The Hopi Foundation

The Hopi Fondation

One of the twelve Hopi villages, the village of Oraivi, is considered to be the oldest continuously occupied settlement on the North American continent, and the Hopi among the most traditional of Native American societies. The values of the Hopi people include millennia-old practices concerned with respecting the rights of other people, self-determination, and tuuwaqalmoq katsitumala — active stewardship over the living Earth or all of life. By integrating all aspects of life into a balanced and harmonious way of being, Hopi philosophy holds that the well being of individuals, the local community, and the world as a whole is served.

Established in 1985, governed and staffed by members of the Hopi Tribe, the Hopi Foundation has implemented projects that give voice to and demonstrate Hopi values in vital and practical ways. To date, the Foundation has successfully implemented and managed a solar electric enterprise, human rights projects in collaboration with other indigenous people, retrieval of sacred objects, active preservation of the Hopi language, scholarship and writing projects for youth, and restoration of ancient ceremonial clan houses.

Following the Hopi tradition as a people of peace, in 1992 the Foundation implemented the Center for the Prevention and Resolution of Violence — founded and directed by Dr. Barbara Chester — to assist survivors of torture, war, dislocation and other forms of organized violence. After her death, the Foundation established the Barbara Chester Award in her honor to recognize and assist others working in this difficult field.

The Endowment Fund

Administered by the Hopi Foundation, the Barbara Chester Endowment Fund has been created through private donations and matching funds from the Arizona Community Foundation. The annual cash prize is derived from interest earned on the endowment principal, and thus may vary slightly from year to year.