Yeah, I thought the same thing when I read this. BUT, it seems to me that
this is one of the keys to understanding what's happening: so far as I
know, the Hopi ceremonies do not require sustained presence in the land
surrounding the mesas. The conflict over control of the surface of that
land does not seem to be based on a conflict between two types of
ceremonial practices.
At the ground surface, the conflict pits the Hopi Tribal Council (NB -
not "the Hopis") against Navajo people. At the courthouse and in Congress,
the conflict pits the Hopi and Navajo Tribal Councils against each other.
There does not seem to be an area of conflict where the Navajo Council
is pitted against Hopi people. As to the people versus the people: well,
I guess there's something of a contest there, but what its nature is
seems to be obscured by the over-riding agenda of resource extraction and
reservation confinement -- an agenda established by government and
corporate interests, using the Tribal Councils as puppet vehicles.
-- Peter d'Errico phone: 413-545-2003 Legal Studies Department fax: 413-545-1640 University of Massachusetts/Amherst 01003 dErrico@titan.ucc.umass.edu