representatives to handle

daily Village matters.

The Hopi Tribal Council retains the authority to represent and speak for the Hopi Tribe in all matters for the

welfare of the Tribe, and to negotiate with federal, state and local governments, and with the councils or

governments of other Tribes and to provide a way of organizing to deal with modern problems, with the

United States Government and with the outside world generally The constitution consists of thirteen

articles, addressing territory, membership, and the organization of government.

The Tribal Council includes a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer and Village representatives

based on the population of each Village, consisting of 22 representatives from Upper Moenkopi, Bacavi,

Kykotsmovi, Sipaulovi, First Mesa Consolidated Villages (Walpi, Sitsomovi and Tewa), and Mishongnovi.

The following Villages chose traditional government over Council authority and do not have Village

representation on the Tribal Council: Shungopavi, Oraibi, Hotevilla, and Lower Moenkopi. Representatives

to the Council are selected either by a community election or by an appointment from the Village

kikmongwi, or leader. Each representative serves a two-year term.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Hopi Villages:

First Mesa

 Walpi

 Sitsomovi

 Hano (Tewa)

 Polacca

Second Mesa

 Shungopavi

 Sipaulovi

 Mishongnovi

Third Mesa

 Oraibi (Old Oraibi )

 Kykotsmovi

 Hotevilla

 Bacavi

Second Mesa

Other Hopi Communities

 Spider Mound (Yuwehloo Pahki)

 Keams Canyon

 Moenkopi (Upper and Lower Villages)

Traditional villages include First Mesa’s Walpi which oversees Sitsomovi and Tewa. Second Mesa includes

Mishongovi and Shungopavi; Third Mesa traditional governance has also included Oraibi and Hotevilla.

The Upper and Lower Villages of Moenkopi, Kykotsmovi, Sipaulovi and Bacavi embrace democratic forms

of government authorized by the Constitution and have village Boards of Directors and/or Governors. Upper Moenkopi is the only village with an adopted federally recognized constitution.

The Tribe is governed by an executive, legislative and judicial branches with limited powers under the

Hopi Constitution. The Chairman and/or in his absence the Vice Chairman, is responsible to conduct the

day-to-day business of the Hopi Tribal government. The Hopi Tribe Executive Director is responsible for

overseeing all Tribal departments and programs. The Executive Director reports to the Hopi Chairman.

Most Tribal constitutions were established under the 1936 Indian re-organization Act whereby the BIA

inﬂuenced Tribal constitutions by following the model of the U.S. government.

The Hopi Tribe is headquartered in Kykotsmovi, Arizona. The Hopi Tribal Government operates a Trial

Court and Appellate Court in Keams Canyon. These courts operate under a Tribal Code, amended August

28, 2012. The Council adopted the current Hopi Organizational Chart and a new Organizational Plan in

January of 2016. The major organizational change enacted in 2016 was that the Vice Chairman no longer

has direct authority over the departments and programs that were under his oﬃce from the last

reorganization of 1988/1989. Instead, the Council created the Executive Director position as the direct

line of authority/supervision/accountability for all Department Managers and Directors.

Land, Water and Energy, Transportation, Law and Order and Health and Education Committees are under

the Legislative Branch. The Executive Branch consists of Community Planning and Economic

Development, Facilities and Risk Management, Human Resources, Financial Management, Information

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Technology and the Oﬃce of Real Estate Services. The service departments are underneath the Executive

Branch and consist of: Health and Human Services, Social Services, Behavioral Health, Education and

Workforce, Public Works and Transportation, Natural Resources and Public Safety and Emergency Services.

There are many programs within these categories, with a total of close to ﬁfty Tribal Programs in all and

close to 550 employees.

Finances and Economic Development

he 1966 Peabody Company coal contract had profound impact on Hopi ﬁnances, the environment

and water resources. The Hopi Tribe lost close to $7.3 million of annual coal royalty revenues when the

Mojave Generating Station was closed in 2005. The subsequent shut- down of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) Power Plant in 2019 resulted in a monetary loss to the Tribe of close to $12 million annually.

Together these losses represent almost all of the Tribe’s non-federal revenues. The Tribal operating budget

is normally between $20 to $25 million. Due to the loss of coal income the Tribe has been operating in the

red. The Tribe does have an invested reserve fund. The goals for the fund, however, are to build it and not

deplete it. The reserve fund is not meant to cover Tribal operating expenses.

The Hopi Tribal Planning Ordinance No. 55, along with the Hopi Tribe Strategic Land Use and

Development Plan give some indication for planning new proposed communities. The Tawa’ovi Project is a

master planned project overseen by the Hopi Tribal Council looking at creating a “new community” where

Tribal and non-Tribal individuals can live, work and create other economic venues, such as small retail and

visitor attractions along with residential and Tribal government expansion.

The Hopi Tribe has proposed planned community developments such as: Yu Weh Loo Pahki known as

Spider Mound; Tawa’ovi; Side Rock Well and Hollow Mesa East. The new communities could include:

housing, commercial, government/institutional buildings, recreation, tourism/museum facilities and other

small light industrial developments. These new developments would all be located on the main Hopi

Reservation lands. Oﬀ-Reservation community planned locations can be found on the Hopi ranch lands or

at the Hopi Industrial Park location in Winslow, Arizona.

The Hopi Tribe has invested in three successful hotel properties with one oﬀ- Reservation in Sedona, a

successful modern hotel in Moenkopi, and a modest hotel property on Second Mesa at the Hopi Cultural

Center. The Tribe also operates a successful ranching operation and oﬀ-Reservation real estate, including

commercial property in Flagstaﬀ. Almost all of the Hopi businesses are proﬁtable but collectively do not

bring in much more than about $1 to $2 million in proﬁts annually.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The Villages are concerned about economic development. The most successful

economic development Village is Upper

Moenkopi which is away from the main

reservation area of District Six next to

Tuba City. The Upper Moenkopi Village

has set-up a Developers Corporation and

received a $4 million grant from HUD for

a waste water treatment plant that produces Class A water. Upper Moenkopi Village also manages the Moenkopi Legacy

Inn that serves as the western gateway

to Hopi and operates the Tuuvi Travel

Center. Upper Moenkopi also beneﬁtted

Rendering of Tawa’ovi Planned Community (T&P Architects)

ﬁnancially from the Bennet Freeze Court Settlement. The Village is planning additional projects related to

water, energy and housing.

The traditional Villages on the mesas in District Six face diﬀerent economic development challenges. The

Villages are small, self-contained and diﬃcult to access with minimal services or amenities. Villages oﬀ the

mesas, such as Kykotsmovi which is the site of most government oﬃces, have potential to expand retail

development. Kykotsmovi is home to the primary Tribal administrative oﬃces and some retail. The Village

is currently completing construction of a new travel center and convenience store.

Most of the Mesa Villages are interested in refurbished meeting and program space, small convenience

groceries and corn mills. The Tribes provide limited funds to the Villages to operate their governments.

Recent budgetary cuts to the Villages from the Tribal Administration due to the decrease in coal contract

revenues, however, total over 24%. Some Villages earn limited funds through managing utilities.

As part of the CEDS process a Village Economic Development Plan was developed that recommended a

closer economic development/ Tribal Council partnership and information sharing, emphasizing that the

Hopi Tribe is the Villages. The traditional Villages can beneﬁt from Tribal economic development in two

ways: increased employment opportunities; and what has been called community service businesses.

The Tribe and Villages could decide to use a portion of new potential economic development revenues to

subsidize corn mills, meeting space and small grocery stores that are too small to earn a proﬁt but provide

community service.

The sector with the most potential to beneﬁt the traditional villages is tourism. Hopi Tourism and

Experience Hopi Tours is located at the Moenkopi Legacy Inn. There is tremendous potential to sensitively

in- crease tourism by investing in tourism marketing, both domestically and abroad. At the same time,

tourism can be carefully regulated so as not to interfere with sacred ceremonies and dances. Villages,

however, could decide to present exhibition dances and cultural events especially for tourists and control

visitation periods. Increased tourism will have an impact on cottage industry development such as arts and

craft and food sales. Tourism may be additionally enhanced through the scheduled refurbishment of the

Polacca Air- port. The Hopi Reservation is one of the most unique living environments in the world, and

probably could be designated as a World Heritage Site.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

In order to support cottage industry as well as more extensive entrepreneurial development the Hopi

Credit Association (HCA) can be strengthened. HCA was established in 1952 as a 501(c)3 organization relending program to members of the Hopi Tribe and became a Community Development Financial

Institution (CDFI) in 1998. Over the years, HCA has become more of a consumer lending organization than a

business loan entity. The HTEDC (Hopi Tribe Economic Development Corporation) has plans to develop a

new CDFI to focus on entrepreneurial development through both business training and making loans

available to qualiﬁed start-ups. Now is the time to do it, either as an independent entity or as an

expansion of the HCA. The federal government through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)

has made over $10 billion available to both states and Tribes to fund or strengthen small business lending

programs as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Hopi Tribe recently applied to federal funding agencies to increase its Indirect Cost Rate (IDC). The rate

had been close to 10%. Most Tribes with government contracts receive an IDC rate closer to 30%. Most

Tribal budgets are primarily ﬁnanced through federal contracts. Tribes provide comprehensive services to

their Tribal members that are commensurate with non-Tribal local governments such as cities, counties

and even states, without the same ability to tax. The federal government normally provides an amount of

funding to local governments, including Tribes. Federal agencies provide a negotiated Indirect Cost Rate for

administrative expenses. The Hopi Tribe was recently able to increase the Indirect Cost Rate that it

receives from the federal government closer to a normal amount. This will help to make up for the coal

revenue budget shortfalls.

The Tribe recently took over law enforcement from the BIA and has plans to fund and complete a new

detention center on Hopi land. Methamphetamine is a major issue on the Reservation that impacts Hopi

Youth and crime. The Hopi Behavioral Health Services/Mental Health Program operates an eﬀective

outpatient substance abuse treatment program to help deal with that and other substance abuse related

issue.

The Hopi Tribe, along with all of the other U.S. federally recognized Tribes received substantial CARES Act

funds. The funds were distributed to Villages, departments and programs through an application process

in a fairly opaque manner. In addition, CARES Act funds were used to develop a modular community at

the newly developed turquoise well site by Tawa’ovi just inside the Hopi Reservation boundaries. Some

of entities that have moved there include the Hopi Emergency Response Team quarantine units, the Hopi

Solid Waste Department, Hopi Public Safety Department, the Department of Natural Resource Programs

and Hopi Behavioral Health and Social Services Departments.

Original plans for the area were included in the early Hopi Tribal Master Plans as one of the development

districts and encompassed an ambitious mixed use community. The Tawa‘ovi Project is a master planned

community project authorized by the Hopi Tribal Council. Despite substantial planning and the creation

of a development team, progress on the community has come to a standstill replaced at least

temporarily by the Turquoise Well site modular project.

Retail Development and Economic Leakages

ne viable economic development strategy revolves around plugging economic or trade leakages. An

economic leakage is deﬁned as a situation whereby money earned in a given community or economic area

is spent outside of the area as a result of a lack of services or goods within the area. There are minimal services or goods oﬀered within the Hopi region so that the main reservation population is used to traveling

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

long distances to local bordering towns, both on the Navajo Reservation such as Tuba City and Bilcon, as

well as to communities like Winslow, Holbrook, Gallup and Flagstaﬀ, in order to satisfy the demand for jobs

and amenities that cannot be purchased or secured on the main Hopi Reservation. Due to the relative

isolation of Hopi these driving distances are great. There is a lack of basic services such as full-service

groceries, retail stores, vehicle service facilities and entertainment venues. This implies that either

recruiting or starting-up businesses at Hopi that can oﬀer these and other services should be viable from

an economic development standpoint. The Hopi Reservation should be able to support the number and

variety of businesses close to a small town of 6,000 to 7,000 people even though the Hopi population is

scattered over a large area. The few businesses on Hopi don’t begin to ﬁll that demand.

Economic strategy to address this opportunity revolves around entrepreneurial development and

recruitment. Most Hopi entrepreneurs are focused on cottage industries such as craft businesses or

roadside stands that appeal to tourists. There are organizations that provide business training at no cost

such as the Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC). The OCDEP (Oﬃce of Community

Development and Planning) has formed a relationship with the SBDC (Small Business Development Center)

in Flagstaﬀ to hold classes in starting a business that can be supported by the HTEDC and a new CDFI

(Community Development Financial Institution) Program.

Tourism

he customs, culture, ceremonies, and mesas of Hopi

are world renowned. For Hopi Villages, this presents an

opportunity for tourism development. In November

2020, Building Communities completed and distributed

the Hopi Tourism Strategic Plan offering

recommendations and policies on how tourism

development can benefit the Tribe and its people.

The Hopi Tourism Association’s mission is to “promote

tourism activities and visitor destinations that Promote,

Preserve and Reinforce Hopi Customs and Values as a

business approach to economic diversification; through

the development and operation of an authentic Hopi

experience and destination by cooperative marketing of

Hopi attractions; participating in local, state, and

national tourism advocacy and networking in a regional

context.”

Potential recreational areas are four lakes in the Keams Canyon area, known as Lake Maho (also

known as Upper Keams Lake) Twin Dam No. 1 and Twin Dam No. 2 located on the main Hopi Reservation. The

Pasture Canyon Reservoir located near Moenkopi Villages is also seen as a recreational area; however, it is

prioritized for irrigation purposes. Pasture Canyon Reservoir, is being considered to be included into the annual ﬁsh

stocking for the Tribe, from the USFWS Alchesay-Williams Creek National Fish Hatchery (NFH) located in Whiteriver.

The Hopi Tribe will need to meet with both Upper and Lower Moenkopi villages to get their input, as any stockin

may impact the use of the water for irrigation. Some village members from both villages (Upper Moenkopi and

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Lower Moen- kopi) have requested that it be stocked, however the Tribe has to see what can be worked out

between the farmers and village to enter into a compromise if one exists.

One need to promote tourism is to establish regulations to protect and conserve areas like Blue Canyon and

Dawa Park on the Hopi Reservation, together with publicizing these unique scenic areas. Blue Can- yon is a

section of Moenkopi Wash on the Hopi Indian Reservation where red and white rocks have been eroded into

countless spectacular patterns and shapes. Dawa Park is an ancient Hopi petroglyph site.

Tourism promotion of these areas needs to be accompanied with the means for increased protection. A

Parks and Recreation Program could be funded and set-up as part of a larger tourism program. Land has also

been designated by the Hopi Tribe for the construction of a museum that needs to be funded, designed and

built.

Blue Canyon

Most Hopi Villages wish to be more involved with agriculture and tourism. Experience Hopi Tours based at the

Moenkopi Legacy Inn is a separate LLC with its own independent Board. With the support of HTEDC and the Hopi

Tribal Council Experience Hopi Tours can be expanded as a Tribal Tourism Department. The Department can promote

cultural events and programs at the Villages and coordinate events with special tours and outside tour companies.

Now outside tour companies compete with Experience Hopi Tours.

A Tourist Department can charge outside tour organizations and control tourist activity, protecting privacy and

special ceremonies, while promoting and coordinating programs appropriate for the public. A Tourism Department

can help maximize revenue to artists and make maximum use of Village assets at appropriate times, as well as

maximize Tribal training and employment as guides to outside companies. A Department can more easily promote

Hopi as a destination as well as receive grant funding for marketing. Tourism is a major industry that Hopi needs to

further explore, as Hopi can be marketed as a prime tourist destination at trade shows and other venues both

nationally and internationally.

A source of information for Native American tourism development is AIANTA (American Indian Alaska Native

Tourism Association). AIANTA serves as the national center for providing tourism and travel training and technical

assistance to American Indian nations.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Economic Resilience and COVID-19 Impact

conomic resiliency is deﬁned as the ability of an economy to withstand shocks such as natural disasters or rapid

outside change such as economic cycles. Establishing economic resilience in a local or regional economy requires

the ability to anticipate risk, evaluate how that risk can impact key economic assets, and build a responsive capacity.

Usually the shocks/disruptions to the economic base of an area or region are manifested in one of three ways:

Downturns or other signiﬁcant events in the national or international economy which impact demand for locally

produced goods and consumer spending; Downturns in particular industries that constitute a critical component of

the region’s economic activity; and/or other external shocks (a natural or man-made disaster, closure of a military

base, exit of a major employer, the impacts of climate change, etc.).

In the case of the Hopi Tribe, the closure of the Generating Stations and coal mines meets all of the above criteria.

One resiliency strategy is to undertake eﬀorts to broaden the economic base through diversiﬁcation initiatives, such

as targeting the development of emerging clusters or industries that build on a region’s unique assets and

competitive strengths and provide stability during downturns that disproportionately impact any single cluster or

industry. Economic diversiﬁcation is a prime economic resiliency strategy.

The way that the Hopi Tribe can implement an income diversiﬁcation strategy is to pursue the low-risk potentially

lucrative development projects that are addressed in this plan, especially IHS 638 contracting and third-party billing,

helium development, solar energy development, tourism development and potentially gaming.

Another strategy includes adapting business retention and expansion to assist ﬁrms by strengthening existing

enterprises through planning and goal setting. Strong and proﬁtable enterprises are more easily able to withstand

economic disruptions. A strong business culture and retention program with proﬁtable enterprises fosters

additional business development by making it easier to recruit businesses, form joint venture partnerships and

obtain ﬁnancing. The HTEDC can coordinate this function and is already moving in that direction with the creation

of an entrepreneurial CDFI fund and business training program.

Building a resilient workforce that can better shift between jobs or industries when core employment is threatened

through job-driven skills strategies and support organizations is another important resiliency strategy.

Promoting business education and keeping communication channels open is an important part of a retention

strategy. Tribal businesses should understand their vulnerabilities. Establishing a process for regular

communication, monitoring, and updating of business community needs and issues, and reaching out to

businesses to address concerns as well as potential risks and opportunities, are part of a strong retention program.

The OCDEP (Oﬃce of Community Development and Planning) and the HTEDC should maintain relationships and

the capability to rapidly contact key local, regional, state, and federal oﬃcials to communicate business sector

needs and opportunities, help to provide training and education programs, and help to coordinate impact

assessments and plans as partners.

Maintaining up-to-date and complete information on funding opportunities, land and potential business sites,

strategic and growing regional economic sectors, links to the regional business community, local business strengths

and weaknesses assessments, and developing and updating business policies and regulations also helps to grow

and strengthen Tribal economics and position Tribes to be proactive. This can include a strong tax policy.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

All these factors are important and should be conscientiously pursued by Hopi. Most of these strategies are longterm. Strategies with the potential to address the immediate ﬁnancial situation in the short-term include the

speciﬁc diversiﬁcation strategies already mentioned and addressed in more detail below.

Other resiliency challenges that the Tribe is facing includes climate change and drought along with the COVID-19

Pandemic. The Hopi Tribe is no stranger to water scarcity, as the Hopi people have managed to sustain themselves

in an extremely arid area with limited water for many hundreds of years. The depletion of the water table by the

coal slurry line built by Peabody Coal put unprecedented strain on water accessibility. The Hopi Tribe has

consequently prioritized water development through drilling new wells, through the HAMP development and

through instituting conservation measures. However, extreme drought conditions continue to put pressure on

water availability. Nevertheless, the measures that the Tribe is taking are a good example of eﬀective resiliency

measures.

The Hopi Tribe developed a robust response to the COVID crisis that served to limit cases on the Reservation.

Among other measures the Tribe went through extensive lockdown periods. The Tribe did not lay off any staﬀ,

however, and they were encouraged to telecommute. Connectivity and the lack of hardware, however, were issues

that seriously curtailed Tribal operations. Many non-Tribal businesses on the Reservation were forced to lay off

staﬀ.

The ﬁrst conﬁrmed case of COVID-19 in a Hopi resident was reported on March 28, 2020. Between April and May,

cases continued to be diagnosed at low levels. Average daily incidence (using a moving 7-day average case count)

among Hopi peaked in mid-June at over 100 cases per 100,000 population (average eight to nine new cases per

day), declined, and then peaked again in mid-July. The Hopi Tribe was quick to respond and put together a model

program to limit the spread of the disease. Tribal Leadership followed the lead of Indian Health Services with

regard to disseminating legitimate information and actions about COVID-19 protocols and procedures. The Hopi

Tribe issued various Executive Orders and three Tribal government shutdowns.

On May 18, 2020, a team from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was deployed at the

request of the Tribe in response to increases in COVID-19 cases. Collaborating with the Hopi Health Care Center

(the reservation’s federally run Indian Health Service Health Facility) and CDC, the Hopi strengthened public health

systems and response capacity from May to August including:

(1) implementing routine COVID-19 surveillance reporting;

(2) establishing the Hopi Incident Management Authority for rapid coordination and

implementation of response activities across partners;

(3) implementing a community surveillance program to facilitate early case detection and educate

communities on COVID-19 prevention; and

(4) applying innovative communication strategies to encourage mask wearing, hand hygiene and

physical distancing.

These eﬀorts, as well as community adherence to mitigation measures, helped to drive down cases in August.

As cases increased in September–November, the improved capacity gained during the ﬁrst wave of the

pandemic enabled the Hopi leadership to have real-time awareness of the changing epidemiological

landscape. This prompted rapid response coordination, swift scale up of health communications and

redeployment of the community surveillance program.

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

The Tribe was closed and under lockdown during the major portion of the Pandemic. The stay-at-home order

made it diﬃcult for Hopi ranchers to get hay for their livestock. Native Waters on Arid Lands, a federal grantfunded project, delivered 350 bales of hay to Hopi in June of 2020.

As of the beginning of 2021, the Hopi Tribe was still on lockdown. The Hopi Health Care Center tested over

7,456 patients by January 2021. Over 1,013 of those tests at the Hopi Health Care Center came back positive

with 696 from Hopi Tribal members. The Hopi Tribe Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

partnered with the Hopi Health Care Center and the CDC to deploy a team of community health workers to

every household in villages with high case counts. Community health representatives went door to door,

tested exposed individuals, and provided educational materials to families.

While taking eﬀective measures to deal with the health crisis, the Hopi Tribe was able to apply for CARES Act

funding. CARES Act funding paid for a new water well at Old Oraibi and new wells and the modular

oﬃces at Tawa’ovi. Additional funds were distributed to Villages during the lockdown periods.

The Tribe made the decision not to lay oﬀ any personnel during COVID or as a result of the termination of

the coal contract. During the COVID lockdowns employees were encouraged to telecommute to work.

However, connectivity was a major issue, and many employees did not have laptops or cell phones. The

Tribe began furnishing this hardware to many staﬀ, but the COVID disruption had a major impact on Tribal

operations. Some of the non-Tribal businesses on the Reservation were forced to lay off staﬀ. The decision

not to lay off staﬀ as a result of the curtailment of the coal contract will have a major impact on Tribal

ﬁnances and reserves in the future so that replacing that revenue is a major priority.

Strategic Economic Development Projects

rioritized economic development projects consist of low-risk endeavors that can be internally controlled,

with minimal capital outlay, do not compromise the environment and can potentially generate high returns.

Projects that meet these criteria include:

• Hopi Health Center 638 Contracting

• Helium Extraction

• Solar Energy Development

• Tourism Development

• Gaming

Helium, solar energy and tourism development have been discussed in earlier sections.

IHS 638 contracting

ribes are sovereign entities with special treaty relationships with the US government. The IHS (Indian Health

Services) operates or funds hundreds of medical facilities that serve approximately 2.5 million Native Americans. The

IHS both operates medical facilities directly and encourages Tribes to manage their own medical programs under

The Hopi Tribe CEDS Plan 2023

Public Law 93-638 (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act - ISDEAA) whereby the Tribe still

receives roughly the same level of funding from the IHS. If the Tribe runs an eﬃcient operation, the Tribe can retain

any excess revenue as long as it is used either for administrative purposes or to expand health care programs.

The major opportunity from a revenue standpoint regarding IHS 638 contracting for Tribes is that Tribes can bill

third-party providers (private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid) and still receive a similar level of IHS funding.

Tribes that institute 638 contracting with the IHS need to work with health directors to prepare business processes

that will ensure streamlined billing of insurance providers through competent coders and billers. Many small Tribal

clinics that are much smaller than Hopi earn millions of dollars of annual revenue from 638 contracts and third-party

billing that helps to subsidize administrative expenses and allows Tribes to fund and expand services such as early

childhood centers, senior centers, gymnasiums, exercise centers, health programs, substance abuse programs, direct

medical services and oﬀset Tribal administrative costs.

The IHS interprets “health care related programs” broadly. For example, providing clean and safe drinking water

to Hopi Tribal members ma

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