Book

Law and conflict management among the Hopi

University MicrofilmsAnn ArborPublished In 1973 • Pages:

By: Cox, Bruce Alden.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source is a study of conflict and conflict management as it concerns disputes involving land ownership, farming and grazing rights, and physical and verbal aggression among the Hopi on the Hopi Indian Reservation northeastern Arizona. The title is somewhat misleading, however, since the focus is more on conflict than on conflict management. The author finds that disputes involving rights to agricultural land are rare, but that conflicts over building sites are becoming more commonplace with business development on the reservation. Since land is held by clans, conflicts over land rights often extend beyond individuals and may involve entire villages. Traditionally, disputes over damage by grazing animals to farm crops were settled by village chiefs, but that is no longer the case. According to the author, this change has come about because the increasing heterogeneity of economic life on the reservation has undermined the chiefs' ability to gauge public opinion. In the past public opinion sided with the farmer rather than the stockman, but at present, with the decline of crop-raising in the reservation economy, this consensus has broken down. Some disputes over farming and grazing rights involve Hopis with their Navajo neighbors. According to the author, in cases involving physical aggression Hopis lack structured mechanisms for resolving disputes and rehabilitating offenders, thus such disputes tend to persist for extended periods of time. Gossip is an important form of aggressive behavior among the Hopi and often takes the form of witchcraft accusations. As a form of aggression, gossip is prominent in the factionalism dividing traditional Hopis and the more acculturated Hopis who support the reservation's Tribal Council.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Clans
Phratries
Form and rules of government
Public welfare
Pastoral activities
External relations
Acculturation and culture contact
Ingroup antagonisms
Political parties
Social control
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Hopi
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southwest and Basin
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Gerald Reid ; 1988
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1965-1966
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1965-1966
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Hopi Reservation, northeastern Arizona, United States
NotesAdditional notes
Bruce Alden Cox
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 1968
UM 69-14,865
Information on Hopi-Navajo disputes disputes over farming and grazing rights are indexed for Acculturation and Culture Change (177) and International Relations (648).
Includes bibliographical references (p.173-181)
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Hopi Indians